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Is Cashmere Overrated?

post #1 of 81
10/8/11 at 3:26pm
Thread Starter 
I realize it's soft and keeps you warm, but is it worth the cost? Does wool not accomplish the same thing at a cheaper alternative?
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post #2 of 81
10/8/11 at 3:34pm
Cashmere is really just a kind of wool.

There is nasty cheap scratchy wool, and there is nasty cheap scratchy cashmere. There are also super-nice, super-expensive, super-soft versions of both.

This season Kris Van Assche has a plain black zip sweater made of 50% wool and 50% acrylic; it's selling for over $1500 -- so it's not as though cashmere is universally price-inflated while wool sells on the cheap.

As someone who wears pieces of cashmere from Ralph Lauren Purple Label, Loro Piana, Hermes, Louis Vuitton, Tom Ford, Alexander McQueen, and Marc Jacobs ..... no, it's not overrated, you just have to find a way to get it without paying the initial asking price.
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post #3 of 81
10/8/11 at 3:38pm
Good cashmere is worth the cost but smart buyers will know how to spot quality. The good stuff lasts, is cozy and wears very well. Beware of cheap, poorly woven cashmere.
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post #4 of 81
10/8/11 at 4:38pm
don't know much about wool (cashmere of the usual kind) but it strikes me as odd to see Hermes or Loro Piana in the same list as Alexander McQueen or Marc Jacobs- for anything really
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post #5 of 81
10/8/11 at 4:40pm
Maybe you should learn more.
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post #6 of 81
10/8/11 at 4:59pm
I know they really charge a premium for cashmere here, 3,000 yuan for a wafer-thin sweater. Even though Inner Mongolia is one of the world's major producers of cashmere, cashmere garments are very much luxury items here.
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post #7 of 81
10/8/11 at 5:11pm
RL cashmere sweaters are the softest I have ever own. But really delicate. And you will really have to look after it. I purchase my RL's on sale. Never pay full retail.
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post #8 of 81
10/8/11 at 6:32pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by MikeDT View Post

I know they really charge a premium for cashmere here, 3,000 yuan for a wafer-thin sweater. Even though Inner Mongolia is one of the world's major producers of cashmere, cashmere garments are very much luxury items here.

What's the factory called that produces a bunch of cashmere for all the main brands? You go in and everything is 50% off but you have to know, otherwise they charge you full price? ~$50 for nice cashmere scarves.


And back on topic personally I'm never in a place that's very cold and if it is, I can just put a coat on. Like the feel of wool over cashmere as well for some reason.
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post #9 of 81
10/8/11 at 7:28pm
I have a few nice cashmere ties from Barbera and Drake's but since I live in CA they basically only get worn for ~2 months of the year.
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post #10 of 81
10/8/11 at 7:42pm
I love the weight wool gives, but cashmere brings you back to a place when u were an infant child, clutching your super soft blanket, and all was right in the world. Regarding price, I believe It's SF policy never to pay full price.
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post #11 of 81
10/8/11 at 8:44pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by stevent View Post

What's the factory called that produces a bunch of cashmere for all the main brands? You go in and everything is 50% off but you have to know, otherwise they charge you full price? ~$50 for nice cashmere scarves.

I'm sure it's the Erdos Cashmere Group(Cartel) of Ordos, Inner Mongolia. The very same Erdos which is gouging stiff premiums like 3,000 yuan(about $500 USD) for wafer-thin Inner Mongolian cashmere sweaters, right here in Inner Mongolia.
http://www.chinaerdos.com/

Many corporations will often charge high premiums for luxury items in Mainland China, even if they are 'Made in China'. BTW one of the strictest customs checks I've ever been through is at Beijing Airport after flying from Hong Kong SAR to Beijing, they check everything and everyone here. Probably making sure people are not trying to smuggle cashmere sweaters, Apple iPads and iPhones, Gucci handbags, Marlboro cigarettes, and other contraband.
Edited by MikeDT - 10/8/11 at 9:11pm
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post #12 of 81
10/8/11 at 8:48pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by md2010 View Post

RL cashmere sweaters are the softest I have ever own. But really delicate. And you will really have to look after it. I purchase my RL's on sale. Never pay full retail.

I agree about the RL cashmere being very soft. I own several and have been quite pleased with them.
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post #13 of 81
10/8/11 at 9:22pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tony Romo View Post

I realize it's soft and keeps you warm, but is it worth the cost? Does wool not accomplish the same thing at a cheaper alternative?

Well doesn't nylon accomplish the same things wool does for less money?

It's like anything else. After a certain point you're not paying for performance.


The other thing is you need to avoid short term thinking. With luck my cashmere overcoat will last a life time. If you're buying things with a disposable mindset then value is far different.
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post #14 of 81
10/8/11 at 9:25pm
No.
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post #15 of 81
10/8/11 at 9:41pm
You pay for the softness of the fabric. As appearances go, texture differences are hard to discern, and vivid colors are hard to come by in cashmere. Likewise when it comes to durability, there is much more to go wrong with cashmere than with wool. It is also very hard to discern the quality of csshmere; as I have learned recently, very few items have ply, fabric thickness, etc. Indicated, so you do not know what you are getting untilma couplemof years after purchase.

My advice: accept that the feel of the fabric comes at a cost, and decide whether the risks are worth it.
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