Best deep freeze winter cardigan ever?

[gsugsu]



This looks like a very low budget site run out of some guy's basement.
It's hard to get past that.

Yes, the site is not the greatest. However, the product is the key. There are not very many places that you can find sweaters like these. But, you can go to the source:

http://www.heratex.at/index2.htm

 

[MikeDT]



This looks like a very low budget site run out of some guy's basement.
It's hard to get past that.

That is a crap website. It's like GeoCities circa 1996. Certainly doesn't inspire confidence in them. Sweaters International, what's the "international" part?

 

[Reevolving]



Yes, the site is not the greatest. However, the product is the key. There are not very many places that you can find sweaters like these. But, you can go to the source:
http://www.heratex.at/index2.htm

More importantly, the styling just comes off as "Dollar store".
Just looks too thick in the border ribbing. See the neck.

I guess I wasn't looking for "deep freeze" after all. Shawl collars, etc
I felt the JCrew 100% Cashmere for $250 was more versatile.
You can ear it at home, at work, and socially (Pictured above)[/B]

 

[Kaplan]



Tough to get past the ribbing and the shawl collar.
This looks very feminine.

Agreed. Proof:

Some random SF'er

Some other random dude

In the full version of the pic below he's doing his best to distance himself from the cardigan's feminine vibes, using his right hand

 

[johnnyletrois]

Anybody know of a coupon for J Crew other than free shipping?

 

[acridsheep]

S.N.S. Herning Stark: http://www.sns-herning.com/online/webshopitem.aspx?id=186

 

[dieworkwear]

Buying cashmere anything from a mid-tier brand such as J Crew, IMO, is a bad idea.

 

[Threadbearer]



I would suggest Dachstein wool.

Yes, but how many of the poor creatures must die in order to make just one sweater? Oh, wait...

Tough to get past the ribbing and the shawl collar.
This looks very feminine.

It's ribbed for YOUR pleasure, Re. The ribbing and the high collar are key factors in making it warm and cozy.

Then again, if you're just trying to stay warm in the privacy of your own home, why even bother with a sweater?

Spoiler: Cardigan Alternative

 

[gsugsu]

^ easy to shear but rounding up enough of them is the problem

 

[Reevolving]



Buying cashmere anything from a mid-tier brand such as J Crew, IMO, is a bad idea.

Is buying cashmere from JCrew a bad idea as in "not the optimal SF nitpicky" idea,
or more like it's a "really stupid and idiotic and you're getting ripped off blind" idea ?

I already ordered it, but can return it if it's a disaster.

 

[bourbonbasted]



Is buying cashmere from JCrew a bad idea as in "not the optimal SF nitpicky" idea,
or more like it's a "really stupid and idiotic and you're getting ripped off blind" idea ?
I already ordered it, but can return it if it's a disaster.

The latter. J Crew cashmere leaves a lot to the imagination from a wear-and-tear standpoint. 100% of the cashmere sweaters I had from J Crew (all 15 of them-- used to date a SA there) became insanely baggy and shabby looking within a year. I actually resorted to trying to wash and dry them in a washing machine to get them to shrink back into proportion. I would definitely avoid their knitwear. Even at $35 a pop (which was what I paid), the pain of knowing something fits like **** trumps the deal.

 

[johnnyletrois]



The latter. J Crew cashmere leaves a lot to the imagination from a wear-and-tear standpoint. 100% of the cashmere sweaters I had from J Crew (all 15 of them-- used to date a SA there) became insanely baggy and shabby looking within a year. I actually resorted to trying to wash and dry them in a washing machine to get them to shrink back into proportion. I would definitely avoid their knitwear. Even at $35 a pop (which was what I paid), the pain of knowing something fits like **** trumps the deal.

Would you say this is true of their wool sweaters as well? How much better/worse than Banana Republic or another equivalent?

 

[bourbonbasted]

Only have experience with their cashmere, cotton and cash/cotton sweaters, so I cannot definitively say that all of them act like this (the blanket statement might have been a bit too harsh). However, seeing as how it's a trend with 3/4 of their standard offerings, I wouldn't think it's a stretch to make the assumption. YMMV.

 

[dieworkwear]



Is buying cashmere from JCrew a bad idea as in "not the optimal SF nitpicky" idea,
or more like it's a "really stupid and idiotic and you're getting ripped off blind" idea ?
I already ordered it, but can return it if it's a disaster.

To be fair, it really depends on how much you pay for cheap cashmere, and how often you plan to wear it. If someone bought a low-quality cashmere sweater for something like $75, and only planned to wear it a couple times a year, it wouldn't be such a bad deal. Especially if it were a design or color they were unsure of. Hard to justify spending $500 on a cream colored cable knit cashmere sweater if you don't know if you don't know you'll actually ever wear the thing.

But if you're sure you're going to wear it, and want it to last a long time, I would avoid cashmere from any low to mid-tier brands. The fibers are short and likely to pill, and the knitting isn't very dense, so it'll lose its shape more easily. Better to get something made from merino or lambswool, which are better at the kind of price points you'll pay. Lambswool can edge out here cause it's harder wearing, all things being equal, than merino.

Good cashmere from a non-fashion brand already runs about $350. Add all the marketing and retail hype that J Crew invests in, and you'd be looking at a bit more. J Crew can't justify selling at that price point, so it sells something for half that price and cuts a lot of corners, assuming that the consumer won't know any better anyway.

This kind of trick is perhaps most evident when you see how cashmere is marketed. Cashmere-cotton blends are marketed as cashmere. Cucinelli I think recently started doing this (or at least I've never noticed it before). It may have to do with its IPO. In any case, I recently saw some of their sweaters marketed as "Brunello Cucinelli CASHMERE" - with the cashmere written very boldly on the label. One peek inside, however, and you find that it's 95% merino and 5% cashmere. Prettty amazing. Shows how cashmere now is just a buzzword to get consumers to think something is better than it is, and it preys on people's ignorance.

For what it's worth, every sweater I've bought from J Crew over the last 17 years or so I've been unhappy with. This includes everything from cotton to merino to cashmere to whatever blend in between. I just don't think they make very good sweaters. I've mentioned this to other highly informed people on this board, however, such as shoreman, and they've had much different experiences (theirs are positive). So who knows.

 

[KObalto]



Tough to get past the ribbing and the shawl collar.
This looks very feminine.

Evolve already, please?

Here's mine from Black Sheep Ltd. :