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I bought my girls some inexpensive pashminas while I was on vacation. They look and feel like the real thing, but for a fraction of the cost and now I have money left over to get them other things! If you're not 100% postitive that they'll all appreciate the real deal, then I'd suggest saving some money and investing in a few other things too!
I would def. use a wrap if I needed it at a wedding, but I know I would never wear it again. Just not me! So I would go with the wrap to use there, plus some other fun things like the tote. Depends on whether you think your girls would be likely to use them again, IMO.
I'd go for the real pashmina. The synthetic ones can get sort of itchy. I wear pashminas all the time as scarves actually. they work fantastically.
I would really want the cashmere one, unless you find a really high quality synthetic. I can really tell the difference between cashmere and the fakes, but sometimes they are just really quite nice!
In general, I wear pashminas as a big fluffy scarf all the time. They are seriously my favorite winter accessory and I'd love to have a gorgeous luxe one but I'd never buy it myself!
Do they have any dip-dyed black AND white ones? I just love the multicolors but it may not look as nice as a wrap
@ejs4y8: I have a multi-colored one (charcoal-white ombre) that I wear as a wrap all the time, and I *think* it looks fine :). But I haven't seen any in the wider width that I was hoping to get, or any that quite match the dresses.
I'm super allergic to cashmere, so I would not only never wear it again, I couldn't wear it at the wedding. There are lots of nice synthetic ones available too.
@marigold, that's what i was thinking of =]. White House Black Market has one out, I think....
What about pairing the cashmere wrap with, say, one pretty vintage brooch? I'm really into the brooch it and scarf it approach and can't wait to go scour some flea markets =]
You can also pin the wrap so it doesn't go flopping around in the wind =]
@Erin: OMG! That's unfortunate :(. I guess if I go with the real thing I'd better assess for allergies first!!
I just tend to think that a pashmina is an extremely generic way to thank someone especially if they have been great friends and there for you. I think a better gift would be to think what would you get your girls if it were there birthday.
I also own like 5 black pashminas myself. You may want to ask around and see who has one already.
I would love a real one. It seems to me all the synthetic ones I've ever bought or been given get kind of shabby looking after awhile and fade a lot. But if you find really nice synthetic ones it probably won't be a problem! I'm a total scarf obsessive - my only shopping vice is warm clothes ;) - so I always appreciate being given a nice new one. Pashminas are so versatile anyway!
Thanks for the ideas, ladies! I think I also found some sweet vintage cameo brooches that might go well (different design for each girl that I *think* they will all relate to!). It ups the cost, but maybe if I spread out the purchases I won't feel it as much ;).
I just think it is a nicer gesture to buy your bridesmaid one nice piece as opposed to a bunch of sort of cheap things. I always looked at the gifts as being something commemorative of the event. To me something long lasting and quality embraces that concept. I am also not a fan of giving the bridesmaids something to wear at the wedding. For some reason that seems like the gift is more about the bride getting exactly what she wants at her wedding than a way of thanking the people she considers closest to her.
So I guess my suggestion is that if you don't think your bridesmaids will want a pashmina, don't buy them a cheaper one and try and compensate with other knick-knacks. Start from scratch and pick out something nice and that is quality that you really think each girl will love.
I love the real thing, but I already have a black pashmina (and I'm guessing half your BMs have one too). So, if I got a black pashmina as a gift, I wouldn't be so excited because I already have one. If you want to get them pashminas, consider getting them one that matches their personality.
Well, the idea is to give them the gift, not necessarily that they wear it that night (just a convenient coincidence since it will probably be cold out). Black happens to match the dresses, and I thought it would work because it matches everything, whereas a favorite color might not necessarily.
And while I know it might be otherwise for most brides, my bridesmaids are not all necessarily the people I feel closest to. ;) I am quite close with three of them (although we never exchange gifts with each other, even for birthdays), but two are my new step-sisters who I asked as more of a "welcome to the family" gesture than because they have been/I expect them to be "there for me" in the future. I'd rather not get personal and meaningful gifts for half of my bridesmaids when I don't know the other half well enough to do the same for them.
I have a lot of synthetic ones I bought for $5 so I would personally love the real deal - something I wouldn't buy for myself, which is what makes a perfect gift! Obviously I don't know your bridal party, but I think it is a nice gift (could you maybe get a fun color one instead of black so its less likely anyone already owns one?)
