Cashmere shawls became highly prized by European women of class and wealth after a few of these items, manufactured for 100s of years in Kashmir, made their way to Europe in the very late 1700s. Between the 1850s and 1860s the elaborate embroidery and intricately knotted fringes were well displayed over wide hooped skirts that were in fashion at the time.However they did not fall to such good effect over the bustle and went out of fashion after 1880.
A shawl may still have been prized, though, and in the case of New Zealand many found their way here as heirlooms with the passage of immigrant families during colonial times.
| Multicoloured Knitted Shawl |
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| Black Crepe Shawl with Rose Motif Embroidery |
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In the 1920s the less constructed, narrow dress styles once again allowed shawls of silk and cashmere to be worn to good effect and they made something of a comeback as a fashionable luxury item. During the art deco period the Chinese Crepe Shawl also returned as the ‘Spanish Shawl', so named because this style was strongly associated with the gypsies of Andalusia as portrayed in Bizet's opera ‘Carmen'.
