Buying a vicuna scarf

[nmoraitis]

That recently posted article on the Robb Report website got me thinking about getting a vicuna scarf. I did a quick search and found a company in Peru called Alpaca 111. They only sell wholesale and the price I was quoted was $450 per scarf if you buy 1-5 or $250 each if you buy 6 or more. The woman I contacted mentioned that it takes 2-3 weeks for them to get a special authorization called a Cites from the government. You also need to get an importation license from your state/provence before they can ship it to you. Much cheaper than the $2000 mentioned in the article. What do you guys think? Is it possible to get it cheaper somewhere else or is this it?

 

[Patrick Bateman]

Paul Stuart has had vicuna scarves in the past, IIRC they were about $500-600.

 

[GQgeek]

vicuna is 2k/yd from the good fabric merchants. I suppose peru could be keeping some of the production for itself, but i wonder if it's not the shorter yarns that weren't good enough for producing a 2k/yd cloth that are used in those cheaper scarves. If so, they would pill faster and generally be less durable. Vicuna is delicate enough as it is, I wouldn't want to spend that much on a scarf that wouldn't look good past a couple seasons.

 

[itsstillmatt]

I bought my wife a Loro Piana Vicuna scarf as a stocking stuffer last X-mas. She wears it all the time and I am, frankly, a bit jealous of it. I don't remember how much it set me back, but it was a bit.