It was the one that got away
Now, it’s finally mine

I saw this scarf for the first time a few years ago on The RealReal and it was truly love at first sight. But unfortunately someone else was able to add it to their cart before me. Also to be perfectly honest, I hesitated because of the price. It was listed at $475 for a cotton 70cm. I figured if I was patient, perhaps I could find a better price or maybe even a silk version.

Since then, I’ve seen a few pop up here and there, but not in the original back, gold and terracotta color way that I loved so much. Ever since, I’ve been on the hunt and as always I’ve done some research in the meantime.

The Backstory of “La Joie De Vivre” by Joachim Metz
and What I didn’t Know

Every so often I would do a google search for the “La Joie De Vivre” scarf, googling different keywords like, “summer scarf”, “the estate scarf” even just “Joachim Metz” and would scroll until I couldn’t anymore. I also would try a reverse image just in case it wasn’t listed with any title in the name. And no result for this scarf would ever appear.

This was always surprising to me because Joachim Metz has long been an artist with Hermes and has completed over 37 scarves (that I know of) to date.

However one day I was scrolling and had entered something vague like “summer joachim metz” and discovered this was not the only one!

Not the only one? That is correct! And below is what I found:

From Left to Right: Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter
They were released as a set of 4, one representing each season.

Hermes and Metz released another scarf in 2008 in a very similar style to the “seasons” series, called “Monte Carlo”.

This scarf was a Monte Carlo exclusive and only sold there.
Below is the text from the original booklet:

“Monte-Carlo”
Published on the initiative of the Société des Bains de Mer, for the 50 birthday of Prince Albert IL
The Casino of Monte-Carlo, built in 1863 by Charles Garnier, is managed by the Société des Bains de Mer (SBM). Monte-Carlo is a district around the casino, in the Principality of Monaco. The SBM is a company controlled by the Monegasque State, founded by sovereign order of prince Charles III of Monaco in 1863. Today, it manages numerous luxury hotel and leisure assets in the Principality. The scarf represents in a stylised way the attributes that characterise Monte Carlo.
Sold exclusively in the Principality of Monaco / Various colours / 90 x 90 cm / 100% silk

Found in this eBay Listing

But Now Lets Actually Talk About “La Joie De Vivre”

So How & When Did I find “La Joie De Vivre”?

After all that searching, it was actually a follower who helped me find this scarf. She knew I loved Hermes Annual Cadenas Charms and sent me the link to a live auction taking place in Palm Beach. Much to my surprise, this auction had not only one, but two of the “La Joie De Vivre” scarves in the catalog! One was listed as cotton, and was included in a group lot with three other cotton Hermes scarves. The other was the silk 90 I had been waiting all this time for.

Watch my “Bidding at a Live Auction” Video on TikTok & Instagram

And after all that waiting and searching, I won the scarf

I ended up winning the silk scarf for $325! However with a live auction there are always fees to the auction house, which brought my grand total to $430. Auction houses typically do not include shipping either, so I called the auction house to arrange shipping. This is when they told me there was a mistake with my lot and it was actually another cotton version!

But here’s the silver lining: they offered me the scarf I have been thinking about for years, for an even better price. Including fees and including shipping. Sometimes amazing things manifest in the strangest ways. Now the scarf is mine, so let’s take a look at some of the details below.

The scarf came with the original Hermes ribbon from 2005, even though I believe the scarf is from 1999.