Pashmina – The Fabric That Weaves Luxury

 

India is so rich in its heritage and culture that its length and breadth is unfathomable. Equally unique is its art, handicraft, textile industry, prints, embroidery, fabrics etc. From time-to-time, it is worth reflecting into the treasures of this country. One such treasure is the Pashmina fabric – exotic, luxurious, super soft and extremely cosy.

Pashmina, also known as Pashm is fine cashmere wool that comes from Kashmir in India and few parts of Nepal. The word ‘Pashmina’ finds its roots in Persian word ‘Pashmineh’ which means ‘made from Pashm’, and Pash in Persian means wool. It was the Iranians, who came to India via Ladakh into Kashmir giving the word ‘Pashmina’ to this fabric.

The wool actually comes from Changthangi goat or a Pashmina goat, a special breed of goats peculiar to the higher altitude of the Himalayan region of India and Nepal. The internationally renowned Pashmina shawls are made from the fine fibres of Pashm wool. 

Variety of Pashmina

Overall, the cashmere wool produced in the Gobi Desert is considered to be better than the Himalayan variant. However, the Pashmina has two major variants – the Ladakh Pashmina and Nepal Pashmina.

Deemed as the most luxurious fabric, the wool from Nepalese mountain goats is considered finest because over the years the goat adapted to the harsh climatic conditions which evolved its wool to be exceptionally warm, yet light in weight.

The extremely cold conditions of these terrains helped the goats to develop an incredibly soft pashm which is unique.  It is six times finer than the human hair and because of its finesses, it can’t be machine spun. So, the wool is delicately hand-woven into cashmere fabric which is then hand woven into products like scarves, shawls, stoles, suit fabric and wraps.

With the onset of winters, owning a Pashmina product becomes more of necessity than luxury. So if you intend to buy authentic Pashmina suits or fabric online, then take care to buy it from authentic websites only. A lot of duplicities is available in the market. Wish Alley is one such website which offers authentic Pashmina suits and Kurtis in their ethnic wear section.

Most important is Fabric Care

It is easy to buy Pashmina fabric, but tricky to preserve it.  Just remember that if proper care is taken then products made from cashmere wool can last years. The quality of good cashmere products is that with every wash it tends to get softer and more luxurious.

Dry clean the fabric most of the time. But if you want to give it a hand wash – be gentle and use a good woollen fabric detergent and softener. It highly recommends giving Pashmina fabric a hand washing first time. This ensures that the fabric doesn’t lose its sheen by bleeding the natural vegetable dyes or colour. After giving a gentle wash, leave the fabric to dry on a flat surface in shade.

 

 

Author Bio: –

Mridu is a fashion aficionado, woman entrepreneur and founder of Wish Alley brand. It is a popular brand in Indian Ethnic Wear segment with the aim to bring the finest and the grandest of Indian Ethnic Fashion’s plush varieties. Wish Alley is redefining traditional Indian prints and fabrics to design the best of contemporary ethnic fashion.

Visit www.wishalley.com or check out their Facebook page (www.facebook.com/WishAlley) to see ethnic-inspired authenticity, the magnificence of India’s hidden treasure and the beauty of traditional aesthetics.