One of my favorite ideas for reducing consumption and overall spending is to buy less, but buy quality items that you love and will last. Two blog posts inspired me to push my wardrobe in this general direction: this post from Young House Love about maintaining a 9+/10 "overall closet average," and this post from Small Notebook about maintaining a "casual dressy" wardrobe. My goal for the past 2-ish years has been to rein in my variety impulse, and put my wardrobe budget into simpler, higher quality pieces that I can wear for a longer time.
Why? Part of it is financial, part sustainability concerns, part reading Overdressed: The Shockingly HighCost of Cheap Fashion (I highly recommend this book for an interesting take on the result of our consumer fashion culture), and part space saving in our small, shared closet.
There is a wonderful three-part series on how to identify quality garments on SecondCherry, a website I found through Pinterest (if you're ever looking for a fun way to spend some time, search "X tips" on Pinterest for any subject you're curious about).
Fabric
Fit
Finish
This series applies generally to woven garments, but some of the information is applicable to knitted clothing as well. Either way, it seems like a great primer to help you evaluate the quality of a piece before paying for it.
Part of my quest with wardrobe concerns has been to transition my sweaters (a workwear staple for me in winter) to cashmere. I started with one navy v-neck similar to the one above from the much-missed Martin & Osa, which I've been wearing and loving for at least 5 years. My general plan has been to replace my other, cheaper sweaters with more quality cashmere ones, since I enjoy wearing that one so much more. That said, I have a hard time paying more than $100 for any item of clothing, so I've been fairly picky with whether or not I keep any of the sweaters I order.
Last winter I bought two cashmere boatnecks and a crew neck sweater from Lands End, which I found after returning several from the Halogen brand to Nordstrom (I found the Halogen sweaters to been too thin- I don't want my sweaters to be transluscent). I like the boatnecks, but don't love them- they aren't quite as soft as my beloved M&O sweater, and there is a bit more "fluff" to the fabric (I generally find that loose surface fibers, which I'm calling "fluff," contribute to early and continuous pilling). But they're pretty good for the price (they were about $100 when I bought in late winter), and are available year round.
I looked in to buying a few sweaters from Talbots (a great place for workwear staples, even for those of us who are younger), but by the time I thought to look, all the basic colors were sold out. Since fall is just starting, there are now basic colors on the Talbots website, which generally has a broader variety than the stores. In store, the sweaters seemed well made and soft, with minimal fluff. These sweaters run abour $130-140. I find it often pays to be signed up for Talbots emails, as they tend to have very good sales regularly.
This year I decided to try a couple of new brands, Uniqlo and Pure Collection. I've known about Uniqlo since I lived in Japan- it's a huge company over there, known for colorful basics that are very durable. I visited the store in Brooklyn in an attempt to try the cashmere without paying shipping, but they didn't have any. The merino and cashmere blends were gorgeous though, so I ordered the cashmere v-neck. It was a disappointment: it wasn't the color pictured on the website and above, but rather a dusky blue, was a little less soft than the Lands End sweaters, and was very "fluffy." I returned this sweater.
Pure Collection is a new company to me- I somehow got on their mailing list, and thought that, with 25% off and free shipping/returns, it was worth a try. From what I can find online, they're a somewhat established British company that specializes in online cashmere and silk for women. They have a sustainability bent as well, which I really appreciate. The one complaint I have about the website is that it's very difficult to find the sale items- the main items I liked were easy to locate, but I love browsing the sale section before I close my cart, and they may have lost out on a sale or two because it wasn't very easy to find them.
I ordered a cashmere v-neck and a cashmere cardigan. Both the sweaters were a very nice quality when they arrived- a fine, tight knit, soft, and very low "fluff." The cardigan and v-neck fit differently: the cardigan is somewhat boxy (ideal to wear buttoned, but not open), and the v-neck is fairly fitted. I am returning the cardigan, but very excited about the v-neck. With my discount, I paid $103.50 for the v-neck and $111 for the cardigan. I believe this would be closer to $135 and $150 at full price. For now, this brand would be my recommendation for sweaters- it hits the sweet spot on price and quality, at least while I have a discount of some sort. Customer service was also fantastic to work with.
Since my Pure Collection cardigan didn't work out and I wear cardigans almost daily at work, I've just placed an order for Boden cropped cashmere cardigan. The reviews on Boden cashmere are mixed, but I figured I should give it a shot for a full review at this general price point. I will update with my opinion once the cardigan arrives.
** Update: My Boden cashmere cardigan came, and I'm very happy with it. At the discounted price, it's within the $100 range where I'm comfortable, soft, fairly tight knit, with low "fluff." It's not quite as soft as the Pure Collection cashmere, but has very nice detailing to make it feel less like a basic (gathers, reinforcement on the button placket, and contrast color on the inside of the edges). **
*All opinions in this post are my own. I was not compensated for any of these reviews, and purchased every sweater with my own funds. *
No comments:
Post a Comment