Review on Reviving Elegance: Exotic India's Reversible Jamawar Amritsar Scarves & Wraps for Women by Kathy Babson

I've been searching a lot lately for a shawl/stole/shawl/stole in the right shade of pink or ivory. Not too plain, not too thin, not too shiny, or a pattern that looks like it belongs on the cornice and not on my shoulders; Quality pashmina or three-ply cashmere for less than $30. Yes, I know $30 cashmere isn't like that. I might as well be looking for a live unicorn. Although, according to some vendors, there are now goats crawling around in the Himalayas that grow pelts of rayon, acrylic, and rayon. (It's on the internet, so it has to be true, right?) So, after hours of shopping, buying, and returning, I stumbled across this scarf. Perfect colors, beautiful pattern, handmade from natural wool. But it's on the other side of the world, out of my price range, and there are no reviews or similar listings to vouch for its quality. After weighing the pros and cons, very briefly because the shawl is so beautiful that I just WANTED it, I dropped my caution and placed the order. Normally delivery from Asia takes about 2-6 weeks. Even standard shipping to the US can take 2 weeks. It took TWO WORKING DAYS, four calendar days. I placed an order on Thursday 11th, I received it on Monday 15th at 9am. They also carefully packed it. Inside the Fedex envelope was a sturdy cardboard box fully sealed with waterproof tape. In the box, beautifully wrapped in gold foil, the item was covered in styrofoam. Inside the well-sealed gold foil was a heavy plastic bag, also sealed with duct tape. My scarf was in the pocket! Maybe the excitement and anticipation created unwarranted expectations, or maybe I just don't know enough about wool scarves. This is my first. My first impression was the smell. Like mothballs and gasoline, albeit rather weak. It feels like there is some kind of coating on the material. Presumably it is processed to keep it pristine during storage and transportation. The color in the photo is dark beige but looks more like a light cocoa brown under fluorescent lighting. I put it on the double bed to see it in the sun. It is exactly the same size as the mattress, top to bottom and sides. I expected a handmade thing to be defective. There is a small tear on one edge (one thread is slightly thicker than the others) and a slightly larger tear towards the center on the front. It looks like the thread is tangled, tangled and knotted. I cut off most of the knots and it's barely noticeable. The scarf is advertised as reversible but the back LOOKS like the back but still pretty. In the sun, the color is still more light brown than beige. The texture of the fabric is much smoother than I expected, especially on the wrong side. The material is stretchy and falls beautifully. The label peeled off easily and left no residue. Even without opening the window, the smell quickly dissipated, as did my disappointment that the base of the cloth wasn't quite beige. The other colors are nice, the weight is just right, the pattern and overall finish is fine, the size alone makes it worth $40 and $6 for expedited shipping, that distance is a steal. All in all, I'm glad I invested in this film and I'm as happy as can be with it!