I would love a real pashmina, it's such a luxurious gift. What about getting them monogramed?
I was a BM for my cousin and she gave the BMs real pashminas dyed to match the dresses (in her case a burgundy/wine color). It's the most beautiful, useful gift I've gotten as a BM. I used it ALL THE TIME! In warmer months it's a wrap, in the winter it's the warmest scarf I have.
I really think the pashmina is a great idea.
(PS- The synthetic ones aren't nearly as warm!)
I would rather have the real deal. I would never buy for myself, but would love to receive as a gift. Very thoughtful!
I wouldn't want to blow my budget...although I would like the real thing myself, I would want to make sure that my bridesmaids would appreciate one as well before I splurged!
I would love to get a real one ... that are so useful, and luxurious. I also don't think many people would splurge on a real one for themselves!
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I'd get something custom-made, something unique/special. (a pashmina is kind of standard, as someone above mentioned). i think i'd get someone on Etsy to do a set of bags for the girls, made to my desires... see some examples below. if you go on Etsy, you'll see tons of bridesmaid bag sets -- many customizable -- in the "weddings" catagory.)
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I would say go with the real one.
However, I saw you found some vintage brooches... I'd prefer that over the pashmina. It's true, most women already have a couple black scarfs/pashminas in their closets.
I had to google what a pashmina was..which says I'm not a fashion diva at all. I have no interest in shawls and I have none. I have one scarf from when I lived in IL and it was made for me.
Just saying--are your bms, people who would use it? If they are like me and are "tom-boy" girls than it probably won't be useful..but if they are like my sister who can't leave the house without being prettified..than they might be useful. I wouldn't wear it..hell, if you had ask would you like a pashmina? I would have looked at you, like a whhaatt?. I have never gotten it as a gift when I was a bm. I did get a tote that I actually use for all my school books. I would much rather get something I would use and personal for me..instead of something that was the same for each one..and I wouldn't use after the wedding. But, I like the little bags that the above poster found.
I tend to be not a huge fan of bags likesleepylittlesailor found ... I don't do a lot of kitchy things, and a personalized clutch would probably find its way into a thrift store (I carry designer bags mostly and have some amazing metallic leather clutches that are more classic) so I think it would really depend on your girls!
wow, thanks for calling my choices for marigold "kitsch"!
meow!
this thread is about suggesting alternatives for Marigold, helping her out...
PS: hand-made items, custom-made to order, individually for a person -- and out of non-synthetic materials, to boot -- don't fit the definition of "kitsch." by definition, "kitsch" is something mass-produced, cheaply, and in poor pop-culture taste. even if you don't like the idea i was putting forward for Marigold, my suggestion of something hand-made, to her specifications is actually, literally, the dead opposite of "kitsch." peace, sister!
I actually love the bird clutch! I would totally buy it for myself if I wasn't on a personal spending freeze until March ;).
I definitely have some more thinking to do... I might see if I can secretively find out from my least girly/fashionista bridesmaid what she thinks and if she'd ever wear a wrap of her own free will. ;) If she will, any of them probably would, and even being not that into fashion, I am sure she can tell the difference between cashmere and viscose.
Just like Jana above, I have synthetic ones that I wear, and a real one would be a perfect gift since I wouldn't buy a real one for myself. I like the feel of the material with the real ones, but am not interested in the brand name attached to them. I also love the purses that sleepylittlesailor posted!! I would be your bridesmaid any day for one of those cuties 
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Thinking about potential bridesmaid gifts and one idea I had is to give each of my five bridesmaids a black pashmina (dresses are black and ivory, and it will be an outdoor ceremony in March and might be cold in the evening). I found really beautiful real cashmere ones that I'm thinking about getting, but it eats up pretty much the whole gift budget. So the question is: would you rather get a high quality, real cashmere pashmina as a bm gift, or a synthetic one and a few other pieces (as yet undecided, but I'm thinking probably a personalized tote and at least one other thing that I will certainly be asking the hive's advice on later)?
I ask because I would DEFINITELY prefer the real thing, but I would actually wear a black cashmere wrap in the future on my own... my bridesmaids may not all be into it (not everyone's style, I'm thinking) and if that's the case they may be fine with the synthetic one for the wedding to keep warm that night and have some other things they *want* to use again. :)
Which would you want as a bridesmaid?