What is Pashmina?

Pashmina is the art of handcrafting the finest cashmere wool into luxury scarves, shawls, wraps, and other opulent accessories. Pashmina has always been a term used for elegant, colorful, handwoven cashmere shawls, scarves, etc. Pashmina is derived from the Urdu word ‘Pashm’ which means ‘wool’ in Persian. Pashmina fabric is known for its fineness, warmth, softness, desirable aesthetic value, and timelessness in fashion.

Pure Pashmina is the most luxurious fiber and commands a higher price among all-natural fibers. The Pashmina word itself sounds royal as it belongs to the most ancient times, an honor among kings, the Pashmina has been the sign of elite and power for centuries, known to have been exchanged as gifts among royals. The finesse and finery of the shawl became a symbol of high prestige.

Dating back to about 3000 BCE, the art of weaving the threads of Pashmina has been a part of the culture of Kashmir Valley. Pashmina originated in Kashmir, India has been recognized all around the world. It is traced back to ancient texts that Pashmina in various writings dated from the 3rd century BCE to the 11th century CE. In the local Indian market, Zain Ul Abidin, the 15th-century king of Kashmir, popularized the Pashmina wool and its products.

What is Cashmere?

Cashmere also comes from goats that are found in the Himalayan regions of Kashmir, India. But unlike pashmina, cashmere fabric isn’t exclusive to a specific type of goat, rather it can be taken from various types of goats found in the peak Himalayan range, especially in Kashmir. Cashmere wools have been harvested from these goats for centuries.

Cashmere is a term introduced by Europeans. The term Cashmere was influenced by the region where it originated centuries ago and the place is Kashmir, India; as the foreigners could not pronounce “Kashmir” as the locals did. Cashmere was a new term for Kashmiri locals, but it gained prominence in Europe, as the Cashmere wool products had introduced the next level of luxury and comfort in the fashion market.

What’s the Difference Between Cashmere and Pashmina?

As previously mentioned, pashmina and cashmere both refer to fabric made from the fur of goats. The difference, however, lies in the specific goat that the fur is harvested from. Pashmina is a type of cashmere, but all cashmere isn’t pashmina.

Cashmere is fine wool normally 15–18 microns in diameter, which can easily go through by a machine. Hence, you can easily find it in the market, being sold in the name of Pashmina. Cashmere products can also impress you very well as long as you got the pure Cashmere products but it’s not as fine as the Pure Pashmina products.

Pashmina is a luxury wool generally 11–14 microns in diameter, which cant go through by machine, it can only be handwoven. A pure Pashmina can’t be a machine-made product. If it’s made on the machine then it will be called Cashmere because while processing in the machine it will lose the luxury texture that makes it an authentic Pashmina shawl.

The process of transforming Cashmere into Pashmina products is the difference between the two fabrics. While Cashmere is the fine wool that grows on the body of the Changthangi goat in the Ladakh area in India. Pashmina is the name given to the art of transforming it. The transformation of Cashmere wool into luxury shawls, scarves, stoles, or wraps is an art, and people who are experts in this art are called ‘Artisans’ or Pashmina Artisans.

Authentic Pashmina clothes have been known for its traditional richness in fashion for centuries. It’s an absolute pride to carry a tradition of ancient Indian luxury fashion. The Pure Pashmina stoles, shawls, scarves, and other Pashmina products are handwoven on wooden looms using the finest cashmere fiber. An expert Pashmina artisan spends on average 3-5 days weaving one genuine Pashmina product. All original Pashmina products are extremely lightweight & warm, it can beautify any outfit by adding luxury and exclusivity.

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Changthang, 170 km from Leh, is home to Changpas (The Changpa or Champa are a semi-nomadic Tibetan people found mainly in the Changtang in Ladakh, India), who rear the Pashmina goat. Men pinned down one goat at a time, and the method of getting Pashmina begins by combing out the fleece. The latter degreased, cleaned, carded, and spun the fiber for local production of shawls, while the Kashmiris took the unprocessed fibers, preferring to refine and spin fine yarn in the Valley for conversion into high-quality cashmere fabric. This wool has a thousand years of history of being woven into shawls & blankets and is praised for its exquisite softness, long life, warmth, and beauty.

All steps, starting from combing out of the fleece of Changthangi goats to separating individual fibers, hand spinning it from fiber to yarn, then the entire weaving process & dyeing & finally the intricate embroidery is traditionally carried out by specialized craftsmen and women.

