Shawls

Great-Grandmother may have owned several types of shawls. Embroidered Spanish silk, French Chantilly lace, woven Kashmir, and paisley shawls were popular during the nineteenth century. Shawls were fashionable in Europe and America from about 1790- 1870. The history of the shawl dates back to the eleventh century in Kashmir. Very wealthy men wore the expensive weavings as belts or shoulder mantles. European travelers, traders, and military men bought the shawls in the 1770s and brought them back as gifts for wives and friends.