What Is a Shawl?
20 Oct 2023
A shawl is the most important attribute of a closet that makes a woman a woman. When a lady appeared in public wearing a shawl, she immediately became fragile and vulnerable, according to others. Surprisingly, but originally in Persia they were worn only by men. How the shawl appeared in Europe and why it was so highly valued, consider in this review.
A shawl is a woven or knitted cloth of various kinds and sizes, covering the shoulders. Originally a strip of cloth of oriental origin. As early as the 15th century, thin shawls were made in Kashmir from the wool of Tibetan goats. During the time of the Directory, after Napoleon's Egyptian campaign, cashmere shawls appeared in France, and with the light hand of Josephine Beauharnais, Napoleon's wife, who was then the trendsetter of French fashions, cashmere shawl gradually came into general use not only in France, but throughout Europe. The future empress had up to 400 shawls in her closet and wore them on her dresses , used them as bedspreads, and made pillows for her dogs. The expensive cashmere shawl remained in fashion until the coronation of Louis-Philippe, when the British put on sale a cheap knockoff of a real cashmere shawl. In India, these shawls are still revered to this day.
A shawl is a woven or knitted cloth of various kinds and sizes, covering the shoulders. Originally a strip of cloth of oriental origin. As early as the 15th century, thin shawls were made in Kashmir from the wool of Tibetan goats. During the time of the Directory, after Napoleon's Egyptian campaign, cashmere shawls appeared in France, and with the light hand of Josephine Beauharnais, Napoleon's wife, who was then the trendsetter of French fashions, cashmere shawl gradually came into general use not only in France, but throughout Europe. The future empress had up to 400 shawls in her closet and wore them on her dresses , used them as bedspreads, and made pillows for her dogs. The expensive cashmere shawl remained in fashion until the coronation of Louis-Philippe, when the British put on sale a cheap knockoff of a real cashmere shawl. In India, these shawls are still revered to this day.
The History of Shawl
The word shawl is borrowed from the Persian language, and nowadays it sounds almost the same in many languages.
The very first shawls were part of the Persian national costume, they appeared in the 6th-4th century BC. Let me remind you that Persia is the present Iran, shawls were large in size, square in shape, pore almost not only the head, but also the whole figure of a man, they were worn by both men and women.
Production of shawls began only in the 15th century AD in the province of Kashmir on the north of the Indian peninsula. Today it is a disputed territory for India and Pakistan, a kind of "hot spot" on our planet.
Production in the 15th century was established from the wool and down from Kashmir goats, the wool and undercoat of which has a very homogeneous structure. This breed of goat was bred in Tibet, Iran, and northern India. The wool was first spun into fine threads, then woven on hand looms. This technology was quite a long process and shawl making took several months to 3-4 years. Such shawls were fabulously expensive.
In Europe, the first shawls appeared only in the 17-18 centuries, very famous shawls made in the Scottish town of Paisley, which were not inferior in quality to Indian and Persian.
In France, shawls became an important part of the closet of noble ladies with the light hand of Napoleon Bonaparte's wife Josephine Beauharnais. Napoleon brought her such a shawl as a gift from his Indian campaign in 1799. These shawls perfectly matched with the fashionable in those years dresses in Empire style – with an exaggerated waist, deep neckline and small short sleeves, imitating antique dresses of the past.
In Russia, the first shawls appeared in the early 19th century, they were woven from the finest thread spun from the down and wool of saigas and Tibetan goats. The most amazing thing is that the thickness of the thread was thinner than the hair, and the woven floral pattern was exactly the same on both sides. This was achieved using the double-sided weaving technique. Woven shawls were also decorated with silk embroidery. They cost at that time more than 200 rubles, which was more than the annual salary of a factory worker and could only afford such a shawl from very rich merchants. Such shawls were passed on from grandmother to granddaughter and served for a very long time.
In 1851 at the World Industrial Exhibition in London, Russian shawls became world famous.
Serf masters from Nizhny Novgorod province, at the Kupavinskaya factory of Prince Yusupov created true masterpieces, not inferior in quality and color to Indian ones.
Serf girls were taught to weave shawls at the age of 7-8, and by the age of 30 they were blind from constant strain of vision and worked under insufficient illumination of burning rays and candles.
Since the middle of the 19th century, woven shawls, silk woven shawls from Pavlovsky Posad, Bogorodsky uyezd, Moscow province, have become world famous. The characteristic pattern of these shawls is roses on a black background and now fascinates with its intricate pattern.
Once wandering through the expanses of the Ali Express market, I accidentally came across shawls and shawls very similar to Pavlovo-Posad shawls. I was extremely surprised that the cost of such shawls produced in China is several times lower than those shawls and shawls that are produced and sold in our country.
Of course, there is machine production, but in Pavlovo Posad there are craftswomen who create their shawls and shawls on manual machines and each of them is a true work of art. There are craftsmen who paint shawls in Pavlovo Posad technique with special paints and it is also amazingly beautiful and exclusive.
Up to now we have been talking about woven shawls. And what about the knitted ones?
