“…Tell her to make me a cambric shirt,
Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme,
Without any seam or needlework,
And then she’ll be a true love of mine…”
The Cambric Shirt is one of the many great British ballads chronicled in the late 19th century that tells the story of a young man who requests impossible tasks from his lover, saying that if she can perform them, he will take her back. In return, she requests impossible things of him, saying she will perform her tasks when he performs his. Through most of the medieval centuries and right up till the late 19th century, the ballad remained largely unrecognized with the exception of small regional fairs across Great Britain, much like the cambric fabric itself. However, it was the legendary Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel who shot new life and worldwide popularity into this otherwise forgotten folk song when they recorded Scarborough Fair as a soundtrack for The Graduate. This summer, we at Mufti dream to recreate the magic of Simon and Garfunkel but one that is focused on the cambric – breathing new life into this otherwise forgotten fabric and making it an indispensable outfit in your wardrobe.