Sheila Bridges, Harlem Toile de Jouy, Square Silk Scarf

This silk scarf features Harlem Toile de Jouy by the celebrated New York City–based interior designer Sheila Bridges. This timeless accessory honors Bridges's stylish mother, who loved to wear colorful scarves from museum shops.

Bridges's contemporary vision of 18th-century toile—a classic French fabric abounding with pastoral imagery—is inspired by archival maps of Harlem, which was settled by the Dutch in 1658. It simultaneously riffs on old stereotypes: women styling hair, men playing basketball, girls enjoying a round of Double Dutch.

The motif originates from Bridges's tenacious search for an existing toile suited to her sensibility as a decorator and her perspective as an African American woman living in Harlem. She created Harlem Toile de Jouy as a custom expression of her personal style and a reflection upon history, politics, and culture. Simultaneously joyous and meditative, Harlem Toile de Jouy is an invitation to join Bridges in musing on the intricacies of the Black experience.

Size: 36 × 36 in.