Pashmina Stole – 70x200cm – 70% Cashmere / 30% Silk – Real Teal

Think of a peacock feather turned away from the light: Real Teal is that deep blue-green. In this teal pashmina the soft sheen of the silk brings a hint of brightness to the folds, so this dark shade never looks heavy beside grey, navy or black. A burgundy or plum dress makes an unexpected but handsome partner for it.

Thirty per cent of the cloth is silk, which adds strength as well as that sheen; the other 70% is cashmere from Inner Mongolia, whose long fibres measure 14–16 microns. The two are spun 2-ply at a 28 count and woven in Nepal into a 70 × 200 cm stole, and the teal itself comes from AZO-free Swiss dyes. Opened out, it covers about two-thirds of your back; folded lengthways and looped, it becomes a smart office scarf.

One buyer, who bought it for a teenage niece, found it “soft with a nice drape, light yet warm” and the colour true to the picture “with good depth to it”; another described a “Beautiful rich colour”. Lesley, though, found hers lighter than the photo and exchanged it, so if the exact depth matters, start with the swatchbook.