shawl

A shawl (from Persian شال, Shāl) is an extremely simple item of clothing, loosely worn over the shoulders, upper body and arms, sometimes also over the head. It is usually a rectangular piece of cloth, often folded to make a triangle, but can also be triangular in shape to begin with.

The first shawls, or "shals" were part of traditional male costume in Kashmir. They were woven in extremely fine woollen twill, some were even said to be so fine as to fit through a ring. They could be in one colour only, woven in different colours (called tilikar), ornately woven or embroidered (called ameli).

Shawls are used in order to keep warm, to complement a costume, and for symbolic reasons. One famous type of shawl is the tallit, worn by Jewish men during prayers and ceremonies.

Indian shawls also known as Kashmir shawls were high-fashion garments in Western Europe in the early- to mid-nineteenth century. Imitation Indian shawls woven in Paisley, Renfrewshire are the origin of the name of the traditional paisley pattern.

Silk shawls with fringes, made in China, were available by the first decade of the nineteenth century. Ones with embroidery and fringes were available in Europe and the Americas by 1820. These were called China crepe shawls, China shawls, and in Spain "mantons de Manila" because they were shipped to Spain from China via the port of Manila. The importance of these shawls in fashionable women's wardrobes declined between 1865 and 1870 in Western culture. However they became part of folk dress in a number of places including Germany, the Near East, various parts of Latin America, and Spain where they became a part of gypsy dress especially in Andalusia and Madrid. These embroidered shawls were revived in the 1920s under the name Spanish shawls, a named derived from their use as part of the dress of Spanish gypsies, also known as gitanas. Their use as part of the costume of the lead in the opera Carmen contributed to the association of the shawls with Spain rather than China.

Some cultures incorporate shawls of various types into their national folk dress, mainly because shawls were much more commonly used in earlier times.

Today, shawls are worn for added warmth (and fashion) at outdoor or indoor evening affairs where the temperature is warm enough for men in wool suits but not for women in dresses and where a jacket might be inappropriate.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Irwin, John. The Kashmir Shawl. London: HMSO, 1973.

Wilson, Kax. "Kashmir Shawls from Europe and Asia." Art & Antiques, January-Feruary 1981, pp. 69-73.

Worth, Susannah. "Early 20th Century Embroidered Shawls." [[Needle Arts]], Vol. 26, No. 4, December 1995, pp. 38-41.

Worth, Susannah. "Embroidered China Crepe Shawls: 1800-1870." Dress, 1986, Vol. 12, pp. 43-54.

See also

• cape
• cloak
• stole