Shirts and sweaters

UNIQLO wool v-necks. One in khaki, light grey, and blue. Under $50 each.

BOO dress shirts are nice but horribly overpriced.

i'd also like to know where to get some decent merino v-necks for a decent price. H&M ones seem to be very low quality. i have one that has only been worn a few times and it is piling already and stretches like a bitch, for some reason. UNIQLO is out for me because im in canada.

I'm Canadian also and in the last F/W collection from GAP I found the perfect merino v-neck for me. I loved it so much I bought it in (honestly) 5 colors. Luckily I only paid full price for 2 of them and got the other three at a significant discount.

one of the best places ive found for great basics is Collection of Style (COS). It's the premium store owned by H&M- they have a store in London. It's a swedish company so should be one in Sweden? cashmere v necks are great i have about 6 wear them every day...

Ankar (www.ankar.se) is a swedish brand that supposedly sells nice cashmere stuff.

I'm not sure about the size though. guess you can email them about it.

If you'd like a slim-fitting sweater, take a look at commando sweaters. The British surplus stuff is great quality and very slim and warm. They have a distinctly military look that you'll want to defuse with different colored shirts and patterns, but they're an excellent accessory to play around with. They can be had for $30 or less. Cashmere is a lot softer than sheep's wool, though it's very expensive and now, of dubious quality since it's mass-produced. Merino is a fine wool and personally, I'd rather have great merino than poor cashmere. There are also political ramifications of the cashmere industry, if you care about that sort of thing. The most important thing when you're buying your sweaters is to get ones of good quality that will hold up over time and resist pilling. I wish I had more advice about specific brands that resist pilling, but I can't say much. Cable-knit or ribbed sweaters (like commando ones) seem a bit resistant to it.

You should consider buying a crewneck sweater, too, maybe one that is patterned. Don't buy all your sweaters from the same brand.