Vicuna vs. cashmere

MyVintageCocktail

MyVintageCocktail

VFG Member
I don't think I've ever seen a real vicuna coat before (I'm woefully underexposed to the best of the best stuff), but am wondering is it really close enough to cashmere to be confused with it? And if so, how does one tell the difference? I've looked & looked and can't find a resource that explains how to determine which is which. Unless I'm missing it.... I've googled & checked out the links here. Would vicuna have a longer "nap" than cashmere? I know it's softer.... I ask because I have a coat that I thought was cashmere but it doesn't quite look or feel like my other cashmeres. If it's vicuna, would it always have a label saying so? Most of my coats are 50s and don't have fabric labels. Is it kind of "hairy" like most of the camelids' coats? Or soft & fuzzy? This particular coat is very soft, but has a shorter fiber than most of the cashmeres I have or have had. Please excuse my ignorance, and thanks in advance if anyone can help me!
 
Vicuna is pretty rare in my neck of the woods. I did find one in an antique mall about a month ago. When I spotted it I thought it was cashmere. It wasn't until I touched it that I suspected vicuna. It was very smooth-looking, just like a really good cashmere. But it was softer. It was labeled 100% Vicuna and was made by Bernhard Altmann, an Austrian cashmere company.

I'm sure that any vicuna or cashmere coat would have originally been labeled as such. Even the "fake" cashmeres like Kashmiracle are always labeled.

A good dry cleaner can tell you what it is.

Lizzie
 
EEEEEEEEKKKKKKK!!!

I knew you were going to say that :)

But since someone might have paid a lot of money and saved for "better" maybe that is less likely.
 
Thanks for the info! I can't imagine anyone in their right minds would remove a vicuna label, so I'll be sure to look either for a lable or where one might have been cut off if I ever run across something that looks as if it might be the big "V." Even after looking at photos of vicuna, I doubt I could tell the difference between that & cashmere....
 
I've sold a couple of vicuna coats. Once you've felt it, you'll know it. It's like the softest cashmere out there, but much more fluid. Wish I could explain it better, but each time I've found it after my first one, there's been no doubt in my mind what I'm holding --- even before finding the label!
 
Ok, so if it feels like cashmere but only lots nicer, it could be vicuna.... I think I understand what you mean by "fluid," so perhaps I'll know it when I see it. Like diamonds--I'm not an expert, but I know a diamond when I see one!
 
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