Pashmina Scarf

Are you curious about how the scarf become the high-brow fashion accessory it is today? With origins dating back to ancient Egypt and Rome, the scarf has come a long way from its humble beginnings. Consider a brief history of this fashionable accessory below.

Are you curious about how the scarf become the high-brow fashion accessory it is today? With origins dating back to ancient Egypt and Rome, the scarf has come a long way from its humble beginnings. Consider a brief history of this fashionable accessory below.

The first widely recorded instance of a scarf dates back to 350 BC when Egyptian Queen Nefertiti wore a finely woven style with a headdress. Elsewhere, Roman men in 10 AD tied linen versions called a sudarium (Latin for “sweat cloth”) around their neck or around the waist to wipe away or soak up sweat.

Returning from myth (and a modern one at that) to history, numerous statues and carved reliefs from ancient Assyria and Mesopotamia depict lengths of cloth, often fringed, being worn wrapped around the body as sashes and shawls. In many cases the scarf probably had a ceremonial or symbolic meaning.

China was also home to early adopters of the scarf. There, it was originally part of the Chinese military uniform. Dating as far back as 1000 B.C., fringed, rectangular scarves were discovered on sculptures of Chinese soldiers. Scarves would continue to be a part of military dress: another early Chinese iteration of the accessory (around 230 B.C.) was part of the uniform for soldiers serving under Emperor Cheng.

Napoleon Bonaparte is said to have sent his first wife Josephine de Beauharnais cashmere scarfs from India during his travels. She popularises the world-renowned pashmina cashmere among the elite in Europe.

In modern days it was popular to wear scarves as a headband across the forehead and wrapped around the waist and chest.