'Throughout history cashmere has been a luxury cloth, prized for its warmth, light weight, and sensation of softness against the skin. Rich Romans bought cashmere scarves of exotic and intricate design that had been handwoven in Srinagar, Kashmir (hence the name), and brought to Rome by merchant traders. In India the cashmere spinning industry was so extensive that by the fifteenth century nearly 60,000 people were directly employed in it. By the nineteenth century, the European aristocracy considered cashmere the most fashionable of fabrics. In England, George "Beau" Brummell and the Prince Regent started a vogue for white cashmere waistcoats.' G. Bruce Boyer, Elegance: A Guide to Quality in Menswear (1985)
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