Cashmere: A French Passion 1800-1880

The story of the French cashmere shawls of the 19th century and their rise to the heights of fashion. This treasure-trove will not only delight textile scholars and costume historians but is sure to appeal to anyone who loves gorgeous accessories

The delicate beauty of the cashmere shawl was first brought to Europe by the East India Companies and Napoleon’s campaigns. Woven in Kashmir, its fabric was so light that, according to legend, a whole shawl could be passed through a finger-ring. By the 19th century, these shawls were highly sought-after in France; French manufacturers soon saw that there was a market for more accessibly priced versions and started to create their own.

Monique Lévi-Strauss has spent more than thirty years collecting and studying these shawls and gathering rare documents to preserve their history. This completely revised, expanded and redesigned edition of her classic book on the subject illustrates nearly 300 of these beautiful items, superbly photographed to showcase their splendid original designs, alongside a wealth of archive material and contemporary paintings that show them being worn by their elegant owners.