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According to the Oxford English Dictionary, pashm, from the Persian word for "wool," refers to the underfur of certain Tibetan animals, particularly goats, commonly used for the making of shawls. We used a print edition of the esteemed dictionary, since an online edition won't be available until next year. In contrast, pashmina, as we've seen it on the Internet and in fashion magazines and mail-order catalogs, is a textile blend of silk and cashmere. Oddly enough, it's a word which doesn't appear in the usual online dictionaries, or even in our Webster's. And yet, if you search for "pashmina" on Yahoo!, you'll find a host of sites offering pashmina shawls and
scarves --in fact, pashmina seems to be this year's trendiest fashion fabric. Most of the information we were able to find comes from merchants selling pashmina products, so we had to read between the lines of copy, the alluring color charts, and lovely images for accurate information. The pashmina we see on the Web and in local stores is usually a 80/20, 70/30 or even a 50/50 blend of cashmere and silk respectively. This is said to produce a strong yet supple, lightweight, luxurious wrap for evening or day-time wear. Most vendors claim that the wool in their pashmina is produced by
very special Himalayan goats. Cashmere refers to the fine wool from the undercoat of these Kashmir goats -- we get the idea that pashmina is the crème de la crème of cashmere. An article called "Suddenly in Style: Pashmina" turned up on a Google search and seems to offer the definitive scoop. This jewel-toned, single-ply, must-have accessory is crafted in the mountains of India and Nepal, where pashmina goat hairs are combined with silk to create a yarn with "durability and luster" and a heavenly feel.
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