My husband brought a Shahtoosh home from India, back in the 60s. It is as fine as a cobweb, and ridiculously warm.
Here is what Wikipedia says:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shahtoosh

I bought one in Venice in one of the shops around San Marco. It's a beautiful burnt orange color, which works quite well with my red hair.

Not pashima but Ring shawls were famous in Ireland for years. One was given this as a special present.

It was often given by a groom to his bride as a present on their wedding day. It was passed through her new wedding ring for good luck

What a great wedding legend! Thanks, everyone. I must admit I brought home many shawls of different types and qualities from trips to India but the embroidered ones (not pashmina, just fine wool), have rested, largely undisturbed, on my closet shelves for more years than I care to divulge!

The generic term used in India for what is called 'Pashmina' everywhere is 'shawl'. So when you leave the house in the winters you just check if you taken your 'shawl' along. Casual ones are made of just wool or mixed fabrics. More formal ones are made of Pashmina wools (even these are called pashmina shawls and not just pashmina and come from Kashmir)and are embriodered on the borders or all over. The warmest and lightest are the Shatooshes which are able to pass through a ring. These are now illegal. If any of you is going to India I will happy to give you the details of my 'shawl guy' in Delhi. :-)

Deepa Can you pass the details. I am going back for work hopefulliy in a few months and Delhi is on my agenda. Thanks S

Sorry for the delayed response Siobhan but have been busy packing for my holiday. I leave today. Send me an email at [email protected] and I will send you the details which I will get from my mum in India. It maytake me a few weeks to respond though. Hope you are not going before AUgust.

Siobhan, IMO, the mother load for pashmina and other fine quality shawls in Dehli is Ahujasons. Very well known and respected in India and elsewhere. Located in a virtually non-touristed part of New Delhi called Karol Bagh full of shops. Be prepared to spend some time looking at their myriad selection and bargaining.

Ahujasons Sahwlwale Pvt Ltd
6/444, W.E.A., Ajmal Khan Road
Karol Bagh, New Delhi
Phone :91-11-25720304
Fax :91-11-25757149

Also, for fixed price but a bit lower quality, try the wonderful handicrafts emporium near Connaught Place. they have lots of other stuff like souvenirs and great table linens and ridiculously low prices.

Central Cottage Industries Emporium
Jawahar Vyapar Bhawan
Janpath, New Delhi
Tel. : 23725035
Fax : 91-11-3328354

A friend recently asked me to buy her a shawl from Venice. I think she might have meant a Pashmina, not a knitted shawl as I was thinking. She said she saw them in a store the last time she was there and there were shelves and shelves of every colour. The store near San Marco could be the place I need to go. Any suggestions as to where it is or what it is called?

In Venice if you're facing the basilica, the shop is on the right side almost to the end. They have every price range and color.

sorry, it's almost to the end closest to the basilica, on the right

The pashmina was mentioned quite a few times a few weeks ago.......I know it is an article of clothing, however I got the impression that people often took them on the overnight flights to keep warm on the plane.(like a nice clean lightweight blanket!)
Sounds pretty multipurpose to me, lightweight, and even used when NOT flying (in order to keep warm).
Would they HAVE to be cashmere or cashmere blend........?

the shop I'm describing does. Mine is 100% cashmere and is quite large.

I misread your comment. I thought you were asking if the shop would have cashmere, not would it have to be cashmere. It may not be an authentic pashmina if it's not cashmere, I'm not sure. Just get whatever blend you like and don't worry about it.

Missypie, you are so hilarious! And yet so resourceful!

My boss got me a beautiful bright blue pashmina scarf, which I must admit is warm, but it is a real bright blue. Not to be ungrateful, but I have used it as a table runner (and thought I was the only one). The stark color against my white tablecloth is stunning! :D

Well
I have been a fashion designer for a few years now and I can tell you that the Real Pashminas are not the ones that are sold on the street.
Those are nice but are not real.
The real pashmina is very expensive they can cost hundreds of dollars because of the materials and the hand loom.
I love the way they feel and they are just wonderful.
They can be worn in many ways!
Just have fun with it.
I also design shawls in other wonderful materials if anyone is interested in finding out more about that!

A lot of people call rayon scarves/shawls pashminas, but they aren't. Those are the cheap kind you find sold on street corners in many large cities for 5-10 euro or so. They aren't pashmina, which does have to be cashmere (or very fine wool from some Himalyana goat) to really be that. They are just large rayon scarves, or some might have some silk in them. Not the kind you find sold on street corners, though, I think those are always rayon.

If you just want something warm on a flight, it doesn't matter, and a cheap one is fine.

But what you like.
Pure pashmina is a rather gauzy, open weave, as the wool cannot tolerate high tension. The most popular pashmina fabric is a 70% pashmina/30% silk blend, but 50/50 is also common. The 70/30 is tightly woven, has an elegant sheen and drapes nicely, but is still quite soft and light-weight.
I have one that is made by Loro Piano but it is not shatooz and slides through a ring.