Knitted shawls from the Russian Orenburg region are famous all over the world. Since middle of the 19th century these shawls were awarded medals at the World Industrial Exhibitions in London, Chicago and Brussels.
Most of all visitors to the exhibitions were amazed by the fact that large shawls up to 3.5 meters in length could be dragged through a gold wedding ring and hidden in the shell of a goose egg.
There is a legend that once such a thin and warm hand-knitted shawl, with a beautiful openwork pattern was presented to our Empress Catherine the Great. The shawl was very much liked by the simultaneous combination of lightness, warmth, thinness, and beauty of knitting. The empress generously gifted the craftswoman, but then ordered to blind her so that no one could repeat such a product, but the craftswoman had a daughter who already knew how to knit as well as her mother.
I do not know how true this legend is, but an interesting point for me personally is that Orenburg shawls and stoles are knitted today by many craftswomen and they are knitted on needles, not with a hook, moreover, there are such products connected to machines.
The traditional colours of Orenburg down products are white, black and milk (unbleached wool). In the last 10-15 years there have appeared such products made of section-dyed yarn, and they are amazingly beautiful.
During the reign of Alexander 1, the history of shawls became closely intertwined with education. Graduates of various women's boarding schools for noble maidens in the final examinations traditionally danced a "dance with a shawl". The dance was not characterized by the fast pace and complexity of the pattern, but could successfully show the grace, grace and beauty of the posture of a young graduate, this dance was preceded by many hours of rehearsals.
Shawls became an integral part of the closet of the widest strata of Russian society. At that time there appeared polushalki - small shawls of square and triangular shape.
Few people know how fashionable women used to wear a shawl: one end of the shawl was wrapped around the hand, placed on the shoulder, and the second end went down the middle of the back almost to the ground. To keep the shawl in position, metal balls were woven into the corners of the shawl or hand, or they were sewn to the corners of the shawl. It was fashionable to wear shawls in the 19th century.
In the 20th century, hats and caps became popular. Scarves began to be worn on them. But shawls did not lose their relevance and in the early 20th century shawls were used to carry infants like modern backpacks – kangaroos for carrying babies.
The very first shawls were part of the Persian national costume, they appeared in the 6th-4th century BC. Let me remind you that Persia is the present Iran, shawls were large in size, square in shape, pore almost not only the head, but also the whole figure of a man, they were worn by both men and women.
Production of shawls began only in the 15th century AD in the province of Kashmir on the north of the Indian peninsula. Today it is a disputed territory for India and Pakistan, a kind of "hot spot" on our planet.
Production in the 15th century was established from the wool and down from Kashmir goats, the wool and undercoat of which has a very homogeneous structure. This breed of goat was bred in Tibet, Iran, and northern India. The wool was first spun into fine threads, then woven on hand looms. This technology was quite a long process and shawl making took several months to 3-4 years. Such shawls were fabulously expensive.
In Europe, the first shawls appeared only in the 17-18 centuries, very famous shawls made in the Scottish town of Paisley, which were not inferior in quality to Indian and Persian.
In France, shawls became an important part of the closet of noble ladies with the light hand of Napoleon Bonaparte's wife Josephine Beauharnais. Napoleon brought her such a shawl as a gift from his Indian campaign in 1799. These shawls perfectly matched with the fashionable in those years dresses in Empire style – with an exaggerated waist, deep neckline and small short sleeves, imitating antique dresses of the past.
In Russia, the first shawls appeared in the early 19th century, they were woven from the finest thread spun from the down and wool of saigas and Tibetan goats. The most amazing thing is that the thickness of the thread was thinner than the hair, and the woven floral pattern was exactly the same on both sides. This was achieved using the double-sided weaving technique. Woven shawls were also decorated with silk embroidery. They cost at that time more than 200 rubles, which was more than the annual salary of a factory worker and could only afford such a shawl from very rich merchants. Such shawls were passed on from grandmother to granddaughter and served for a very long time.
In 1851 at the World Industrial Exhibition in London, Russian shawls became world famous.
Serf masters from Nizhny Novgorod province, at the Kupavinskaya factory of Prince Yusupov created true masterpieces, not inferior in quality and color to Indian ones.
Serf girls were taught to weave shawls at the age of 7-8, and by the age of 30 they were blind from constant strain of vision and worked under insufficient illumination of burning rays and candles.
Since the middle of the 19th century, woven shawls, silk woven shawls from Pavlovsky Posad, Bogorodsky uyezd, Moscow province, have become world famous. The characteristic pattern of these shawls is roses on a black background and now fascinates with its intricate pattern.
Once wandering through the expanses of the Ali Express market, I accidentally came across shawls and shawls very similar to Pavlovo-Posad shawls. I was extremely surprised that the cost of such shawls produced in China is several times lower than those shawls and shawls that are produced and sold in our country.
Of course, there is machine production, but in Pavlovo Posad there are craftswomen who create their shawls and shawls on manual machines and each of them is a true work of art. There are craftsmen who paint shawls in Pavlovo Posad technique with special paints and it is also amazingly beautiful and exclusive.
Up to now we have been talking about woven shawls. And what about the knitted ones?
