Ah, cashmere. Who doesn’t love it – the magical softness can sooth even the hardest of hearts.
As a former Londoner, I’ve owned my fair share of knits. As a youngster, I couldn’t understand why I hated my woolly school sweater but loved the way my sister’s green scarf felt around my neck. Unlike the itchy sweater, the scarf was impossibly light, almost magically enveloping me against the icy English winds I faced on the way to school each morning. What was this Golden Fleece? The clues on the label read “100% Cashmere” and “Made in Scotland.” Cashmere. Just the sound of it conjures images of sophistication. Like caviar and pearls, the fiber has humble beginnings. Who would think that the hair on the underbelly of the Mongolian goat would be in such high demand? But it has been for centuries, and because there is relatively little of it and because processing costs are high, it has traditionally been an expensive indulgence. – From LA Times