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The first shawls, or "shals", were used in Assyrian times; later they went into widespread use in the Middle East. Shawls were also part of the traditional male costume in Kashmir, which was probably introduced via assimilation to Persian culture. They were woven in extremely fine woollen twill, some such as the Orenburg shawl, were even said to be as fine as the Shatoosh

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​In Spain it became part of Romani (gitana) dress especially in Andalucia and Madrid. These embroidered items were revived in the 1920s under the name of Spanish shawls. Their use as part of the costume of the lead in the opera Carmen contributed to the association of the shawls with Spain rather than China.

Shawls are used in order to keep warm, to complement a costume, and for symbolic reasons