IS PASHMINA PULLING THE WOOL OVER OUR EYES?
by Nancy Kelley
Pashmina is the current buzzword of the fashion industry and
this season’s must have for the status seekers. The pashmina wrap is now regarded as
an essential component of the modern woman’s wardrobe. A simple shawl costs $500.00
and can be found popping up everywhere…from Nieman Marcus to ebay.com, in fashion
magazines and on celebrities.
Pashmina is the finest wool shorn from the soft undercoat (neck
and belly) of Himalayan mountain goats. Touted to be lighter, softer and finer than
cashmere, pashmina has a texture so fine "it is the fiber equivalent of
meringue" according to Veronica Chambers of Newsweek magazine. Designer Gabriele
Sanders, known for her embroidered pashmina shawls says, "pashmina makes regular
cashmere feel like cardboard." The feather light fiber is extraordinarily soft and
light, yet exceptionally warm.
Discovered by the fashion world only in the past year, pashmina
has been a status symbol in the East for hundreds of years. In India and Nepal, a pashmina
blanket was an essential component of a wealthy woman’s dowry. Shawls and blankets
woven from pashmina wool have been adored for centuries in the Far East. And like other
things rarefied and Eastern, it’s been translated eagerly into Western decadence.
But according to Karl Spilhaus, president of Boston’s
Cashmere and Camel Hair Manufacturers Institute, "Pashmina is just
cashmere…there’s no difference. Pashmina is simply the Indian word for
cashmere." He contributes all the hype to the aggressive marketing of pashmina.
Spilhaus stresses that the better made pashminas are not rip-offs at all: "A good
quality cashmere shawl is worth very dime you pay for it, and it will last you a
lifetime."
Kenneth Langley, professor of textile sciences at the University
of Massachusetts, agrees with Spilhaus. "Cashmere fibers have a unique appearance
under the microscope…and pashmina fibers look exactly like cashmere fibers."
Langley also says pashmina wool does not just come from the neck and belly. He claims the
fibers are combed from the goat when they are molting. "You obviously get as much as
you can, and do not pick a place."
The pashmina shawl trend has sparked an interest in shawls of
all descriptions. The pashmina shawls are versatile, all-season pieces that may be worn
over a bare or sleeveless dress on a cool summer night, with a suit in the fall, and with
a coat in winter. The shawl can be wrapped around the upper body and worn as you would a
jacket. The can be worn as a muffler around the neck or wrapped at the waist. Pashmina is
often blended with silk, which sound more luxurious, but is not as good. It does make it
lighter, but also makes it cheaper.
In fact there is something even more luxurious than
pashmina…but it’s illegal. It is called shahtoosh, and it comes from the fur of
a chiru, an endangered Tibetan antelope. A pure shahtoosh wrap is sometimes called a ring
scarf because it is so fine and delicate that a whole shawl can easily be slipped through
a wedding ring. It is also touted to be warm enough to hatch a pigeon’s egg. To clip
the hair, hunters kill the animal. An estimated three to five chirus are killed for each
shawl. It is illegal to buy or sell shahtoosh under the U.N.Convention on International
Trade in Endangered Species.
References:
Chambers, Veronica. Newsweek, May 11, 1998 "Passion for
Pashmina"
Chambers, Veronica. Newsweek, October 7, 1999 "Now, This
Should Get Your Goat"
White, Jackie. The Tennessean, January 2, 2000 "The Frill
is Back"
