"I also adore the ladies' cape and can certainly put it to good use: it really is a good sample of the fashion at the time," wrote (then curator) lady de Jonge about this cashmere mantle in 1926. This 'exotic material' became very stylish after its introduction to Europe by the English. Cashmere was an important (warm) fashion item worn as a shawl over ladies' dresses in the first half of the nineteenth century. This changed in about 1870 when many of these ‘exotic’ shawls were produced, enabling almost everyone to own one. As a result, in about 1880, a new fashion evolved by transforming the shawls into cashmere mantles which would accentuate the bustle. The person who donated the mantle wasn’t so impressed : "I find it a gaudy cape, but the ladies’ vanity probably went beyond their artistic taste.”