Forgive me for misquoting William Shakespeare’s famous line “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet”, but it seemed appropriate! My daughter and I each purchased one of these at a great Boxing Week sale, but I’m not really sure what to call it!

The store clerk referred to it as a scarf, but that’s definitely not what I’d call it. I’ve seen bloggers from the southern US refer to this kind of garment as a ruana, but I’ve never heard that word used here in western Canada. In fact, the first time I saw the word, I had to check a dictionary to see what it meant.

ruana: [roo-ah-nuh] noun. a poncho-like outer garment of heavy wool, worn especially in the mountains of Colombia.

While my new wrap is similar to a poncho, that’s not quite right either. The word poncho also originated in South America where it refers to a heavy piece of woolen cloth with a slit in the middle for the head. I remember wearing ponchos back in the late 1960s and early 70s when they were all the rage among the younger crowd. This is one of my favourite photos of myself from that era. In it, I’m wearing a poncho that belonged to my boyfriend.

I suppose I could call my new blanket-like garment a mantle, but that sounds awfully pretentious or I could call it a shawl or, as I already did in the paragraph above, a wrap. Regardless of what it’s called, it’s a cozy, comfortable addition to my wardrobe and great to snuggle up in on a chilly Alberta evening.