Shawl

In the last quarter of the eighteenth century it became fashionable for women to wear shawls, with the finely-woven and brightly coloured 'cashmeres' imported from India becoming desirable accessories.

Shawl making in Britain began in 1775 and 1785 in two centres, Norwich and Edinburgh. By the 1820s no woman with any pretension to elegance would have been without several shawls, each chosen to complement a particular outfit. Initially shawl designs were copied from Indian imports. French designers, however, had been encouraged to develop patterns in keeping with European taste and when the War with France ended in 1815, British designers often visited the French weaving centres to study their designs.