Women’s Cashmere Capes & Ponchos

The best layer is the one you can throw on without thinking. A cashmere poncho or cape does exactly that — no sleeves to fuss with, no fastenings to line up, just soft Himalayan cashmere that settles over your shoulders and drapes. It is the piece that goes over a dress for an evening out and over a jumper on a long-haul flight, then folds down small enough to live in your bag. This collection gathers both capes and ponchos, in pure and undyed Himalayan cashmere, for exactly those in-between moments.

Cape or poncho — which one?

The two are close cousins, and the difference is mostly in the cut. A cape tends to sit more like an open layer around the shoulders, often with an open or structured front, while a poncho is usually a closed shape you pull over the head so it falls evenly front and back. Our Artisan Cape gives you that fluid, thrown-over-the-shoulders line, and the V-Neck Poncho offers the easy symmetry of a single pull-on layer. If you want to see the distinctions side by side, our guide on cape vs poncho vs wrap walks through each.

Made for travel and occasion

These are the pieces we reach for when we are moving between places and temperatures. A few ways they earn their keep:

• Over a dress for dinner, then keeping your shoulders warm on the walk home.
• Rolled into a carry-on as a light layer for the plane or the train.
• Thrown over jeans and a tee to lift an everyday outfit in seconds.

Because they are hand-knitted and hand-woven from fine, roughly 16-micron cashmere, they stay lightweight without giving up warmth. For more ideas on draping and knotting, our notes on styling a wrap apply just as well here.

Pure and undyed, honestly made

Every piece is 100% Himalayan Chyangra cashmere, hand-combed from the goats' soft undercoat during their natural spring moult and made by artisans in Nepal. The undyed styles, like the undyed Artisan Cape, keep the fibre's natural colour — no dyeing, no bleaching — in tones of ivory, oat, fawn and grey. Authenticity is NPIA-certified and the work is Fair Trade certified, with duties paid on delivery.

If a cape or poncho is not quite the shape you had in mind, our cashmere shawls give you a longer, looser drape, while the wider women's cashmere edit and our undyed cashmere for women range hold jumpers, scarves and more in the same honest cashmere. Whatever you choose, it is a piece made to be kept and worn for years.