Fall/Winter Sweaters and the casual office

[TBSDSpaniard]

Hello All...some of you may remember my post on The Boss and my clothes....now i'm looking to dress down a little more often.

Since, I'm Canadian Eh? and its freakin cold up here in T.O. from Nov. to Feb. to supplement my wardobe I was looking into sweaters. Unfortunately, I can't bring myself to wear my Cucinelli cashmere sweaters to work (bought them in milan for a steal and i mean steal....before I new who cucinelli even was, 115 euro each -score!). I feel they are a little too fragile for my wear and tear. So the questions are;

1. Value wise (read: affordable) what are great sweater brands - that one could get locally.

2. What do you suggest wears well with slacks +/- sportcoat; v-neck vests/v-neck sweaters...crewneck vests/sweaters....

3. Care...dryclean or hand wash...how do you get the odors out of them without drycleaning?

4. what should the true sweater novice look for to make a good choice in buying.

best regards,

max

ps. anyone have v-neck wool merino from polo.com...would you rate them good quality?

 

[binge]

I don't know if they ship up North, but I'm a huge fan of the Gran Sasso sweaters at Sierra Trading Post. With their frequent sales, plus the 20% SF discount (follow the link from the pinned thread) they are a terrific deal IMO. I have a few crew necks, which I consider to be more casual, but the v-necks I have I will pair with a suit in the winter in lieu of a waistcoat.

 

[emptym]

Almost all of my sweaters are from thrift stores. A couple are made by Polo. They're good.