I was recently contacted by Ashley Ashoff, an American born designer living in Paris. Her eponymous company specializes in beautiful handmade silk ties, pocket squares and scarves.
At Off The Cuff DC, we are always looking to highlight interesting and new brands. Ashley Ashoff is a great example of a true artisan who is focused on quality far more than quantity.
Originally from Northern California, she studied Textiles and Apparel Design at Cornell University. After graduating, Ashley spent a year traveling and found herself being drawn to Paris, making it her home base throughout most of her journeys. At the end of the year, she returned to Northern California where she now has her atelier. Inspiration from her travels, research and sketching all led to the creation of her label, “Ashley Ashoff”.
She founded her company in the summer of 2005, focusing on making heirloom quality silk scarves. Her hand-dyed and hand-painted collections can take up to 15 hours to produce. For example, to create just one pocket square, she uses up to a pound of wax in the process.
Ashley sells a variety of pocket squares as well as slightly larger squares that exceptionally confident and fashion-forward men can wear around their neck, wrist and head.
While the product range might be limited, it is the result of her personal involvement in every aspect of every item.
The company also sells traditional longer scarves, which some men also wear as ascots or an accessory with a blazer on chilly evenings – very red carpet. She has even made custom gentleman’s scarves for black tie events.
Depending on size, her pocket squares are offered in a variety of silks including satin, twill and charmeuse. It is not uncommon to do custom pocket squares for men who request a specific color to compliment one of her ties or even a favorite suit.
Totally focused on creating a high quality brand, Ashley spent many years looking for the right supplier to manufacture her ties, pocket squares and scarves. The Italian silk house she uses, located in Lake Como, home to some of the finest silk makers on earth, has been in business since the 1950’s and is renowned for being of the highest quality.
Ashley and her company have been fêted by such diverse media outlets as New York Magazine and Nylon. I’m very happy to add Off the Cuff DC to that list.