28 Jul
Pashmina is one of the most imitated textiles in the world, so knowing what to look for before you buy matters, whether you're shopping in a Lahore gallery or online. Here's what genuinely separates a real Pashmina from a look-alike.
1. The Fibre Itself
Authentic Pashmina comes from the undercoat of the Changthangi goat, reared at high altitude in Ladakh and neighbouring regions. The fibre is extremely fine, typically 12-16 microns in diameter, which is what gives real Pashmina its soft handfeel and light warmth. Cheaper imitations blend in wool, viscose, or synthetic fibres to bulk up the yarn, which makes the fabric feel coarser and heavier for the same size.
2. The Ring Test
A popular but imperfect check: a genuine, finely woven Pashmina can often be pulled through a ring due to its light weight and fine yarn. This isn't a guarantee on its own, since some machine blends are woven thin enough to pass too, but if a shawl fails this test outright, it's a signal to look closer.
3. Weave and Finish
Hand-woven Pashmina has small, natural irregularities in the weave; a perfectly uniform, machine-precise texture is more often a sign of power-loom production. Hand-finished edges and any embroidery (like Sozni or Ari work) should show slight variation stitch to stitch, since machine embroidery is repetitive and perfectly even.
4. The Burn Test
A small thread pulled from a seam allowance, when burned, should smell like burning hair and leave a fine, crumbly ash if it's real animal fibre. Synthetic blends melt rather than burn and often leave a hard bead, and cotton or viscose blends burn quickly with a paper-like smell and leave little ash.
5. Price as a Signal
Genuine Pashmina is labour-intensive from raw fibre to finished shawl, so a large, hand-embroidered piece priced far below what similar handmade shawls cost elsewhere is worth questioning. It doesn't mean it's fake, but it's a reason to ask the seller directly about the fibre content and production method.
Buying With Confidence
The safest way to buy genuine Pashmina is from a seller who can speak specifically to where the shawl was made, by whom, and what it's made of, rather than only offering vague claims of authenticity. At Royal Orientals, every shawl is sourced directly from Kashmiri artisans, and we're happy to answer specific questions about any individual piece before you buy.
