Green & Turquoise Paisley Madder Silk Pocket Square

The paisley pattern, a droplet-shaped motif with a curved upper end, has a history as rich and intricate as its design. Although named for the Scottish mill town of Paisley, its roots go all the way back to Persia. First popularized in the West during the 18th and 19th centuries, the paisley pattern is prized for its timelessness, versatility, and unique visual appeal, adding an organic flourish to any ensemble.

Because of the complicated and expensive processes involved, only a handful of silk printers offer real ancient madder. Fort Belvedere has located such a maker in England, the home of artisanal real ancient madder production. To illustrate how complex and complicated this process is, consider the following: to dye with madder, the natural white base cloth must be outlined with a pattern and highlight colors applied only in the desired areas. Once the pattern printing is complete, the fabric is immersed in an indigo bath, staining the uncolored areas to the desired madder shade.

In addition to its rich and deep colors, real madder is also typified by its distinctive, chalky feel. Extremely pleasing to the touch, this unique texture and the elegant drape it imparts are achieved by restoring to the silk fabric the natural gum that was stripped away during the production process. The result is one-of-a-kind silk that feels as good as it looks.

Because this pocket square has two discreet patterns, it offers three unique styling options based on the utilized fold: you can display all of one section or the other in a shell or banker’s square fold or a combination of both with an inverted fold-like the upside-down puff fold. The result? A single pocket square that can be styled like three different pocket squares.

The vast majority of pocket squares are sized to get the largest number of pocket squares per yard of fabric. By not considering the unique qualities of the material as related to weight and weave, however, these accessories cannot function well as pocket squares.

Most silk pocket squares are 30 cm x 30 cm, or 12” x 12.” This size is dictated by the desire to save money, and the resulting pocket square is simply too small, because without added structure the smooth surface of silk will easily slip down and disappear into your pocket.

By paying special attention to the unique qualities of our silk, we were able to engineer a pocket square that functions perfectly. After extensive testing, we concluded that 40 cm x 40 cm or 15.5" x" 15.5" was the perfect size for our silk pocket squares.

The weight and weave of the fabric dictate its quality and function, and this unique pocket square has been woven with a heavier-weight fabric to ensure the perfect drape without compromising its soft feel. As a result, it will sit neatly in the breast pocket without collapsing and vanishing.

When printing pocket squares, it is necessary to reprint the entire pocket as many times as there are colors, adding each color as a distinct layer with each printing. Obviously, multiple printings allow for the possibility of errors or mistakes, necessitating exacting quality assurance standards. The result, however, is a hand-printed pocket square with beautiful and versatile colorways that will ensure that you stand out from the crowd. Only a handful of modern silk printers possess the skills needed to operate traditional silk screens and Fort Belvedere sources its fabric from a heritage English company that produces only the highest quality printed fabrics.

Although an expensive and time-consuming process, the edges of this Fort Belvedere pocket squares have been rolled by hand to ensure a neat and sophisticated look, in contrast to machine-made edges that are obviously so flat and regimented that they appear cheap. This edge treatment also improves the durability and longevity of the pocket square as it reinforces the areas of most regular wear and tear.