Cashmere - The Sceptical Shopper - Page 2

That's what I get for trying to help.

Have fun combing your sweater.

The rep in NY said combing it is for the pilling not the shedding, so I didn't get the comb.

If this sweater stops shedding after I wear it a few times, what will your reply be? That you were wrong?

If you weren't exaggerating when you described the problem, the only solution is to return it.

Nope, not exaggerating.

What I find hard to believe is that Ralph Lauren would put an inferior product, from their premier label, on the shelves of its stores knowing full well that this flaw is so easily identifiable, as is the case with the shedding problem I'm referring to. This particular cable knit cashmere sweater has been out for well over a year now.

It would put a major ding in the reputation of the Purple Label line to have such an obvious flaw imo, especially given the intial price point of $900.

With that said, I am truly hoping the shedding problem goes away, because if it doesn't, and I do end up returning it, I will definitely be disappointed, given that RLPL has such high standards from every other product I've seen (and I've handled a lot of it).

Have you handled the RLPL men's butt thong? That was definitely high quality stuff.

Why not? I clearly worked on you... If it weren't for SF, you might still be reveling in RLPL cashmere fluff, thinking that its worth every penny.

If it weren't for SF, I wouldn't own any RLPL to begin with.

And now you've got so much you're able to sell a shitload of it in your sig!! What a country!!! In Soviet Styleforvm, Ralph Lauren sells you!!

I wouldn't have any RLPL if I didn't sell some to pay for it

But I suspect that's the case for many here like me who cannot regularly afford such items (even on sale)

Not sure how any of this ties into Soviet doctrine

I have some sublime stuff by Alan Paine for N.Peale, from back in the day when the £/$ rate was prit' near even.

I tried on a cable knit cashmere RL sweater yesterday. It was in my typical size but all the elasticity in the hem was gone and it did not hang well. I was disappointed because I had been looking for this particular sweater all season, but unfortunately, the quality of it was too poor for its $475.00 price tag.

Was that a RLPL sweater on sale? Or blue label? I haven't tried any of the blue label ones but even at $475 that's too high for me

When China began limiting its exports of raw cashmere fiber and producing their own yarns in the 1990's, it caused a glut of cheap yarn and finished cashmere garments in the market, and caused prices to plummet. Meanwhile, Scottish manufacturers saw their fiber supplies dry up or disappear altogether. I'm sorry to see these manufacturers reacting the way they are to the new reality: instead of lowering their quality they should have simply raised their prices, and allow the market to separate naturally into people who want long-term durability and are willing to pay for it, and those who're just interested in low price and a soft feel, and don't care about durability.

Italian manufacturers seem to be taking this latter approach, and so far have fared the Chinese storm much better than their Scottish counterparts. Loro Piana recently opened a fiber processing facility in Mongolia, Cucinelli and others are sticking to their traditional minimum quality specs for fiber, etc. I think the current best advice is to stick with these higher-end Italian labels until the Scottish industry hopefully adjusts to producing much lower volumes with traditional quality, instead of lowering their quality in a futile attempt to compete with the Chinese, and inevitably going out of business altogether.

Could you elaborate a little as to your opinion of Cucinelli as it seems to be the gold standard on SF

interesting