Looking For a New Hobby? Why Not Consider Collecting Silk Scarves?

For some people it is postage stamps that blow their hair back, while for others it might be bookmarks or matchboxes, but there are few of us who have not collected something at some time in our lives. One of the latest trends though, is the collection of women's silk scarves.

Of course, whatever they are collecting, many people like to build very specialized collections and this is no less true in the world of silk scarf collecting. For some it is the famous designer names like Hermes and Liberty which are the big attraction, with certain people holding out for the signed ones, while others like to collect the scarves of the rich and famous. For others still, rare vintage silk scarves have real appeal, especially the few which were produced during the World War II era when most of the silk available was being used to make parachutes. Scarves, both silk and otherwise, which also fall into the category of memorabilia are popular too. Those associated with airlines and ships, for example, are very collectable.

As you might expect, many of the highly collectable women's silk scarves can cost a good deal of money, but that doesn't mean to say that those people with smaller budgets can't begin their own collections. A great place to start is with hand painted scarves which have unique designs, and even here you can specialize in certain types of design. Flowers, abstract designs and even animal designs all make great specialty choices, as do those which have perhaps an oriental theme.

Although silk is often thought of as a truly luxury fabric, which of course it is, the price of handmade silk scarves is truly amazing, which means that anyone can start up their collection without an enormous outlay. Even normal designer silk scarves can cost literally hundreds of dollars, but of course some of the older or rarer ones can sell for extortionate amounts of money which put them out of most people's reach. Another issue with collecting designer brands is, of course, the potential of paying huge sums of money for what turn out to be fakes. In the USA as well as a great many other countries, fake designer goods are big business and unless the collector knows precisely what to look out for, she could find herself with an empty bank balance and a drawer full of nothing.

Another thing about designer silk scarves that you have paid a lot of money for is that you probably wouldn't want to wear them, whereas with unique hand painted scarves you can create a wearable collection of stunning and versatile accessories. The quality of these individually designed pieces is absolutely exquisite, which means that you will have them for years. You could even pass them on down through your family and who knows, maybe one day they could become quite valuable!