Pashmina weaving has always been a very laborious artwork. The artisans are the one who makes these Pashmina products exceptionally pleasant and unique. The hand embroideries of Pashmina belong to families that have learned, taught & passed on the art through generations. The art of weaving is the turning point in the journey of a Pashmina. It transforms the Cashmere yarn into the finest Pashmina Shawls, Pure Pashmina Stoles, Scarves, Throws, etc.

A weaver carefully mounts the yarn over his traditional wooden handloom and starts weaving with a harmonious effort of his hand and foot. It takes anywhere from 3 days to 2 weeks to finish weaving one pashmina scarf, pashmina wrap, or Pashmina Shawl.

Pashmina outfits are much valued by the people. But rarely do we see someone paying attention to the hardworking Kashmiri weavers who do the job meticulously of collecting the discarded wool of a special variety of goat, then hand spinning and hand weaving them. The charm they create with their hands produces Pashmina which has a remarkable power of emphasizing the beauty of any cloth which is worn with it. The weaving of Pashmina has given a golden opportunity to the people, especially women to prosper in their life as they have got an open stage to perform of their own as employed and independent women.

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Pashmina fashion products are a centuries-old Luxury Fashion statement, dating back to about 3000 BCE, the art of weaving the threads of Pashmina has been a part of the culture of Kashmir Valley. Pashmina originated in Kashmir, India has been recognized all around the world. It is traced back to ancient texts that Pashmina in various writings dated from the 3rd century BCE to the 11th century CE. In India, Zain Ul Abidin, the 15th-century king of Kashmir, popularized the Pashmina wool and its products. As a prince, he became highly inclined towards the handloom industry and handcraft during his stay in Samarkand.  

The Pashmina wool industry also flourished during the Mughal reign as the Mughal rulers were great admirers of art and patronized art. Mughal emperor Akbar was such an admirer of the shawls that he introduced the concept of dushala (double weaving so that both sides of the shawl can be used) and exported it to the Ottoman empire around the 16th century. 

The French general and emperor Napoleon Bonaparte was so fascinated by it that he gifted quite a few of those to his wife Josephine who made it a style statement for the European royalty. The present scenario of pashmina is it enhances the modern style with its unique and traditional form.

The journey of every single thread of your favorite Pashmina cloth is proof of the centuries-old history of Indian luxury fashion that ruled the heart of fashion lovers with luxury and royal taste in fashion. All authentic pashmina products are completely handwoven by the traditionally expert artisans with the finest cashmere fiber from the Changthangi goats of the Himalayas. Pashmina clothing products and accessories are incredibly lightweight & warm and they can beautify the appearance of any wardrobe by adding luxury and exclusivity.  

Expert artisans with the finest cashmere fiber from the Changthangi goats of the Himalayas, primarily black-colored threads. A Pashmina artisan spends 6-8 days weaving one Full Zari Double Sided Stole, which can be used from either side. At Luxury Pashmina, we make sure that all individual products are handpicked and checked for authenticity so that you get the most authentic and best of the luxury fashion tradition.

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0. Never expose Pashmina to extreme sunlight or direct heat as it can damage the cloth’s texture.

​​1. Airing your Pashmina clothes periodically, preferably once a month will keep them fresh and durable. 

2. Letting Pashminas rest for approximately 24 hours gives natural resilience and spring to the wool fibers and will also help them recover and return to their original shape. 

3. Pashmina doesn’t necessarily require ironing. Iron it in wool or very low heat, and always remember to iron it on top of a cotton sheet. Using steam while pressing is highly recommended. 

4. Avoid using the drier, if your Pashmina gets wet accidentally. Hang them at room temperature, but keep them away from direct sunlight.

5. We recommend using individual storage cotton bags to store Pashmina clothes, it can prevent them from dampness and guard them against bugs.

6. Dry clean is always recommended and a safe solution if you are not confident in hand wash

Luxury Pashmina hand wash tips:

We always recommend doing dry cleaning of Pashmina clothes. However, hand washing it, occasionally at home is the even better option but only if you can manage to be extremely careful. Some of the key points to hand wash Pashmina clothes are as follows:

• Wash in cold water using mild detergent (It is best to invest in a Cashmere shampoo).
• Detergent must be dissolved completely before putting pashmina in water.
• Do not twist during washing.
• Simply lay it flat to dry, do not wring dry.
• Hang it un-bunched to loosen the wrinkles.

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