Pashmina
 

I have seen these mentioned in quite a few threads regarding airplane travel. Where does one buy these? I live in California and had never heard of one. Is this something I must order online or does it have another name here in the US? Thanks for your help.

Pashminas (known, as far as I can tell, only by that name) were very "in" a few years ago.

A real pashmina is made from the underfur of Tibetan goats and is extremely expensive.

There are many knock-offs that call themselves pashminas.

If you google >pashmina<, you will find dozens of places that sell them online.

It's a cashmere/slik mix shawl. Even in California you should be able to get it in decent clothes shops - in Europe they cost pennies (well under 40usd)

If it's not something you normally wear, I'm not sure I'd recommend you get one for traveling. Depends on your style or fashion sense, but they look plain silly on me!

Depending on where you are traveling, you may find "fake" pashminas very inexpensivly in street stalls. We saw them in Paris, Florence and Venice. I love the fake pashmina I got for about 5 euro in Paris....it is super soft. Sometimes I wear it as a winter scarf, sometimes I wear it as a shawl and sometimes it is a table runner.

I've seen plenty of them in consignment shops - I guess as Eloise said, they were "in" a few years ago, so now they have made it to the consignment shops.

I don't wear shalls and that sort of thing - just doesn't work for me. Could be because I am short, so they just make me look like I am wandering around with my blankie - LOL.

You can just double them and loop them around your neck to keep warm in winter; you don't need to use them as a shawl. Mock "pashminas" are sold all over in NYC by street vendors; they are made from rayon or acrylic and cost $5. You will see them sold by street vendors in large European cities as well. As Eloise noted, these may be called "pashmina" but they are not the real thing, which would cost several hundred dollars. You can also find wool and wool-silk pashmina-type scarves in stores; again, these are a very different quality than the fakes sold on the streets. Airport shops often have nice versions for 60 Euro or so.

I have a few pashminas (of the mock kind) and have used them as scarves, shoulder covers, skirts, tops and, indeed, beach towels when all else is lost. Very versatile and for 5 euros, who is going to complain?

For J_Correa: love the "blankie" analogy. That's exactly what I'd feel like
:-)

Funny because I don't mind using sarongs/pareos in hot climates, which is kind of the same thing.

I have a black pashmina that I take with me folded up in a little square in my bag. It has saved me from freezing my arse off many times. Much better than lugging a jacket around. When you are freezing you don't mind looking a little silly to stay warm.

My boss replies:

A real pashmina shawl does not cost pennies. I bough my mother a pashmina shawl in Delhi; it cost $5,000.00, although it was hand embroidered.

The Devil wears pashmina.

I bought a real pashmina in Jaipur(I was told the only genuine pashminas are from Kashmir)

There are real "Pashminas" and synthetic ones. Often when we talk about Pashminas on here it covers everything from Pashminas, to shawls, to large wool blend scarves, to just about any type of Cape/Shawl/Pashmina thing-y. Basically a large warm cuddly scarf that can be worn all sorts of ways

They are all over California - I've see them in Macys, Nordstroms, Saks, JC Penneys, Claires, Neiman's, Sears and just about any other place you can name.

I have always loved scarves, and have many of them, including real cashmere, and a couple that cost 5 pounds off a street vendor in London. I was traveling in May and thought that it would be warm while in London, and I froze. I bought one off a street vendor one blustery chilly day.

I have since carried at least one on every trip I have made. My best friend laughs at me. While telling a travel story to another friend, I over heard him say "She is like Linus, and that blanket. She had it everywhere we went. It was a blanket, a pillow, a scarf a head wrap, and a thing around her bathing suit. I think it was her woobbie. But, you know she was the only one who was warm when we were all freezing."

laurenzo - There are plenty of pashminas in California... I have several. Go to Nordstrom - they have plenty to sell you.

I have found pashminas, large scarves and crochet ponchos remarkable in their ability to ward off a chill or a breeze at night. Since they are so lightweight, I usually pack two or three to wear with the dark outfits I favor when I travel.

Basically they are just shawls depending on your budget you can find them from Nordstroms to Robinson-May, Macys or TJ Maxx.
I'd never seen them called pashmina until I started coming to fodor's.

