The Hermes Blanket

Have you ever owned something so expensive that you couldn't actually use it?

Such is the case with a cashmere Hermes throw blanket in écru and their signature potiron (pumpkin), which we’ve had for several years now.

These blankets, festooned with “H”’s, are, admittedly, status symbols. Ours is such a luxury that Joe and I treat it as a piece of decor, folding it neatly against the back of an overstuffed armchair in our family room. We never use it to stay warm; it's simply too fancy for such a practical purpose. We also don’t want our dogs to get mud on it when they jump on the couch after coming inside.

If we need to warm up, we keep a couple of simple tan throws from an RH (formerly Restoration Hardware) outlet. They’re a bit scratchy and plain, but they do the job. Our dog Xander loves them.

So there, the beautiful Hermes blanket rests, mostly unused, as an emblem of stylish and expensive taste.

Xander with the Hermes blanket

I say “mostly unused” because a few people and animals have had no hesitation about enveloping themselves in the prized throw. I’m talking about the dog sitters who have, in our absence, taken the blanket from its carefully placed spot and—gasp!—snuggled up with it and our dogs.

How do I know this? Because when I ask them to send photos of the dogs, there they all are, cuddled in the Hermes blanket. This has happened several times. Each of our dog sitters has looked incredibly stylish, wrapped in the thick, geometric écru and potiron.

We keep that room very cold, especially in the summer. These dog-sitting women tend to feel chilly. They have great taste in blankets.

The other day, I came home after a new dog sitter watched our dogs for a few hours while we went out to dinner. We were testing her as a dog sitter while she was testing out the Hermes blanket. When I entered our family room, she was there, all bundled up in Hermes.

I felt a pang of jealousy and realized I needed to review the usage policy for the Hermes blanket. I just knew that if I went all out and bought a massive $100,000 crocodile Birkin, I’d probably come home to find the dogsitter had used it to go grocery shopping.

I’m not sure how Joe feels about using the Hermes blanket. I plan to discuss it with him. Maybe we both need to lighten up, just like our dogs and dog sitters do.

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