French Blue Pashmina Shawl

Adbusters is holding a competition for an anti-nationalist flag. This made me consider the psychology of color: the obvious choice among the contenders is a black flag with a simple white ring. Would it be flown in conjunction with the sky blue field of the United Nations banner? Blue appears to be the most popular flag color, with red a close second. "Interview suits" are conventionally blue: it is assertive without violence, bold and certain, calm but strong. “Loyal, but not forgetting sadness.” Its associations are Oceanic, heavenward, peaceful, unified, harmonic, serene, offering protection from the evil eye as glass disks and signifying the shawl of the Virgin Mary. As a skin color, it is an end of humanity, the stain of Godhood, and now associated with some amusing shaved-headed louts who spit marshmallows at one another to thunderous rock accompaniment. My perpetual blue state is both psychic and political. And while the juxtaposition of the Disney Alice in Wonderland's flounced skirt with the phrase "blue movie" is not unprecedented, it is still ironic. So I'm not sure what to make of this French blue. Is it pretty or "safe?" Staid and reassuring? Or attractive through its assurance of candor: "True Blue." I am not certain that truthfulness or loyalty are valued anymore.

In addition to a range of garments and accessories, Nimli offers luxuriantly simple fields of color in interwoven Pashmina hairs, over one hundred colors, a dozen of which could qualify as blue. Patriotic blues, dark blues, gray blues, pale blues, baby blues, royal blues, aquas, pinky blues, azure, cerulean and turquoise. The color of the company is decidedly green: entrepreneur Rajat Arora founded Nimli in 2003 to provide a one-stop location that would further sustainable living by providing a range of "green" things handled in an environmentally conscious manner. For example, individual manufacturers ship directly to the consumer, eliminating the energy-consuming practices of extra shipping and warehouse storage. Many green scarves and shawls are available, too: olive, hunter, pine, sea foam, chartreuse, celadon, willow, spring leaf, and new dollar.

Review by Erika Mikkalo

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