Care tags - leave them, or remove them

I often get asked whether I remove the care tags from my scarves. To me, the look of even the most beautiful scarf in the prettiest knot gets diminished by a care tag which shows, which is why I take mine off.

It is of course possible to leave the tag on and hide it in the basic bias fold. Although this is an effective method, it also means that parts of the design will always remain unseen. I consider this a true loss, as most scarves have very different aspects when folded along both diagonals.

here, the tag is hidden:

and so the pale pink corners and buckles come out:

Removing the tag allows one to fold the scarf also in the other axis,

which brings out the purple corners, and different aspects of the harness:

One of the most striking examples is the Coupons d'Indiens:

But even scarves with limited colors and patterns (see Quadrige below) come out differently enough for me to remove the tag:

I have very few scarves where it truly does not matter which way they are folded, and with most of them the care tags have naturally come loose over time, at which point I'll remove those too.

Vif Argent Gavroche

In my personal view, a missing care-tag does not devalue an Hermès scarf. After all it is just an instruction on how to clean a scarf. However, there is a value/important aspect to care tags, as their sizes, colors, designs and positions on a scarf have changed over time. As such they can be invaluable tools when trying to determine the age or issue year of a particular vintage find, or for authenticating a scarf.

care tag from 2012

care tag from 1983

I therefore keep my tags, along with the invoice and the reference tag (if available):

these can be stored in envelopes:

 

...or a folder:

I also keep a photo of the tag when it was still attached to the scarf. In addition, I enter all available information on a scarf into a computer spread sheet (name of design and designer, from which collection, year of original issue, format, material, reference number, CW, purchase date and cost).

Alternatively, this info can be written on a card, and included in the envelope or folder.