After a whole career, she is retiring.
Flowers will not cover it.
A retirement is usually marked with a bouquet and a sheet cake. Neither says what the years took. This lotus does: it is about keeping your character through circumstances that did not always deserve it.
Black and orange, hand screen-printed on both faces of 100% Grade 5A mulberry silk at 16 momme. The lotus is the print; the fabric is silk. Hand-rolled edges.
44in Our retirement pick
5A Silk grade
16 Momme
We pay the import duty, not you.
Orders leave Hanoi in 1 to 3 business days and reach a US address in 9 to 15 business days. The 26, 36 and 44 inch ship free; the 22 inch ships for $20.
Why a lotus for a retirement
Dragons are for what somebody did. The lotus alone is for how somebody carried it, and a career is carried for a long time.
In the palaces of Thang Long, Hanoi's imperial capital from the 11th to the 15th century, lotus petals were carved into the stone bases of the columns. Those bases held up the roof.
A Vietnamese saying finishes the thought: the lotus grows in mud and does not smell of it.
Black and orange is a high-contrast pairing. It fits a mostly dark wardrobe and gives it one warm accent.
Which size for her
22 in
$75 |
A small thank-you from one colleague. Bag handle or neck knot. |
26 in
$97 |
Neck knot, headband, bag roll. From a small team. |
36 in
$153 |
Shoulder cover, head wrap, waist sash. From the family. |
44 in
$197 |
A shawl for travel and cool evenings. Our suggestion for a retirement. |
Retirement is the moment for the 44. Pooled across a department it is easy.
Is it real silk?
Yes: 100% Grade 5A mulberry silk. Tested at the Textile Testing Center, Vietnam Textile Research Institute. It is an outside lab.
Every box holds a small silk cutting for testing, so you can check it yourself.
Silk burns with a smell like burning hair and leaves a soft ash that crushes between your fingers. Polyester melts into a hard bead. Burn a thread over a sink, away from anything flammable, and keep children clear. It is a home check, not lab proof.
ELLE Vietnam and Harper's Bazaar Vietnam have both covered our studio.
Is black and orange too strong?
Folded to a band over a dark coat, most of the black disappears and the orange becomes a line of warmth.
For something softer, the pink and green is the same lotus.
Why $75 to $197
The edge is rolled and sewn by hand. That is close to an hour, even on the smallest square. Both faces go through the press, one after the other. Every color needs its own screen and its own pass. The drawing itself was redone by hand from archive photographs.
Going from 26 to 36 inches nearly doubles the silk: 676 against 1,296 square inches.
The hand-rolled edge grows from about 8.5 to 12 feet.
Everything happens in our own atelier in Hanoi. The parcel comes to you from there, duty paid.
Will it arrive for the party?
It leaves Hanoi within 1 to 3 business days and reaches a US address in 9 to 15 business days.
Allow up to 18 business days, about three and a half weeks.
Late is fine here. Her first weeks of free time are a good moment to receive it.
Duties and returns
Duties: Folk Form pays the US import duty. Nothing is collected at delivery.
Returns: within 30 days, unused, unwashed and unworn, in the original box. For a change of mind, the return postage is yours. Store credit adds 15%.
Who it is right for
Your mother, retiring For all the years she showed up.
A colleague of many years The 44, from the whole office.
A teacher or nurse finishing a career The lotus says what the work cost.
How it arrives
It arrives ready to hand over: a rigid box, a matching bag, the scarf folded in tissue. With it come a story card and an illustrated styling guide. A care card and a small cutting of silk are included.
To send it directly, enter her address as shipping and yours as billing. Type your message in Order Notes and it is copied by hand onto a card. The parcel carries no price.
How to care for it
Wash it after 3 to 5 wears. Use cold water and a little shampoo or body wash.
Squeeze the water out; never wring. Dry it flat in the shade. Iron on the lowest silk setting while slightly damp.
Specifications
| Material |
100% Grade 5A mulberry silk, with a lotus print |
| Weight |
16 momme |
| Print |
Hand screen-printed on both faces |
| Edges |
Hand-rolled, hand-stitched |
| Motif |
Imperial Lotus (Co Do Lien Hoa), Thang Long, 11th to 15th century |
| Colorway |
Black and orange |
| Sizes |
22, 26, 36 and 44 in (55, 65, 90 and 110 cm) |
| Tested |
Textile Testing Center, Vietnam Textile Research Institute |
| Made in |
Hanoi, Vietnam |
Also worth a look: Black and orange, 44 in · Black and gray silk necklace, $64 · All Imperial Lotus
