By Keira Collin
What is Cashmere?
A cashmere scarf wrapped around your shoulder makes you feel luxuriously warm and gives a classy aura. Cashmere is finer than any other wool. It is obtained from the mountain goat that is found in the plateaus of Gobi Desert. However, now this goat is bred all over the world. The wool is rare, so it is special and expensive.
Despite the price, people don’t mind paying for it as it is considered an exquisite accessory. They’ve been used by people for different purposes all over the world. It is an important accessory of every woman as they can wear it in any form they want. However, be cautious of all kinds of cashmere as they’re all not of the same quality. Take your time to read the label to check if it’s mixed material or pure cashmere.
Oats & Rice is a textile brand that provides hand-woven rugs from Tibet and pure cashmere scarves from Mongolia. The founder of the company learned weaving techniques in Japan and Tibet introduced her with the traditional culture. Her experience has given her tremendous knowledge about textiles and therefore all her products are perfect. All the craftsmen excel in weaving, spinning, yarning, etc. and their experience has been continued for generations.
Identify Real Cashmere
As said above, Cashmere is rare as well as expensive, therefore not everyone can buy the fibre to make a woollen scarf or shawl. Many companies claim to have real cashmere products, but actually, they’re all fake.
Therefore, it is wise to follow these few tips to know how to identify real cashmere –
- Cashmere products feel soft on the skin and it has insulated air pockets that circulate the air keeping you warm in winters if the product is slight itchy or you sweat then it isn’t real cashmere. To test its softness, you can gently rub it on your cheek which is the softest part of your body.
- The authentic cashmere product will have a label stating it is 100% cashmere which is a law. However, fake companies might skip the label which proves it’s unreal.
- Cashmere products are woven in diamond patterns which are similar to Shahtoosh, but cashmere has a larger scale.
- Cashmere is a natural fibre, and therefore it doesn’t shine or reflects light, but is light in weight. Anything that shines when you lift it to the light, it has to contain silk in it.
- Cashmere products are always expensive, but unauthentic cashmere products that contain silk synthetic material will be less expensive.
- Cashmere scarf and shawls have long fringes that can be tired into a knot or braided. However fake cashmere shawls can have small or no fringes.
- Wiggle a cashmere product into your palm and then leave. If it leaves wrinkles on the product, then it surely not an authentic product.
- The burning test is only done in the lab as you may not know the actual way of doing it, but in labs, they burn the cashmere thread. If it shrinks and smells like hair, then it is authentic, otherwise artificial cashmere will continue to burn and smell like burned plastic.
You can find quality scarves in many outlets. You can also get certain discounts if you buy a cashmere scarf and shawls in the offseason. Just be careful and remember to buy it from a reputable store to get great quality.
