Wrap Up, Style Up with the Indian Pashmina

August 8, 2008

There’s fur, and then there’s goat. You would wear fur, but would you consider wearing goat? If you’re anything like most women, you would shriek no. Why on earth would anyone wear goat? But I kid you not. Not only do people wear goat, they wear it beautifully. Meet the Indian pashmina, one of the finest shawls that you could ever drape around your shoulders. Made of fine cashmere wool, the Indian pashmina is spun from the wool of the changthangi - or literally, the pashmina goat!

Every winter, the goat sheds between 3 to 8 ounces of fiber. This is then processed and transformed into the ultra-luxe Indian pashminas that grace the shoulders of women everywhere - from a socialite in New York and a model on a shoot in Paris to a housewife who is picking out the week’s supply of vegetables somewhere in Delhi.

If you think the Indian pashmina is a relatively new luxury item, though, think again. Indian women have been wearing pashminas for centuries. As a matter of fact, these woolen shawls were already being used as far back as the 15th century, when Zayn-ul-Abidin breathed life into cashmere wool production by introducing weavers from Central Asia.

For a long time, only Indian women wore Indian pashminas. Then, in the mid-1990s, the rest of the world discovered just how amazingly soft and wonderfully stylish the pashmina can be. By the mid-1990s, the world had gone pashmina-mad, so much so that lots of shoddy versions were produced.

Just what is it about the Indian pashmina that drives the stylish and the desperate to style gaga? Is it the long history behind the fabric? The luxurious feel of the material? Is it the softness? The lightness? Or could it that inimitably elegant way that the Indian pashmina drapes over the shoulders, defining silhouettes and accentuating the gentle sloping of the collarbones and the neck? Whatever it is that makes women mad for Indian pashmina, there’s no doubting that it’s one shawl you would want to wrap yourself in again and again.

4x Zebra Print Pashmina/Cashmere Scarf Shawl Wrap XMAS

US $20.07
End Date: Wednesday Mar-10-2010 2:36:38 PST
Buy It Now for only: US $20.07
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2-ply SOFT Cotton/Pashmina/Shawl/Scarf = Light Beige

US $4.98 (0 Bid)
End Date: Wednesday Mar-10-2010 2:57:16 PST
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Pashmina/Wrap/Shawl/Scarf = Turquoise

US $7.68 (0 Bid)
End Date: Wednesday Mar-10-2010 3:05:43 PST
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Brown Gold Shiny Butterfly Pashmina Shawl Scarf 32#

US $7.48 (0 Bid)
End Date: Wednesday Mar-10-2010 3:07:50 PST
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CA19PS Leopard Print Pashmina/Shawl/Scarf = Gray Brown

US $4.98 (0 Bid)
End Date: Wednesday Mar-10-2010 3:10:55 PST
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Grey Cashmere Pashmina Silk Scarf Shawl Wrap 180*75cm

US $4.48 (1 Bid)
End Date: Wednesday Mar-10-2010 3:23:06 PST
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2-ply SOFT Cotton/Pashmina/Shawl/Scarf = Red

US $4.98 (0 Bid)
End Date: Wednesday Mar-10-2010 3:24:39 PST
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Orange Gold Shiny Butterfly Pashmina Shawl Scarf 32#

US $7.48 (0 Bid)
End Date: Wednesday Mar-10-2010 3:32:48 PST
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RICH CREAM 100% PASHMINA SHAWL SCARF SHAWLS SCARVES NEW

US $7.48 (1 Bid)
End Date: Wednesday Mar-10-2010 4:18:45 PST
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Red Gold Shiny Patterned Pashmina Shawl Scarf Wrap 42#

US $10.47 (0 Bid)
End Date: Wednesday Mar-10-2010 4:22:46 PST
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2-ply SOFT Cotton/Pashmina/Shawl/Scarf = Black

US $4.98 (0 Bid)
End Date: Wednesday Mar-10-2010 4:28:52 PST
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BLACK 'AZAD' 2 PLY PASHMINA &SILK SHAWL WRAP SHAWLS NEW

US $22.46 (0 Bid)
End Date: Wednesday Mar-10-2010 4:34:16 PST
Buy It Now for only: US $25.46
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Pashmina/Wrap/Shawl/Scarf = Ocean Blue

US $7.68 (0 Bid)
End Date: Wednesday Mar-10-2010 4:35:10 PST
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SOFT SILKY PASHMINA SCARF-LT PURPLE -28" X 70--FRINGE

US $10.25
End Date: Wednesday Mar-10-2010 4:43:23 PST
Buy It Now for only: US $10.25
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SOFT SILKY PASHMINA SCARF YELLOW -28" X 70--FRINGE

US $10.25
End Date: Wednesday Mar-10-2010 4:44:09 PST
Buy It Now for only: US $10.25
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SOFT SILKY PASHMINA SCARF WHITE -28" X 70--FRINGE

US $10.25
End Date: Wednesday Mar-10-2010 4:44:52 PST
Buy It Now for only: US $10.25
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SOFT SILKY PASHMINA SCARF GOLD-28" X 70--FRINGE

US $10.25
End Date: Wednesday Mar-10-2010 4:45:46 PST
Buy It Now for only: US $10.25
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SOFT SILKY PASHMINA SCARF BURGUNDAY -28" X 70--FRINGE

US $10.25
End Date: Wednesday Mar-10-2010 4:46:23 PST
Buy It Now for only: US $10.25
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SOFT SILKY PASHMINA SCARF ROYAL BLUE-28" X 70--FRINGE

US $10.25
End Date: Wednesday Mar-10-2010 4:47:07 PST
Buy It Now for only: US $10.25
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2-ply SOFT Cotton/Pashmina/Shawl/Scarf = Blue

US $4.98 (0 Bid)
End Date: Wednesday Mar-10-2010 4:54:25 PST
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CA19PS Leopard Print Pashmina/Shawl/Scarf = Red

US $4.98 (0 Bid)
End Date: Wednesday Mar-10-2010 4:59:33 PST
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GOLD 2 TONE PASHMINA & SILK SHAWL SCARF WRAP SHAWLS NEW

US $19.47 (0 Bid)
End Date: Wednesday Mar-10-2010 5:08:36 PST
Buy It Now for only: US $20.96
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