There seems to be quite a difference of opinion regarding Pashminas or their substitutes, knock-offs, or even made of different materials. It's my understanding they are always wool or wool/silk. I have three, black, camel and apple green, all came from Nordstrom (one from the rack which was half price--about $50.00). One of the three are always with me when I travel. Great on a plane and have worked well as a light wrap when I got chilly. They're great, don't leave home without one!

Laurenzo, I congratulate you on being able to avoid the Mad Pashmina Craze that went on for some time, a few years ago!
Perhaps in Çalifornia, they are not needed as much, although I seem to remember seeing a few photos of celebs wrapped in theirs in various locales.
I have one that is old and well loved, it goes on most flights with me, in place of those awful airline blankets, comes in sooo handy in many situations, most recently in Paris in March, a good scarf and a great shawl in drafty musems.
My son brought me a work of art pashmina from India, it is my new "blankie"...

partner bought a couple in the himalayas...£0.50 for a fake one and £10 for a real Tibetan one.

Hi laurenzo -

This site gives a decent explanation of the origin of Pashmina, a term that has become somewhat generic.

http://ask.yahoo.com/19991213.html

I've gathered quite a few "pashminas" over the years from the Middle East, Singapore and Malaysia (although I've certainly never needed one there!) and I even found a nice one at Sam's Club a few years back. They're available just about everywhere in a huge range of colors and quality.

I always feel like a Peruvian woman when I wear mine, but they're wonderful for travel and I always have one near at hand.

A while back Nieman Marcus had some truly beautiful pahsminas for sale. My mother and I went to try them on and they felt like they were made of spun sugar. Luckily, the colors were just not quite right because the price tag made me think that perhaps I was actually feeling spun gold.

I bought a lovely pashmina in Salzburg last year. We were there in May but I was chilly and was looking for a scarf. The closest thing I could find was a pashmina. I purchased one is a beautiful teal color, and the woman at the store was kind enough to show me how to "properly" wear it around my neck so it looked fashionable. I now use it all the time. I bring it with me on flights and often use it as an extra blanket if I get cold. Its also a great souvenir because its nice to think about Salzburg every time I pull it out.

Tracy

http://www.boutiquejewels.com/merchantpolicy.html

Try this link--it has good info and prices. Just bought one in Mocha and am plesed with it. It's very light and will come in handy on planes and chilly evenings.

I came late (as usual) to the pashmina bandwagon and bought my first this year in Vienna. I do like it a lot. I will probably get another one...or two...
a nice slection here (I like the watered pashmina and also the beaded) along with some background info:
http://www.mypashmina.co.uk/new/mypa...t_pashmina.htm

"sometimes it is a table runner"

missypie, this is so clever! i going to go home and do this now. love it!

tamara

With my mother and sister, we have 10 to 15 pashmina's in lots of different colors and qualities (and price ranges). I just love them! Especially the bright coloured ones, they can really spice up an outfit! The ones that don't have the wool/silk are not so warm though!

I usually wear them the fashionable way (folded double around the neck), but when it gets really chilly I don't care that I like a fool when I wrap them all around me. I have a very nice black one which I wear as a shawl with evening wear as well.

Please buy a fake one. Yhe real ones are, if not worn by the devil, the work of the devil.
(see National Geographics passim)

I have quite a few that I've picked up in Italy and France, but my fav is a cream colored one I bought in Rome a few years ago. I think I paid 15 euro for it, but it's so soft and wonderful to wrap around my neck or shoulders on a cold day. Can you wash these things, or should they be dry cleaned? - no washing instructions on it. I'm afraid if I dry clean it, it will never feel or smell the same way again, but I don't want to wash it and ruin it either. Hand wash in cold water?

Wow, thanks for all the replies! I guess I am not a fashion plate since I completely missed the fad! I will check at Ross, TJ Maxx, and the web links given. It looks like it would be nice for the plane ride without packing a bulky blanket. I am not a shawl person because I am short (I'm thinking the "blankie" reference) but used as a coevering, would be ok. I know if I go full cshmere I will arrive in Paris with a red nose from itching the whole time, so I will have to find a blend of something or another.

never leave home without one!! besides the "blankie" effect, they are perfect for:

covering shoulders when touring Italian churches

covering heads when touring mosques (not an absolute requirement, but still an appropriate sign of respect.)

