Pashmina wool is a high-quality material known for its luxurious feel and incredible warmth. However, knockoff vendors are quick to take advantage of the popularity of this fabric. When shopping for a pashmina wool shawl, it is crucial to have the knowledge to spot a genuine shawl from a fake.
Check the Fabric
The pashmina sheep wool fibres originate from the soft under coats of mountain Himalayan goats. Actually, these fibres are highly delicate as well as hair-like, making it feel very silky and smooth when you run your fingers across them. It is leak-free and comfortable to wear. You can take the fabric between your fingers – does it feel like silk or other luxury fabric? Real pashmina is usually very soft on the skin when compared to fake pashminas which tend to feel coarse or scratchy.
Examine the weave. If the pashmina shawl are genuine, their weave is narrow and high quality. Whether the fabric is clear of light or not will depend on the quality of pashmina – best ones should be quite opaque. If the cloth is seen on the taut side or if light is streaming through it, it could be a fake weave.
East Meet West: Sewing
It was decided that every hand-made pashmina shawl must have a hem, which is embroidered from all 4 sides of the shawl. Carefully observe the embroidery using a magnifying glass if so required. Is it the seams being very neat, uniform and regular? Poor quality of machine embroidery is usually characterised by the uneven and sloppy stitches which give it an incomplete look. Nevertheless, be mindful of the detail that all the pashminas have stitched edges. TCG London’s online website provides these high-quality pashmina shawl with carefully embroidered hems.
Check for Frayed Edges
On the one hand, the pashmina of genuine quality should not unravel having these finely made edges. Check the shawl for loose threads and fraying edge stitches of the fabric by examining all sides of it. This could also be a hint that this suggests lower quality materials were used. Be careful when buying the shawl which sellers may manipulate by folding or rolling the edges of the shawl itself to hide the frayed edges.
Burn Test
One of the most basic methods you can utilise to bring a little bit of certainty to confirm the authenticity of pashmina is performing a burn test. Take a small thread, yarn or ribbon, from the same colour fabric. Light it on fire with a lighter or match and observe how it burns:Light it on fire with a lighter or match and observe how it burns:
– A natural pashmina wool should react to flame immediately by curling away from it and self-extinguishing itself with a short while once the igniting flame is extinguished.
– Artificial pashmina made from synthetics can continue burning slowly at its own pace or can begin to melt into a gooey ball of molten plastic as it continues to burn.
Do not forget to perform a burn test, but please, be very careful and make the venue properly vented!
Country of Origin
Naturally, authentic pashmina shawl that are made in Bhutan or Indian Kashmir are quite popular. See if the labels say where the product is made. Look for stamps, package paperwork or labels carefully. Take care with pashminas called to be from other countries because it is very difficult to find another country quite like it.
Price
Authentication doesn’t imply the high cost, but the brands of truly handmade shawls are usually really expensive. The price of the hand-knitted pashmina ranges from $80-$300+ and this greatly depends on the quality and the possible embroideries. If something is priced way lower than what is expected for a particular fabric or design, it’s probably a knock-off.
Purchase from Reputable Sellers
The safest thing you can do is to shop at reputable pashmina wool shawl retailers like TCG London and visit their websites that deal in cashmere and finest wool sales. Because trustworthy stores need to protect their reputation from bad image, they must check every product sold to ensure its authenticity.
Not only, carefully check the pashmina wool shawls when buying from street vendors, unknown websites or undeterminable sellers which are not able to be authentic. Prolonged fame and recognition attract fakers and opportunists who pretend to be the original designer
Trust Your Instincts
You discover the difficulty of telling them apart using your head and hand, after holding them for a while, you may be able to tell real pashmina from its common counterparts. Feel the amazing finesse and velvety softness of 100% pashmina wool, by handling many samples as you choose a pashmina shawl, scarf, stole, etc. Follow what your feeling tells you – if your gut says that you are holding something that you surely do, then it would be the most realistic item that you can acquire.
