Sunday, December 14, 2008

Buying a Black Cashmere Sweater?

By Travis Killian

A perfect gift for anyone would be a black cashmere sweater. You could say that a cashmere is like a fine crystal, it can be given with pride and received with appreciation. It feels great to give a gift that you can be confident that will be appreciated and it is equally rewarding to receive a special, personal gift. There is almost a universal, silent satisfaction that a person gets when they receive a cashmere sweater.

A cashmere sweater is something that you will immediately appreciate when you put it on. The luxurious, royal feeling that you receive is priceless, and it is rewarding to share this feeling with someone close. A black cashmere sweater can make this feeling even stronger for it gives off an ambiance of high sophistication and classiness. Everyone will recognize this and appreciate your black cashmere.

That value is not limited to the price tag alone, although the price by itself is already something to talk about. The value of a black cashmere sweater also derives from the difficulty of obtaining the wool and weaving that into the sweater that you see.

The cashmere sweaters that first became popular originated from wool that came from goats in the violence-torn province of Kashmir. Today, however, most of the supply comes from China. What makes them rare is the unique confluence of diet, terrain, and climatic conditions in the steppes that induced these goats to evolve into producers of the finest cashmere fibers.

Pure cashmere is taken directly from the underbelly of goats in the spring when they shed their hair. You can only get 150 grams of this hair from each goat. The wool gathered from these parts is the softest wool in nature. Yes, it is remarkably softer than sheep wool. The fibers are much shorter, making it harder to weave into a fabric. The finest of this wool comes from the white goats, which are dyed to create the elegant and beautiful black cashmere sweaters.

The outstanding qualities of the cashmere sweater fabric plus its relative rarity have combined to make the black cashmere sweater a true thing of value. The rich and famous know that. It is said that the wife of Napoleon Bonaparte was so smitten with a liking for cashmere fabrics that she prevailed upon the Emperor to obtain for her no less than seventeen cashmere shawls.

When you give your gift of a black cashmere sweater, it may help for you to furnish a brief historical note about the origins of the cashmere sweater. The historical perspective may engender more appreciation from your recipient.

But when they wear your gift, they cannot help but notice the way the sweater sets off the colors of the clothes they wear with it. The blacks will reach the full fruition of their elegance and the other colors will burst into more vivid clarity when they hang in contrast to the lush exquisiteness of the black cashmere sweater. - 16738

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