Patrick’s Faves — PORTOLANO, Warmth for the Body & Soul

SO THERE I WAS WATCHING A FRIEND of mine pack for a job abroad and saw him unfold­ing what looked to be a clas­sic pashmina.

 “J, what’s the deal with the pash­mina? Can’t say I have seen many guys sport­ing those.”

“Patrick, first of all, when you fold it like this (he quickly wrapped it into a clas­sic “scarf knot”) no one has any idea it is as large as it is, it looks like a nor­mal scarf, and sec­ondly, you know how cold those trans-​​Atlantic flights can be and have you seen what they have found on those sup­pos­edly clean, vac­uum packed blan­kets on the planes?!?!”

 He had me with that!!!! I had read the arti­cles and was sold! It was then that I too started trav­el­ing with a pash­mina as a scarf; in fact, there is one I leave in my carry-​​on.

Well, this month’s “PATRICK’S FAVORITE THINGS” includes the ulti­mate in over-​​sized wraps, from PORTOLANO the lux­ury cash­mere and leather goods com­pany. Estab­lished in Italy in 1895, this com­pany not only pro­duces under the fam­ily name, but is also the sup­plier to such labels as Moschino, Alberta Fer­retti, and Armani, to name but a few, and is a favorite amongst many a celebrity. The “hand” of the wrap USD$90.00 defies descrip­tion, but I can say it is a bit smaller than the clas­sic pash­mina, but is a gor­geous alter­na­tive. It is a super thick, light grey-​​ribbed cash­mere that is so incred­i­bly soft to the touch. I have a flight to the Caribbean soon and know this will dou­ble as the per­fect super lux­u­ri­ous in-​​flight blan­ket. It has replaced my $10 sidewalk-​​special ver­sion as my must have for travel.

While check­ing out the wraps, I couldn’t resist a few more of this ven­er­a­ble house’s offerings.

The deer­skin gloves USD$55.00 pic­tured are beau­ti­fully hand-​​stitched and lined in the warmest rab­bit fur. The color is not quite black, not quite brown, so it goes with almost every coat and they are incred­i­bly warm. The leather is noth­ing short of sump­tu­ous and, with time, they become “like but­ter”! They are a replace­ment for a beloved pair from the com­pany that had worn in per­fectly. Unfor­tu­nately, some­one at The Rose Bar liked them more than I, and made off with them…yes, I AM still a bit bitter!!!!

The two other items were pure indul­gences. The striped sweater USD$150.00 is a beau­ti­ful light­weight cash­mere which would be wear­able for at least 8 months out of the year. And those gloves…those gloves, deer­skin palms with cro­chet back­ing USD$30.00 beau­ti­ful. And…SOOOO UNIQUE… 

PORTOLANO mer­chan­dise is avail­able at select bou­tiques, Bergdorf Good­man, Neiman Mar­cus, Saks, Lord and Tay­lor, and Bloomingdale’s, and on line at www. por​tolano​.com.

Pho­tos cour­tesy of Thomas Beaudoin!