Rats! I just put a bid on one on Ebay, but it is 90/10. The price and color are right, but if I get outbid, Ill try for a 70/30.

does anyone know what SETA is? Mine shows 45% SETA and 55% cashmere.

never mind..didn't realize that is was Italian for silk...

Based on information on this travel site I recently purchased my first "pashmina" for my upcoming trip from Bloomingdals.

This one obviously has a silk blend and therefore has that silk smell to it which I dislike. Any suggestions on how to get rid of that smell? I can actualy smell it a few feet away and I wouldn't want to disturb other passengers on my flight who may find it stinky!

Thanks,
Happy trails,
Aranda

Maybe try putting it in a box w/ some sachets that aren't in contact with it so it won't stain. Try that for a few days. You probably can't do a fabric spray. I will be curious to see what others suggest too :)

Aranda ..... If Bloomie's is nearby, I would return it. I've found that if something displeases me right after I purchase it, smell, feel, fit, etc.. no matter what I do with it, it will end up in a drawer or shelf and will never be used.

One I something smells bad to me, no matter what I do, I can never forget that smell.

There are many others to choose from. For me at least, thicker warmer scarves have to have that 'blankie' feeling right off the bat. Smaller silk or acrylic scarves are just accessories and don't have to meet that requirement.

Nina

I bought a beautiful Tommy Bahama silk shirt a few years ago and had the same problem with the smell. I would open my closet and think something had died. It made me nauseous when I tried to wear it even after repeated washings and a visit to the dry cleaner didn't improve the smell either. I gave it to a friend who didn't find the smell offensive.

I've always used scarves, shawls and pareos as accessories on my body as well as on furniture. So Pashminas aren't new to me, but the finess of the fabric as Shahtoosh is new to me. And sure enough my pashmina received from a friend, about 30/years ago, is just that, a Shahtoosh.

Just checked with the friend who had brought it back for me as a gift from his travels in India or thereabouts; sure enough when there were no restrictions he did bring a few of these home with him. I always marveled at the finest of the fabric/cloth/weave and the fact that it did fit through a ring.

If it were today, though unlikely to receive such a gift with the restrictions, and being an endangered species, I'd decline the gesture.

There are just too many options available in cashmere, blends, and a wide range of prices, I can buy my own. They're a great option over an airline blanket.

Thanks Sandi, Mileaday and Laurenzo, I think I'll take Nina's advice and return it. I just have to find one that doesn't have that silk smell to it.

Any suggestions?

Aranda

Why don't you just go to NM and buy a Loro Piana cashmere shawl? They are only $1400. A steal.

Christine,
Handmaiden of Thingorjus

I bought a wonderful Cruciani cashmere scarf in Italy, so light, so soft, so warm, only to lose it last year at a Trader Joes! See if you can buy a Cruciani, you will love it.

Try not to get one with silk added, imho it makes it stiffer, pure pashmina is luxury!

I was surprised to see they were selling some kind of shawl, rolled up, in a nice fabric and pattern, inexpensively at the shops by the gates at SeaTac (Seattle, WA) airport last week!

I returned the smelly pashmina and I am now looking for one without a silk content.

Hopefully, I'll find one before my trip in October.

Thanks everyone,
Aranda

ATTENTION: REVIVING OLD THREAD.

I am so not into fashion. Are these in or out? Would having a cheap one be a versatile item for warmth, sitting on in a park, etc?

They're still selling the fake ones in Europe. Many souvenir shops and vendors have them. I think they're great. I used one I just bought last week to keep warm tonight. I wrapped it around my neck. I thought if I was cold in church I could wrap it around my shoulders. I have tons of them at home. Don't wear them often but I love them.

They're not terribly warm and won't replace a jacket or sweater but if you need something over your shoulders if it gets chilly they're great. When I get hot I take it off and stuff it in my purse or pack.

I wouldn't sit on one since might get dirty and they don't wash well. The best thing I know of for sitting on is a laminated Street Wise (or similar) map. It's a map when you need a map and it wards off the cold from stone or marble or a damp bench.

Neiman Marcus has real pashimas and you can find them on line.
I have one that I use for travel. It keeps me warm and I do wash it.

Here's a description of what it is and how to take care of it. All sold as pashimas are not always true.

http://www.thepashminastore.com/articles.asp?id=123

They're still "in" where I live, worn often as scarves in the fall and spring. I got a few (very fake) ones in London last year for something like £3 each, and I wear them all the time. Just be careful if you get the cheap ones, though; mine snag on things (one has several snags from the velcro on my warmest jacket - my mistake), and the first time I washed them (on gentle) the jewel tones bled really badly. Not sure how the real ones hold up under the same treatment, but for the price and the look, I don't mind. :)