Mongolian goat hair hot this summer
The latest "instant fashion trend" as propagated by the media and seen best in the Hamptons is cashmere for summer according to this New York Times story (registration required):
Cashmere has been marketed as the "in" thing for fall and winter so many times now that it is probably no surprise that the material, long a favorite of the affluent for its natural softness and its relative scarcity, has been given an extended life through the hottest months. Woven from the hair of goats raised primarily in or near Mongolia - the underbelly hairs are the most expensive - cashmere for summer is being sold at all prices, from $19.97 for a sleeveless T-shirt at Costco, to $397.50 for a cable-knit sweater at Polo, to the four-figure Loro Piana shawls at Neiman Marcus.
..."In a strange way, cashmere has become the fur shrug for warm weather," [designer Michael] Kors said. "It's a part of the nomad wardrobe where women will wear boots in the summer and layers of lightweight clothes in the winter as they go through different environments. It's fashion at its most utilitarian."