Pick'n'Mix - the joy of the chaz in '26!

Floss

@Brie Queen of all things scarfish, I have a query...

I bought a scarf yesterday with a 100% silk label, but I'm not sure. It has a bright pattern & a sheen on one side, but a floral pattern on the other which is more matt. What do you think? I paid £4.99 for it...

luvchocolate

Reminds me when I bought a pashmina still in original packaging..doubt anyone had opened it to check.

It's 70% cashmere 30% silk

Paid £1 15 years ago....it's lemon coloured and absolutely beautiful

DigForVictory

Watching for the criteria applied & the possible demands for more photos!

Bumped into this elsewhere & thought too much fun not to share.
"Cleaning out the house, I decided I need a skip outside.
It all went well until the little girl's mother demanded I give her daughter her rope back."

(Gosh, the formatting. Seems shift + return doesn't lever acres of white space the way return does.)

Miró

Without putting my specs on, (I need my specs to find my specs and I can't find my specs!!!), that looks like machine hemming, tho rather wonky. I would have thought a real silk scarf would have a hand sewn hem. Nice scarf tho!

Floss

@Miró I keep thinking that - mindful of Brie's exertion that silk will have a hand rolled hem - and the different finishes are pushing me to think it's maybe rayon?

Brie

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81892225#Comment_81892225

Oh the glory of having my opinion asked!!!

Well there's many different types of silk. Some are very thin and flimsy (think cheap indian batiked scarves) and some are much more substantial. Add to that the way they are spun and the way they are made into cloth. If you think about cotton sheets you'll know there's flimsy cheap ones and then there's the 200 strand Egyptian cotton.

I had a look at my scarfs for reference and would like to give you 3 very different examples.

The first admittedly isn't 100% silk as it has some other materials mixed in but still you can see there is a right and a wrong side, the wrong one is a bit flatter in colour and not quite so smooth.

The second is 100% silk but has a different feel to it to normal silk scarves - kind of the difference between flat cotton weave and a very fine woven brushed cotton. And still the wrong side is flatter and rougher. The colours are duller as well. It also has a good example of a rolled edge (possibly by hand) and stitching that may be by hand as well. Because it's a fine spun and weave it's very lightweight.

Lastly, la creme de la creme, Gucci. This is a heavy silk and has an incredibly smooth surface and brilliant colours on the correct side. The surface on the wrong side has a flatness to it and the colours are markedly duller (the snake shows this up most obviously.)

Now as for yours I must admit I don't think I've seen anything that has different patterns on each side. Doesn't mean it can't happen though. But many will depend on the pattern bleeding through (which is why it's so obvious on the Gucci). Looking closely at yours I wonder if the material has been printed with a floral pattern and then over printed with the mandelas which haven't bled through. Does this look possible if you check both sides in one section?

Ultimately for silk it's down to the feel for me. I've never spotted an outright forgery or mislabeling though I know there are frauds on the market. But silk feels like silk. Polyester may feel similar but there's something just a bit off with it. Think of the difference between sugar and sweetener - it might be sweet but it's not right.

Not sure if that's helpful or just showing off.

Rosa_Damascena

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81891860#Comment_81891860

My niece doe this all the time, she is very creative and knows her auntie loves a good book!

@Brie - your knowledge of scarves appears to be encylopaedic, I have learned much from your post.

Wednesday2000

I found this bag at a much more reasonable price of £8 at The Magic Wardrobe in Leigh Road. I’m glad I wasn’t tempted to buy that expensive bag at Rokit. This one is three times the size too.

beanielou

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81891860#Comment_81891860

So sorry. I meant to say a personalised book NOOK.

DigForVictory

As in a place to curl up with a good book, or as in e-reader with curated library for your delectation? (Us daughters set Dad up a kindle - Elinor Glyn & the complete Harry Potter went on immediately as we knew those would persuade him to switch it on.)

I must have a word with Youngest. When I said ‘move the lawn mower’ I meant “remove from the room”…