Pashmina shawls: If you have seen a truly pure pashmina shawl, it wouldn’t be surprising if you feel that you must have one. The luxurious soft fabric feels heavenly to the touch and the workmanship that goes with it really makes it special. In fact, these garments were considered royal treasures. This unique item can turn your wardrobe from drab to fabulous. If you are intent on buying a shawl m100% pure, you need to understand first what this material is.

In simple terms, this wool is a rare type of very soft, light wool. What makes it rare is the fact that its only source is a distinct breed of mountain goats that is native to the high regions of the Himalayas. It comes from the goats’ winter coat that grows under their bellies, hence, the wool was known as ‘pashmina’ which originated from the Persian word ‘pashm’, meaning ‘underside’.

There is also a lot of hard work involved in making pashmina. When the goats have shed their winter coats, the coats are combed manually to extricate the soft hair. Authentic pashmina shawls are handmade from spinning and weaving the fine fabric to embroidering it – all of these are done by hand. That’s why they are very expensive and are available in limited quantity. Also, you can only get the real thing from Asia, specifically, in India as well as Nepal and Mongolia.

The seller must be knowledgeable about pashmina. Of course, you’ll only find this out by asking questions so don’t hesitate to do so. For example, ask whether the pashmina has other fibers blended into it and if you are told yes, it has some silk in it, then that’s actually fine. A pure 100% shawl is truly exquisite but the downside to this wool is it’s not durable since the fibers are so fine and delicate and only allows the weave to be loose and open.

This is why pashmina shawls almost always have some silk blended into them, commonly 30 percent to as little as 20 percent for the highest-quality products. Although you can find 100 percent pashmina shawls, it is actually recommended to buy a pashmina-silk blend instead because the silk adds durability and sheen to the lightness and softness of the pashmina wool. Now, if the seller tells you or the product label says that the pashmina shawl is blended with fibers other than silk, it doesn’t matter whether the fibers are all-natural, you will not be getting a good quality product. Beware especially of viscose pashmina because viscose is a synthetic material which may give off a good sheen but is nowhere near as soft or durable as a pashmina-silk blend.

Also, if the seller tells you that its the same as cashmere, consider buying it somewhere else. He will likely sell you a cashmere-silk blend instead of the real thing. The two can be hard to distinguish from each other but they are certainly not the same. One good test of a quality garment is that it should be thin, light and smooth that you can pull a full-length shawl through an average-sized ring with no difficulty at all.

Now that you know all the essentials about pashmina, it’s time to for you to start shopping for one. It will be a great reward to yourself or an extra special gift to a loved one.

Author Bio: The essential thing to keep in mind when shopping silk pashmina shawl is the purpose for which you plan to buy. Keep in mind that the Internet is just as perfect place to order your pashmina blend shawl. The websites that present such products should filled with information upon the history of the pashmina shawl.

Category: Womens Interest
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