Knitted shawls from the Russian Orenburg region are famous all over the world. Since middle of the 19th century these shawls were awarded medals at the World Industrial Exhibitions in London, Chicago and Brussels.
Most of all visitors to the exhibitions were amazed by the fact that large shawls up to 3.5 meters in length could be dragged through a gold wedding ring and hidden in the shell of a goose egg.
There is a legend that once such a thin and warm hand-knitted shawl, with a beautiful openwork pattern was presented to our Empress Catherine the Great. The shawl was very much liked by the simultaneous combination of lightness, warmth, thinness, and beauty of knitting. The empress generously gifted the craftswoman, but then ordered to blind her so that no one could repeat such a product, but the craftswoman had a daughter who already knew how to knit as well as her mother.
I do not know how true this legend is, but an interesting point for me personally is that Orenburg shawls and stoles are knitted today by many craftswomen and they are knitted on needles, not with a hook, moreover, there are such products connected to machines.
The traditional colours of Orenburg down products are white, black and milk (unbleached wool). In the last 10-15 years there have appeared such products made of section-dyed yarn, and they are amazingly beautiful.
During the reign of Alexander 1, the history of shawls became closely intertwined with education. Graduates of various women's boarding schools for noble maidens in the final examinations traditionally danced a "dance with a shawl". The dance was not characterized by the fast pace and complexity of the pattern, but could successfully show the grace, grace and beauty of the posture of a young graduate, this dance was preceded by many hours of rehearsals.
Shawls became an integral part of the closet of the widest strata of Russian society. At that time there appeared polushalki - small shawls of square and triangular shape.
Few people know how fashionable women used to wear a shawl: one end of the shawl was wrapped around the hand, placed on the shoulder, and the second end went down the middle of the back almost to the ground. To keep the shawl in position, metal balls were woven into the corners of the shawl or hand, or they were sewn to the corners of the shawl. It was fashionable to wear shawls in the 19th century.
In the 20th century, hats and caps became popular. Scarves began to be worn on them. But shawls did not lose their relevance and in the early 20th century shawls were used to carry infants like modern backpacks – kangaroos for carrying babies.
Difference Bwtween a Shawl and a Scarf
A scarf is a long strip of fabric that can be tied around the neck or worn on the head. Scarves are usually made of soft and warm materials such as wool or cashmere. They can come in a variety of sizes and rectangular or triangular shapes. Scarves are often used to protect against the cold or to add style to a look. They can also be decorated with a variety of patterns or embroidery.
A shawl is a large square or rectangular fabric that can be worn over the shoulders or wrapped around the body. Shawls can be made from a variety of materials including wool, silk, cotton or acrylic. They usually feature brighter and richer colors, as well as more intricate patterns and details. Shawls are usually used as a decorative element or to add elegance to an outfit.
The main difference between a scarf and a shawl is their shape and size. Scarves tend to be narrower and longer than shawls and can be tied around the neck or head. Shawls, on the other hand, are usually larger and wider, allowing them to be worn over the shoulders or wrapped around the body. However, in modern fashion, the boundaries between balls and shawls are sometimes blended, and many accessories can combine features of both types.
A shawl is a large square or rectangular fabric that can be worn over the shoulders or wrapped around the body. Shawls can be made from a variety of materials including wool, silk, cotton or acrylic. They usually feature brighter and richer colors, as well as more intricate patterns and details. Shawls are usually used as a decorative element or to add elegance to an outfit.
The main difference between a scarf and a shawl is their shape and size. Scarves tend to be narrower and longer than shawls and can be tied around the neck or head. Shawls, on the other hand, are usually larger and wider, allowing them to be worn over the shoulders or wrapped around the body. However, in modern fashion, the boundaries between balls and shawls are sometimes blended, and many accessories can combine features of both types.
Ways To Wear Your Shawl
The variety of ways to wear a shawl is many, but sometimes simplicity is exceptionally effective.
- You can simply throw the shawl over your shoulders or throw one end over your shoulder.
- You can tie the ends in front of the chest.
- Or even tie your favorite shawl around your hips with a knot in front or at the side.
- You can tie it around your waist with the corner facing forward and both ends tied at the back.
- Another easy way: fold the shawl into a triangle, slip it over your shoulders, pull the ends of the shawl back under your arms and tie it in a full knot in the back – the shawl won't slip off and gives a nice touch, especially if your dress is tight.
- You can throw the shawl over your shoulders, knot it in the front, but at the same time slightly lower it from one shoulder—beautiful if your dress has a deep neckline - you are charming like Carmen.
- You can simply throw the shawl over your shoulders or throw one end over your shoulder.
- You can tie the ends in front of the chest.
- Or even tie your favorite shawl around your hips with a knot in front or at the side.
- You can tie it around your waist with the corner facing forward and both ends tied at the back.
- Another easy way: fold the shawl into a triangle, slip it over your shoulders, pull the ends of the shawl back under your arms and tie it in a full knot in the back – the shawl won't slip off and gives a nice touch, especially if your dress is tight.
- You can throw the shawl over your shoulders, knot it in the front, but at the same time slightly lower it from one shoulder—beautiful if your dress has a deep neckline - you are charming like Carmen.
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