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Not necessarily, no. Sometimes, at a given price point, the lambswool will be better, and other times the merino will be better. Heck, at certain price points (particularly the more modest ones), lambswool or merino may be better than cashmere, too. Plus, a lot depends on how you define "better." Are you looking for comfort, weight, color, warmth, durability, or what? (In practice, of course, most people look for some specific combination of qualities.)

If you can examine the sweaters in person, figuring out which one is more to your liking is pretty easy.

If you can't examine them in person, well, I guess there are two ways to look at it -

Way #1 is "It's a crap shoot, since I'm buying sight unseen. I'd rather risk $70, than risk $150, so I'll buy the merino."

Way #2 is, "The lambswool is priced more than twice as high as the merino. Assuming even a loose connection between price and quality, that suggests the $150 sweater is better than the $70 sweater. I'll buy the lambswool."

And JBMarce21's point is valid, too. Even if the $150 sweater does turn out to be nicer than the $70 sweater, will it be nicer than two of the $70 sweaters?

Me? I prefer merino, simply because it tends to be a little thinner than lambswool, and is more comfortable to me. But that's just my preference; maybe you like a heavier sweater, or a warmer one. I'd add that I find virtually no sweater to be itchy, but if you are sensitive to itchiness, merino tends to be less itchy than lambswool. Again, these are just generalities - they don't mean that a specific merino wool sweater will appeal to me more than a specific lambswool sweater. Moreover, my preferences are based on the sort of sweaters I wear - almost always v-necks. I haven't worn a cardigan in years. So, again, your situation does differ from my own.

Still can't decide? Then buy the sweater offered by the merchant with the better return policy.

Finally, I'll mention that while Jos. A. Bank gets lots of criticism around here - and often deservedly so - I own a couple of JAB merino wool Signature v-neck sweaters, and am pleased with them. 'Course, I didn't pay the $100 "everyday" price, but instead picked them up for about $25 each, due to a sale and a coupon. So if anyone's thinking of buying some merino v-necks, and there's a 70% off sale on these, they're worth considering. Just saying, is all. (And no, they're not particularly trim fit. If that's what you're after, well, to each his own.)
--
Michael

In my exp, lambswool is warmer, has less stretch and pills a bit less than merino wool; in most cases its also thicker than merino.



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Edited by canstyleace - 9/28/12 at 5:58pm

Balmoral boots are a much safer bet for suits and slacks. They are the most formal footwear you can have (pre WWI at least). Jodphurs are more acceptable for casual wear.

Is this a true 3 button or a 3 roll 2?

True 3

I prefer merino myself. I feel it looks dressier and pills less than lambswool. I don't have too much experience with lambswool though just a Polo sweater made out of it, which may not be the best quality.

Thanks!

Looking at a suit on Ebay.  Is this label for a Zegna suit sold at Saks or a Saks suit that uses Zegna fabric?

 

It's a real Zegna.

It's a Saks suit that uses Zegna fabric. Far as I can tell, they are half canvas, and usually excellent for the money. I had great success with some of their Loro Piana ones in the past, before I went all MTM. do NOT pay more than $400 for it, and you can sometimes get lucky and find them for about $325 - $350 if you buy 2 at, for example, the off 5th in Wrentham MA, which I would haunt when I lived there.

OK, got ya. But a Jodphur would not look out of place per se with a suit or slacks, no?

They would look out of place, imo.

Interested in picking up a trench coat. Would like to keep it around $200 -- no problem purchasing used. Any brands I should contemplate? My mind immediately goes toward Burberry. The consensus on their fit seems to be size down one from actual suit size if want it to be fitted.

Thanks for the help guys regarding merino vs lambswool. I am going to go with the merino as I can't justify the other being twice as better. It's not like the merino I'm looking at is made in China. I will just get two: navy and grey. That will have me covered as far as knits are concerned as those are the two staple colors IMO.

For sweaters, my two staple colors are navy and burgundy. I'm not knocking grey, which is certainly a useful color, but I often wear khaki chinos, brown cords, sometimes grey trousers, and I just think that burgundy works better with those colors than does grey.

In fairness, I suppose if one wears a lot of blue or black jeans, a grey sweater would be a pretty good color choice (although it's not like burgundy isn't also a perfectly fine choice with blue or black jeans).

So, is it sweater weather up in Toronto yet? Down here in Baltimore, I'm still waiting for the chilly autumn weather to settle in, at which point I'll likely head down to Skyline Drive (Shenandoah National Park) and photograph the fall foliage. (I dislike summer, and look forward to the first frost of the season.)
--
Michael