From Kashmir to Jalalpur Jattan: The Legacy, Craftsmanship, and Global Evolution of Men's Shawls
See the men at any of the baraats that are held during the winter season in central Punjab. Half wear a shawl over their shoulders (usually grey, brown or a dull check) that is thrown on easily, as if it had been done a thousand times since childhood, every sardi. No one says it's a fashion statement. It's just what you do when it's cold.
However, a shawl has more than just warmth. It is what a host puts on the shoulders of the honoured guest. It's the gift a son gives his abbu after the first good income, and the thing a dada wears to the mosque when it's foggy and time for the prayer of Fajr. This single piece of cloth has a long heritage of weavers, traders, courts and factories, and extends right up into a small town called Jalalpur Jattan in Gujrat district in Kashmir.
We are going to follow the thread down from the mountains to the loom shed, and then, to the questions a buyer in Birmingham or Toronto might ask.
Where the shawl comes from
The oldest civilisation is older than wrapped wool. The Central Asian steppe herders, Persian court attendants, Himalayan villagers, and Indus Valley farmers all came up with one solution: a large piece of woven wool to wear, sleep on, sit on, and carry with.
For centuries, trade routes transported fibre, dyes, and weaving techniques between these areas, so it is difficult to say who invented the weaving. The fabric was influenced by geography. The animals in colder, higher areas developed finer undercoats and the people in these areas learned to make fine yarns from this fibre.
Kashmir is the source of a unique fibre called pashm
The world gave this shawl the name Kashmir, and it is rightly so. Many writers attribute the establishment of the shawl industry in the valley to Sultan Zain-ul-Abidin of the 15th century, and Persian designers and weavers have been noted as a significant influence on the floral appearance of the shawls. The raw material is pashm, which is Persian for wool. Here, it refers to the soft undercoat combed from goats on mountains of high altitudes such as Changthang in Ladakh.
Then the sequence that everyone knows. The curved teardrop design known as a boteh, was developed on Kashmiri looms and spread so far west that the name of a Scottish town was given to it. We still use the word paisley. Kashmir shawls became popular in the late eighteenth century in Europe, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art mentions that the Empress Josephine in France had shawls in great number.
There's a darker side to the story. Formerly taken from the hair of the Tibetan antelope, shawl wool is now prohibited by law as the animal was driven to the brink of extinction. Fine fibre is too expensive for anyone to pay for.
The Mughal wardrobe
Before Paris was enraptured, the shawl was a man's garment. Kashmir shawls were a part of the refined male suit of court for Emperor Akbar during the second half of the sixteenth century, according to the Metropolitan Museum. The Victoria and Albert Museum is similar. A fine shawl was a form of gifting and rank, as were robes of honour, khilat, which were given to nobles and officials.
From Kashmir to Jalalpur Jattan
Skills don't reside in one valley. When there is a change in trade, when the rulers change, when there is a famine or war, the weavers move, and the plains of Punjab saw no dearth of them. District gazetteer information about Amritsar refers to the Kashmiri migrants who made Amritsar their home, and the city's reputation for fine shawls, until cheaper imported European shawls and mill-made woollens took over the old pashmina trade. Local merchants started to import yarn, and weave less fine shawls at competitive prices.
Handwork was replaced by workable volume. Keep in mind that this is a repeat pattern.
The Jalalpur Jattan cluster
The government body SMEDA, which studies small business clusters, records Jalalpur Jattan as a cluster for producing winter shawls. Its industry profile is a history of how shawl making has developed in the local community, starting with families from Jammu, followed by handlooms and then a transition to power looms. The secret behind a town in Gujrat district turning into a name associated with warm shawls by buyers all over Pakistan is the skill of the families and the loom culture passed down from father to son, and the fact that the industry has remained adaptive over the years. According to Dressifi's published history, its origins date back to pre-Partition Kashmir, and the business expanded its textile business in Pakistan.
By hand or machine weaving
This change is not a matter of memory; it is a matter of honesty. Down To Earth reported that a pure pashmina shawl takes three to four days to be woven on a traditional handloom, but the same takes minutes on a power loom, and hand weavers have paid for this loss of income. What does each of them provide you?
Handloom: created by hand and not replicated by a machine; small irregularities that are not reproduced by a machine. It suits collectors.
Power loom: consistent size, consistent quality for hundreds of garments and affordable for an average family. It suits wholesale.
A decent manufacturer will be honest about what they're selling.
Making a shawl - from fibre to folded cloth
They visualize a loom on which a person imagines a shawl beginning. It starts earlier.
● Fibre selection: Manufacturer and yarn supplier agree on the content of the shawl: wool, blend or synthetic.
