sTNGife

Nap Of

Luxury

Left: Top to bottom: Yellow pointelle sweater, $375, Burberrys; Neiman
Marcus Exclusive violet ribbed turtleneck, $200; Lichen V-neck sweater,
$248, Henri Bendel; Purple Hermes scaif, $225, Neiman Marcus.

Right: Giorgio Armani ivory cable-knit turtleneck, $875; Hermes black
scarf, $225; Black socks, $36 All Neiman Marcus.

Wrap up with
the warmth
of cashmere.

LINDA BACHRACK

Special to the Jewish News

11/28

1997

050

A

look at the ancient origins
of cashmere proves that the
Chinese know the art of
spinning a yarn.
It's the caviar of fibers, the fleece
that puts the luxe in luxury shawls
and sweaters. As soft to the touch
as a newborn's downy cheek, cash-
mere pampers the soul much like
candlelight, cut flowers or a warm
caress. If you want to feel seu,
just wrap yourself in its warm
embrace.

Weaving a History

What, exactly, is cashmere ad what
determines its value? According to
Massachusetts-based Forte Cashmere,
the name "cashmere" comes from
Kashmir, a wild and mountainous areas
of India and Pakistan where the fiber
was originally woven. The actual fiber is
made with the silky underfleece of
goats, specifically the white Kel goats
that live in the highest altitudes of
Mongolia, China and Tibet. It takes 20
goats to make just one sweater.

Though its use as a luxury fiber
can be dated as far back as the
Roman times, cashmere was popular-
ized by the Empress Eugenie, wife of
Napoleon III, who had the fleece
woven into her famous "ring shawl,"
that she artfully drew through her
wedding ring.
In the late 19th century, a Scottish
manufacturer, Joseph Dawson, devel-
oped the first mechanical method of

LUXURY on page 53