What is Pashmina? Seven Tests for the Real Pashmina

By Steven Carlson

What is pashmina? Most of you see sold as 'pashmina' is just a pale imitiation of the real thing. And that's a shame. Not only are the majority of pashmina shoppers wasting their money, but most of them don't even know what they're missing.

The word pashmina has become so devalued in modern usage that many people think it simply means a fancy kind of scarf. What they don't know, and what you're about to learn, is that pashmina is one of the world's truly rare and authentic luxury fabrics.

This guidebook offers seven tests that the discerning shopper can use to judge the quality of a given fabric. These are simple tests that can be applied right in the store, before money has even changed hands. With just a little practice, even the beginner will soon be able to identify up to 95% of the pashmina imitations and lower quality fabrics on the market.

The author, Steven Carlson, spent several months traveling thousands of miles through Asia researching the information presented in this guide. This work involved purchasing pashmina samples in local markets, as well as interviewing dozens of merchants and textile experts.

In writing this guide, Mr Carlson received invaluable assistance from David Muir, an American textile designer who spent more than 20 years in India and Nepal, learning his craft from local master weavers. Subsequently, Mr Muir set up a workshop in Kathmandu, Nepal where he creates the highest quality of pashmina fabrics with a team of local weavers.

The information presented in the Seven Tests is common knowledge among textile experts and afficianados. However, it has never before been compiled and presented in a simple, straightforward manner for the discerning shopper.

The guidebook includes photographs that illustrate each of the seven tests for pashmina quality. The language of the guide is simple and description, which enables the reader to quickly grasp and apply the concepts being presented.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Steven Carlson
• Release date: Mar 8, 2012
• ISBN: 9781466062535

Steven Carlson

Steven Carlson attempted to escape the digital world by fleeing to Southeast Asia in Winter 2011. There, he was delighted to discover a sensual world of objects, textures, tastes, colors and scents. One day in Thailand, he noticed a fancy, faux fabric labeled 'pashmina'. That launched an obsessive quest that lead Mr Carlson halfway around the known world in pursuit of the real pashmina. In his guide, What is Pashmina? Seven Tests for the Real Pashmina, Mr Carlson offers the discerning shopper a standard for judging the quality any fabric labeled as pashmina. On his website, The Real Pashmina, Mr Carlson offers the world the highest quality of authentic pashmina fabrics, hand-woven to order in Nepal, in over 80 colors. And so his escape failed, but the world is a better place.

Book preview

What is Pashmina?

Seven Tests for the Real Pashmina

(Second Edition)

By Steven Carlson

For further information about pashmina, please visit:

The Real Pashmina

Copyright 2012 Steven Carlson

Smashwords Edition

The information in this guide is provided for entertainment purposes only, and should not be construed as professional advice. You are responsible for how you use this information. The author makes no warranties of any kind (either expressed or implied) and cannot be held responsible in any claim or event.

I wish to thank all of my friends who have supported my work in so many ways, and especially David Muir, Marilyn Scott-Waters, Sabine Fazekas and Abdul Latif Mohd Saidi (Sultan)

Table of Contents

Foreword: What is pashmina?

How to use this guide

Test #1: Inspect the fabric!

Test #2: Feel it!

Test #3: Smell it!

Test #4: Crumple