<p>I am looking for a really nice gift for my sister. I am not usually good at picking out clothing items that young fashionable women will like, but I think (hope) she would like a pretty shawl. </p>
<p>Can someone help by pointing me to a place to order a high quality pashmina shawl? Also, any advice in this regard appreciated. My sister lives in a place that doesn’t get terribly cold.</p>
<p>You have to go to overstock and search on Women’s Teal Paisley Viscose Wrap. This is literally the BEST thing i have ever purchased. Loved it so much I bought them for my sister and mother and also bought the other one on there in a different color. The color and quality is unbelievable. Don’t let the low price scare you and make sure and buy one for yourself. It is Pashimina on the label regardless of the description being vague about that. I love love love it!</p>
<p>Thank you, AL34. That shawl is beautiful!</p>
<p>Viscose is not, of course, the same as pashmina. If you care about the fiber content, do a little simple internet research. Viscose is a manmade fiber similar to rayon.</p>
<p>If you have unlimited funds for this purchase, I recommend looking at Loro Piana cashmere. Not cheap$$$$. But… The best shawls in the world are made in Russia. They are called Orenburg shawls. Unfortunately, there are many knockoffs, and the real Orenburg shawls are hard to find. The Russian shawls are made of cashmere, too, but they are knit. </p>
<p>If you do not have unlimited $$$, I highly recommend tissue weight cashmere wraps from Nordstrom.</p>
<p>Thank you for this good advice. CC is such a great place to get life’s answers!</p>
<p>I bought two wraps the other day at a farmer’s market that were labeled 100% pashmina. They are VERY light and were $20 for two! They are a similar weight to the above-described overstock.com Womens-Teal-Paisley-Viscose-Wrap</p>
<p>that my kids gave me for the holidays last year and similar to deals I’ve seen at airports for varying prices, including as low as $10 apiece.</p>
<p>Nordstrom’s does have some lovely wraps, including heavier-weight 100% pashmina as well as other fabrics. Their outlet and rack may also have selection.</p>
<p>Fairfielder - The item was advertised as viscose but the tag arrived saying 100% pashmina. I couldn’t find any difference in feel from my other pashmina wraps.</p>
<p>The tag is somewhat correct, because “Pashmina” also means “a wrap” or a “shawl”. Genuine pashminas are made of special type of wool (cashmere wool is one of them). All “pashminas” that say “100% pashmina” and cost so little are synthetic fakes (and yes, synthetic fibers can be soft and pleasant to the touch, but when compared directly with a genuine wool item, the difference is quite noticeable).</p>
<p>If where your sister lives is not very cold, you may want to check this out:
[Scarves</a> | GRAMERCY & CO.](<a href=“http://www.gramercyandco.com/gcsubcategories/scarves]Scarves”>http://www.gramercyandco.com/gcsubcategories/scarves)</p>
<p>The colors are very new and fresh. They are a lot less expensive than Loro Piana.</p>
<p>If it is soft and beautiful, who honestly cares if it is synthetic or real fiber? </p>
<p>I sometimes find myself taken aback by how different of a life perspective I come from. I see a $20 scarf and get sticker shock, but to others a $130 scarf is less expensive… </p>
<p>Back to our originally scheduled programming, I am a young woman and I think the teal wrap is gorgeous. Now whether you could call me fashionable is of much more serious debate. (It’s actually not. You really can’t call me fashionable by any stretch of the imagination.)</p>
<p>^ right on Julie - all I know is that the wrap is gorgeous and I’ve gotten many compliments on it… meets my criteria with money to spare.</p>
<p>“If it is soft and beautiful, who honestly cares if it is synthetic or real fiber?” As long as it is not misrepresented as the real deal, it is definitely fine. Since Overstock is a US company and could get in trouble for misrepresentation of the goods they sell, they disclosed the fiber content on the web.</p>
<p>DH recently brought me a Ferragamo shawl from a business trip to Europe. It’s really lovely – a cashmere/silk blend. Just really pretty. Trouble is, I’m not a shawl kind of gal. I’m really not! I can handle scarves but not shawls. I just feel silly going out in the world in a shawl.</p>
<p>So I would make sure a shawl is your sister’s style.</p>
<p>I take a black shawl along in my carryon bag when I fly - it’s light and warm - makes a perfect little blanket.</p>
<p>You may find that a wool shawl wears better than a synthetic - synthetic fibers will break down quickly with washing and wear, while wool will last for years.</p>
<p>Nordstrom is known for their cashmere wraps and scarves. Here’s a great lightweight one that I have:</p>
<p>[Nordstrom</a> Tissue Weight Wool & Cashmere Wrap | Nordstrom](<a href=“http://shop.nordstrom.com/S/nordstrom-tissue-weight-wool-cashmere-wrap/3196871?origin=category&resultback=0]Nordstrom”>http://shop.nordstrom.com/S/nordstrom-tissue-weight-wool-cashmere-wrap/3196871?origin=category&resultback=0)</p>
<p>Gourmetmom makes a perfect point: I get the most use out of my shawls when I take them on trips. They only weigh a few ounces and fold down to nothing in a carryon bag and yet the good ones will hold in a lot of body heat when you’re on a long flight (and the airlines don’t give out blankets any more). </p>
<p>About “pashmina”–according to wikipedia, the word “pashmina” is not a labeling term recognized by law in the United States. The good ones have at least some wool and/or silk in them. As with anything else, you get what you pay for. The nice ones cost more but they will last for years. But it’s also the case that not everyone likes to wear shawls–sometimes they can also be used as colorful decorations in a room that needs spicing up!</p>
<p>I hope OP finds the perfect shawl for her sister.</p>
<p>According to what I read, “pashmina” means “wool”, but the term is now loosely used to describe a wrap or a shawl. Since the OP asked for a “pashmina shawl”, I assume s/he meant “wool shawl”, and not “shawl shawl”. I second everyone who said a cashmere wrap (such as the tissue weight wrap from Nordstrom) is invaluable for travel. A real cashmere wrap takes up much less space that a wrap of the same size made of synthetic fibers. Cashmere washes well and lasts a long time. I also keep one in the “meatlocker” aka my cube at work to keep me warm on the days when our air conditioning goes wild.</p>
<p>I left a beautiful black pashmina on a plane once. I still miss it.</p>
<p>I have learned so much from this discussion. I love CC.</p>