Pashminas Collection

Plain Pashmina scarves in cotton, cashmere, viscose, silk, wool, linen and other fabrics

A pashmina is known by many names and has many purposes so whether you call it a pashmina scarf, a pashmina shawl or a pashmina wrap or just a plain pashmina it amounts to the same thing, and that is a large stole or shawl approximately 70cm wide and 200cm long. The word pashmina actually refers to the name of a very fine and exclusive yarn that is harvested from the under belly of goats living at very high altitudes in the Himalayas. The goats live in exceedingly cold climates so to keep warm they have evolved very, very fine long soft fur. The finest yarn is found under the neck and on the underbelly of the goat and it is this that is used in the finest “Pashminas”. This yarn cannot be harvested as it is with sheep by shearing as the loss of insulation would not be sustainable for the goat and it would perish. The fur is harvested by brushing with combs and only one or two ounces of yarn can be harvested per animal. It is the scarcity of the yarn that adds to the exclusivity and the high prices. In the 1800’s attempts were made to breed these goats in the UK but the environment proved to wet and the goats failed to survive. It is the dry cold conditions of the Himalayas that provide the perfect conditions for their growth.

In the late 1990’the fashion industry “discovered” Pashminas and hi-jacked the name and now some 20+ years later it has become a generic term for any large scarf or stole.

It was in the mid to late 1700's that shawls made of Pashmina first became fashion accessories in the UK, and subsequently across Europe. They were bought across from the Kashmir region of India by the East India Company for the royalty and the landed gentry. These shawls were all hand made from the finest Pashmina yarn and painstakingly embroidered by hand with a single shawl taking up to two years to make. They were status symbols and heirlooms and not a fashion accessory for the masses.

Whatever you choose to call it there can be no denying that "Pashminas" are now the classic accessory, either for formal events or simply to wear casually. With the advent of modern digital printing techniques, we are able to offer a huge range of patterns and styles. We have been supplying pashminas wholesale UK for many years now and have developed a reputation for selling quality fair trade scarves at realistic prices.

At York Scarves we now carry a huge range of plain pashminas and patterned pashminas in a wide range of fabrics, weights and textures. We now have wool pashminas, viscose pashminas, silk pashminas, cotton pashminas and modal pashminas all in stock for immediate delivery. As a fair trade wholesaler, we ensure that our suppliers and our clients are treated with respect and fairness. As a wholesaler we can also get bespoke pashminas custom made with very reasonable minimum order quantities.

We hope you find something suitable and look forward to serving you.

For Orders & Enquiries Call: 01904 471026