Clothing Definitions — definitions of garments and clothing terms from Apparel Search
A shawl is an extremely simple item of clothing, loosely worn over the shoulders, upper body and arms, and sometimes also over the head. It is usually a rectangular piece of cloth, often folded to make a triangle, though it can be triangular in shape to begin with. The first shawls, or shals, were part of traditional male costume in Kashmir, woven in extremely fine woollen twill, some said to be so fine as to pass through a ring. Shawls are worn to keep warm, to complement a costume, and for symbolic reasons, and many cultures have folded them into their national folk dress.
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 Jews during prayers and ceremonies.
Another common purpose for wearing a shawl is 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 would be inappropriate.
Some cultures incorporate shawls into their national folk dress, mainly because shawls were much more commonly used in earlier times.
| The above article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/shawl). 1/6/06 |
The shawl's reputation was made in Kashmir. Kashmiri weavers worked in extremely fine woollen twill, producing cloth so soft and light that the finest shawls were said to pass through a ring, yet warm enough to serve as a man's principal wrap. That combination of warmth without weight made the Kashmir shawl a prized export and a fashion garment in Europe, where the woven paisley-style patterns of the shawls were later imitated by mills in Scotland and France. The vocabulary of the trade survives in the type names: single-colour weaving, tilikar colour weaving, and ameli surface work in crochet or embroidery, three different routes to decorating the same simple rectangle.
The modern shawl keeps all of its older uses. As warmth, it fills the gap evening dress leaves: at outdoor or indoor evening affairs where the temperature suits men in wool suits but not women in dresses, and where a jacket would be inappropriate, a shawl adds warmth without changing the outfit. As dress, it remains part of the national folk costume in cultures where it was common in earlier times. As ceremony, the tallit and other ritual shawls carry meanings no coat could replace. Wearing one is a matter of drape: centred over both shoulders for even warmth, folded to a triangle with the point at the back for a classic wrap, or thrown over one shoulder as an accent.
Fabric decides a shawl's season and care. Fine wool, including pashmina-style goat wool, is the warm, formal choice and is stored folded away from moths. Cotton and linen shawls suit summer evenings and wash easily. Silk shawls are dress accessories, kept from snags and strong light. Because a shawl has no fastenings, seams or structure to fail, a good one lasts for decades, and antique Kashmir and paisley shawls are collected as textiles in their own right.
A shawl is a large piece of cloth draped over the shoulders and upper body, large enough to wrap the torso. A scarf is long and narrow, worn around the neck or over the head. A shawl folded into a triangle can be worn over the head, but its size and shoulder-draping purpose are what define it.
Terms from the Kashmir shawl tradition. A shawl woven in different colours is called tilikar. A shawl decorated with crochet or embroidery worked onto the woven cloth is called ameli. Plain single-colour shawls form the third basic type.
The tallit is a fringed shawl worn by Jewish worshippers during prayers and ceremonies, one of the best-known examples of a shawl worn for symbolic and religious reasons rather than for warmth.