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Pashmina Shawls - Literally HOT!
Pashmina shawls or cashmere shawls were a fashion symbol among the Hollywood stars and the rich and famous in the 90s. Unlike shahtoosh, they are legal and, literally speaking, hot! You can buy them online, or pay a visit to any Asian country and buy it cheaper there. Many pashmina/cashmere fabrics have featured in some of the best-known fashion magazines such as Vogue. They gave rise to the phrase ‘pashmina politics’ – trying to tap into a public sentiment that quickly goes out of fashion even before it is exploited. If you are thinking of buying pashmina shawls, read on.
PASHMINA ONLINE SHOPPING
The following pashmina products are hot:
- Single color beaded pashmina shawls
- Dual shade tasseled pashmina scarves
- Multicolor beaded pashmina blankets
You can buy pashmina in two forms: weave and embroidery. There are also blends with silk and cashmere wool. The colors are dye based: metal-free and azo-free dyes, and come in various shades of color.
The Cashmere and Camel Hair Manufacturers Institute has developed standards for the use of cashmere and pashmina products. They insist on sellers properly declaring the purity of the fabric used. A fabric with a mark of 100% purity must not include fibers of any other animal.
The pashmina wool, softest and finest of all wool, is derived from the Himalayan variety of goat found in Asia.
Most fabrics are hand woven as the fibers are too fragile for a power loom.Napoleon gifted a cashmere shawl to his wife, who then asked for more.
To make one pashmina shawl, a goat must produce wool for 4 years, and the man work is nearly 250 hours.
A ply is a count of the number of fibers used in the basic building thread. One ply fabric is woven with a single fiber. A 2-ply fiber is made of a thread that contains one fiber wrapped or woven around another fiber.
Be aware of the look and feel of the fabric. Ensure that the label/tag tells you of the percentage of pashmina/cashmere. This is mandatory. Cheap bargains may be poor quality pashmina blends. Beware of mislabeling which happens more than often. You can get your cashmere/pashmina tested at CCHMI mentioned above.