Just for the heck of it, I searched ebay for "wool and silk pashmina" and found 118 offerings in Ebay stores, some at really good prices.

We were all freezing this past March in Venice, and my friend pulled a large black lightweight wrap from her bag, which warmed her considerably. I believe it was wool or cashmere and silk, and I thougt it was perfect. I want a black one.

I wear them all the time. I bought some chepaer ones in India and a nice silk one in pink to match a dress for an occasion. None are "real" cashmere but I did see many of various grades. Handmaiden (Thin's secretary!) you paid too much by Indian standards. The cheaper scratchier ones were from 70-150 or slightly more. Some were embroidered which yes brings uop the price but I think you paid way over the mark for it. Did you but in a shop?? or govt emporium? The best ones I have at the best price for quality were from Connaught place where at a shop I was taken upstairs and shown pashminas in silk, cotton, synthetic I think and cashmere (Embroidered and made in Kashmir). I have about 10 or so in different colours and they make a difference to any outfit or the cold to warm up a chilly night.

Pashmina is like Kashmir from goats that is produced in K=rhe Kasmir region of India. However the very expensive Pashmina's such as those worn by actors and the one's that some of the peopl on this site have purchasde fro thousand's of dollars are actaully from the Tibetan Antelope.

Do not buy them the antelope is endangered because of this trade. The hair is not cut from them but f animals are actually killed to make each piece of clothing. It is a despicable act to do this for nothing more than a fashion item.

Before buying ask if it is from the Tibetan Antelope and do not buy. Many times they give a story of how it is pulled from the underhai but it is a lie.

David J

I am from India, so just wanted to point out to David that the ones that are banned now (made of the Tibetian Antelope fur) are called Toosh and not Pashmina. Original pashminas cost about USD 600 (plain) in India and much more for the embroidered ones. I am amazed by how loosely the pharase 'pashmina' is used now and how fakes are everywhere.

David, as an animal lover I'm glad you posted that. It makes me happy that my "pashmina" is a fake. I do believe it cost me all of fifteen euros when I bought it in Salzburg last year!

Tracy

Deepa thank you for this information. I have a small question for you: On trips to India I often admired what were called "ring" shawls with threads so fine that the whole scarf could be drawn through the ring on one's finger. Does this phrase indicate the fineness of the weave or is the term used interchangeably with any fine pashmina or cashmere-silk scarf? Would it be accurate to say that pashmina is a very fine form of cashmere? Thanks so much!

I'll chime in and say that I agree "pashmina" now generically just refers to a really large cashmere blend scarf that measures around 25" wide and maybe 45" long.

You double it width-wise and it works like a scarf or as a shawl worn right at the edge or below bare shoulders. Coming from California, I had no idea how to make a pashmina "work" and I looked like a homeless person with a blanket wrapped around me. Go to a website and learn several different ways on how to wear a scarf. This might sound hilarious to people in cold weather climates but I really had no idea how to properly wear a scarf until I moved to Chicago. I just literally hung or tied them around my neck at first and they looked messy and often unwrapped while I was walking. I love pashminas and scarves now -- unless you're travelling in winter I would go with a thinner pashmina (2 or 4 ply) which is more versatile and easier to work with. The ones at Nordstroms in Cali are probably not the thicker cashmere you find in colder climates. Definitely check out TJ Maxx, Marshalls, and Ross, see what you can find. And then find a website on scarves to figure out different ways to tie it - you'll look instantly fabulous. Don't spend a fortune -- you'll find tons of these inexpensive scarves in a dizzying array of colors throughout Europe (and NYC Chinatown, etc.)

ekscrunchy; the type of shawl you mention is called a shatoosh, made out of cashmere of a certain kind of goat, and is I believe illegal now in most countries.

Thanks, Tulips..that is what I thought I'd remembered. A number of years ago a New York Socialite, the late Nan Kempner, got into some kind of (minor) trouble about importing a shahtoosh shawl in to the US. I suppose anything can be called a ring shawl, even if it is made of acrylic, as long as you can draw it though a ring.