Bespoke Art (squares)

A while back I wrote about my newly grown fondness for art pocket squares. That is, pocket squares with famous, or sometimes not so famous fine art prints. The past two years or so these have become my favourites to wear and pair and I find myself reaching for one more often than not when picking a pocket square for the day.

For some pocket squares are optional, others don’t wear them at all and for some, including myself, they wouldn’t leave their home without one. I find pocket squares to be the most important accessory, even more so than ties, simply because I would never wear a tie without a pocket square, but I would and often do wear a pocket square without a tie. But even more so, they add tons of interest to an outfit and can alter the overall appearance of an outfit quite significantly. Not to mention, they are easily collectible.

As far as my opinion goes on art pocket squares you can read about it here, but the main gist being that it’s personal, something only you know about unless you choose to reveal it, and because of the versatility it offers.

Since first discovering the wide range of art pocket squares available from different brands such as Shibumi, Rampley & Co and Amidé Hadelin I must confess it has become somewhat of a quest to find as many as possible fitting my preferences. Rather an addiction perhaps, actually most certainly an addiction.

Rampley & Co.

One of the brands offering a wide variety of art pocket squares; Rampley & Co., also has a bespoke option where the customer can pick their own design. Needless to say, given my affinity for both art in general and the concept of art pocket squares it was inevitable I would venture down this path at some point and the opportunity finally arose.

Rampley & Co. has a huge selection of fine art pocket squares both in their main collection and their archive, while in addition their bespoke offering adds yet another level of options.

The process of ordering the pocket square was really smooth and honestly the only problem that occurs is deciding on the design and colour of the borders and the framing of the artwork.

Luckily I received plenty of help where they rendered different crops of the artwork with different color options for the frame. In my case I wanted a simple tricolour border, but for the more intricate border designs there are lots of great examples to draw inspiration from in their collection.

For my square I went with mulberry silk with hand rolled edges and the standard size of 42x42cm, but the options here are plentyful, offering blends such as wool and silk, and wool cashmere, and other sizes and options for the edge finish as well.

Once deciding on the final design the waiting game begins and like with any bespoke product it does take some time, a month or two, which to me is part of the allure: gotta build up that anticipation.

The Artwork

Now, I did have a specific work of art in mind, but that’s not to say the decision was easy. There’s something special about picking the design for the first bespoke pocket square even if you know there will be more down the line. Some of my favorite artists were up for debate, like Caravaggio. Some of his chiaroscuro work would definitely look beautiful rendered as a pocket square. But for my first bespoke pocket square I went back to my roots, to something I knew would not appear on a pocket square anytime soon and something that admittedly is close to my heart. The painting “Brudeferd i Hardanger” by Tidemand and Gude.

“Brudeferd i Hardanger” is a collaborative work painted by Adolf Tidemand, known for his portrayal of traditional daily life, specifically people, and Hans Gude, known for landscape painting.

Being romantic nationalism one can understand how this work of art brings out a sense of “home”, or nationalism to anyone wearing it, perhaps especially someone living abroad. Although the word nationalism to some might have negative connotations, what I like about Norwegian romantic nationalism as an art form is that it is not about conservatism or glorification, nor about a sense of exclusion, but rather an appreciation for nature and preserving memories of the past.

Depicting a traditional wedding, attendees in traditional gowns, a wooden stave church in a fjord surrounded by untouched nature, all of which can be seen on occasion even till this day, for me it serves as a reminder of my roots, but also something that grounds me, wherever I am.

Quality & Versatility

Moving on from the personal side of the commission to something more tangible: Quality and versatility.

I have some experience with Rampley and Co. pocket squares thus I knew their quality was great in terms of materials, craftsmanship and print. As expected the end result was stunning. My first impression was that the print rendered slightly darker than I had expected, but looking at the painting that’s not the case as when comparing them the pocket square looks true to the original. When I first tried it in an outfit I was really pleasantly surprised by how great the colours looked. I had been a little worried about the contrast between the brighter and darker parts of the artwork when I chose this work, but they transition so incredibly well.

The colours are deep with just the perfect amount of shine and considering the intricacy of the small details in this painting I am amazed at how well those details are rendered in the finished piece.

As I just alluded to, this is a highly versatile pocket square. Versatility wasn’t my primary motivation behind this particular commission and honestly no pocket square will ever beat Rampley & Co’s own The Deliverance pocket square as far as versatility goes, at least not in my experience.

In any case, it did however prove to be really versatile and it’s mostly due to how the different hues work together, even where the contrast is high. Of course, given the colours comprised in this painting it works extremely well with the palettes I favour: earth tones, particularly browns and greens, but also burgundy.

I can highly recommend having a bespoke pocket square made, whether for a specific event or occasion, or for those who want something a little more personal. It definitely doesn’t have to be something on the sentimental side, like in my case, although I do think that adds value to it, but the fact that it is a personalised piece makes it more intriguing to wear as well.