● Yarn preparation: Spinning (or purchase of spun yarn) and dyeing either the yarn or the finished cloth as per the design.
● Warping: The lengthwise threads (taana) are pulled across the loom.
● Weaving: The weft, or the baana, is crossed by it. Taana baana translates to simply weave in two words.
● Pattern: The checks and stripes are derived from the warp and weft of the colours and elaborate designs require a dobby or jacquard attachment. Here borders and fringes are determined as well.
● Finishing: The cloth is raw and slightly stiff when it comes off the loom. It is something that you want close to your neck after washing, brushing the surface for softness, steaming and pressing it.
● Inspection: They are examined for broken threads, uneven dyeing, weaving faults by a trained eye: A mender mends what they can.
● Folding, labelling, packing and dispatch: The final step, and one that can be easily marred by hasty packing.
There is always a point of failure in every step. A slight difference in the dye lot becomes apparent the instant two shawls from two different dye lots are placed side by side on a shelf. The edge is not finished and will fray after the first wash. When a buyer asks about quality checks, he's not being difficult. If you ask any kaarigar from a Jalalpur karkhana, you will get the same answer.
What is in the shawl: wool, pashmina, angora and acrylic?
In this business, more is confused than any other item: fibre names.
Typically, cashmere has a fineness of 15 to 19 microns, with pashmina being considered the finer grade. However in the market the term is also applied to any soft wrap. Honest sellers state what fibre it is. The evidence isn't the ring test people show off at the stall, it's a composition report from an independent lab.
Blend percentages are correct and honest products if they are printed as they are. The issue here is the wool that is on a shawl that is predominantly acrylic.
Custom, fashion and gifting
The one garment, many customs
The man typically covers a shalwar kameez or a waistcoat with a chadar or shawl in Punjab, and in the winter season it is almost a part of the dress code. The shawl is worn with the pheran, the long woollen gown used for warmth, in Kashmir. In Afghanistan and in the communities of the Himalayas, the wrap is as much a blanket as a garment, designed to withstand the elements and long days outside. India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh are all textile countries and not one culture, and a buyer who treats them as one will end up with the wrong colour, size, weight. All of them are hospitable. To put a shawl on someone's shoulders is to say you are important.
Wearing it today
A shawl is used over a plain shalwar kameez, over a waistcoat, next to the sherwani at the time of walima in winter, and over regular western clothes such as a knit or jacket. The best designs are those that are quiet, neutral in color, have a clean traditional border, and have a sensible weight.
Giving it
It is perfect for just about any man on the family list as a gift. On an anniversary day, a husband will give gifts; a father, on his birthday; a grandfather, during the first cold week; a brother, before his marriage; relatives on Eid, on days when the weather is cool. Presentation counts. A neatly folded shawl with a short handwritten card is more impressive than a noisy gift box.
Pakistani shawl manufacturing is a great opportunity
Pakistan has the skills, the cluster, and the cost base, but the buyer abroad has other concerns, and those concerns need to be addressed. Markets of interest are diaspora communities in the UK, North America and the Gulf, and customers in India, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. The word that's right is study. Requirements, obligations, and import regulations vary from country to country and are constantly evolving, so always verify before making plans, and don't trust anyone who guarantees a market.
The first things that importers look for are the following:
Consistency! The same dimensions at piece number one and piece number five hundred; same shade between dye lots; fibre percentage as per the label and the test report. It's not too early to talk about winter supplies; they're usually ordered and made far, far in advance of the winter. Labelling is also a problem, as the European Union and United States have rules about what information is required when it comes to the amount of fiber on a textile product. A supplier who already thinks in fibre percentages is a step ahead.
Questions to put to any supplier
● Product categories, fibre content, dimensions and colours.
● The minimum order quantity and indicative lead time.
● Quality checks – at what points?
● Packaging and labelling
● Private label (if available)
● Sampling terms
● Shipping destinations
If the supplier is unable to provide written answers to these questions, then move on to another supplier.
Where Dressifie fits
By its own published history, Dressifie traces its roots to pre-Partition Kashmir, built its textile operations in Pakistan, and reports more than thirty years of shawl manufacturing. It says it already exports shawls to Afghanistan, Bangladesh and India, and its website already invites bulk wholesale inquiries. So the move toward wider B2B, distribution, and international partnerships extends work that is already happening. It is not a fresh start.
If you are an importer, distributor, boutique owner or sourcing agent looking for men's shawls from Pakistan, send a message here or reach out through the Dressifie website with the categories, fibre preferences and quantities you have in mind. A clear specification sheet is a better place to begin than any promise.
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