The Official Dieworkwear Appreciation Thread

[hpreston]

Berg & Berg has their balmacaans on sale, at pretty good prices: https://bergbergstore.com/collections/sale-outerwear

Re: sweater stuff, anyone have/had heavy shawl collar cardigans in lambswool and cashmere who can compare if the uncharge to cashmere is worth it? I had a S&C lambswool one a few years ago that I had to return for fit issues, but the wool was awfully soft and comfortable. Does stepping up from a $500 to a $1000+ shawl make sense/is it worth the upcharge? I know this is subjective but having never seen a cashmere one in person I'm skeptical they can be really that much nicer.

There is a notable difference in softness. Do you own any cashmere? Now, whether it's worth it is a different question. I for one have a scc in Shetland wool, but then again I always find there to be something comforting about scratchy wool so long as it's not itchy, and unless you are wearing short sleeves under the scc, very little of it will actually touch your skin. If you find lambswool soft enough, I'd probably stick to it. Even with something like a super soft cashmere scarf I notice the softness at first, but after it's on for a minute I don't notice the softness anymore.

I haven't handled S&C's cashmere cardigan, but a lot of good cashmere basically doesn't feel like cashmere. It feels like a slightly softer version of wool, but it's not super silky like Italian cashmere. It's sort of like raw denim in that sense, where the softness comes with time. A lot of that cloud-soft Italian cashmere is just cashmere that has been heavily washed.

What others have said.

Worth it? Completely up to each individual.
But I will say, that I have S&C chunky wool from No Man and a Lockie cash piece in my closet and they are two very different things.

The S&C is nice, very nice, I will likely add another color to the closet next fall. However, the Lockie cashmere is another thing altogether. The cashmere feels smoother. Like DWW said above, good Scottish cashmere takes a while to soften up. But side by side, regular wool, and cashmere are very very differnt.

I <3 their cashmere scarves. A real indulgence.

Agreed, Begg cshmere scarf is ? ?

 

[TheShetlandSweater]

I liked the new piece. One of your better ones IMO.

 

[gdl203]

You guys know that Begg acquired S&C, right? I don’t think I’m revealing trade secrets by saying that S&C already made Begg’s sweaters and cardigans either. And you guys seem to be aware that they make cardigans for other brands too

 

[sood]

You guys know that Begg acquired S&C, right? I don’t think I’m revealing trade secrets by saying that S&C already made Begg’s sweaters and cardigans either. And you guys seem to be aware that they make cardigans for other brands too

Hopefully S&C pre orders for FW21 is still a possibility!

 

[classicalthunde]

What does S&C stand for?

 

[sood]

What does S&C stand for?

Scott & Charters | No Man Walks Alone

No Man Walks Alone is a menswear boutique dedicated to delivering the best products from honest makers around the world

nomanwalksalone.com

 

[TheShetlandSweater]

You guys know that Begg acquired S&C, right? I don’t think I’m revealing trade secrets by saying that S&C already made Begg’s sweaters and cardigans either. And you guys seem to be aware that they make cardigans for other brands too

Yeah, it's public. You can find articles about it online. But where else can you get some of those designs?

 

[true.to.size]

You guys know that Begg acquired S&C, right? I don’t think I’m revealing trade secrets by saying that S&C already made Begg’s sweaters and cardigans either. And you guys seem to be aware that they make cardigans for other brands too

Do you anticipate S&C keeping a similar price point, or are things going to start looking more like Begg's prices?

 

[gdl203]

Do you anticipate S&C keeping a similar price point, or are things going to start looking more like Begg's prices?

S&C pricing has always been a steal because they don’t spend a dime on marketing or branding. They just make good stuff. I’m hoping that they won’t change too much of that but the Trump 25% extra tariffs for UK knitwear is definitely going to have an impact on pricing for S&C, Jamieson’s etc... here in the US. Another ridiculous incentive for US consumers to buy from overseas stores and kill US retail a bit more. It makes zero sense at all but then again did anything make any sense in the last 4 years?

 

[jalebi]

S&C pricing has always been a steal because they don’t spend a dime on marketing or branding. They just make good stuff. I’m hoping that they won’t change too much of that but the Trump 25% extra tariffs for UK knitwear is definitely going to have an impact on pricing for S&C, Jamieson’s etc... here in the US. Another ridiculous incentive for US consumers to buy from overseas stores and kill US retail a bit more. It makes zero sense at all but then again did anything make any sense in the last 4 years?

What I'm still surprised about is the very high threshold from which the US starts charging customs, duties and sales tax from abroad for consumers ($800 IIRC). In the UK for example everything is now subject to customs, duties and VAT (previously it was anything over £15). That really should be changed from a competition standpoint.

 

[teddieriley]

Might need to pick me up one of these sweaters.

 

[classicalthunde]

S&C pricing has always been a steal because they don’t spend a dime on marketing or branding. They just make good stuff. I’m hoping that they won’t change too much of that but the Trump 25% extra tariffs for UK knitwear is definitely going to have an impact on pricing for S&C, Jamieson’s etc... here in the US. Another ridiculous incentive for US consumers to buy from overseas stores and kill US retail a bit more. It makes zero sense at all but then again did anything make any sense in the last 4 years?

Our local wine shop is a pretty major mid-Atlantic importer, recently had a convo with them about the 25% tariffs and they said that the current hope is that these will be rolled back in Aug with the new administration (apparently it is set to be revisited as early as February, but they don’t think it will be a top priority for the first 100 days)...fingers crossed it will be in time for next years sweater weather now that I’m all aboard the Shetland train

 

[Bromley]

Shaker stuff is so cool. "A place for everything and everything in its place". Sabbathday Lake is a treasure. I didn't know anything about American knitting history, but I really enjoyed learning.

I took a long motorcycle trip this summer on deep back roads, and ended up passing through some pretty remote Amish areas (I know Amish is different, but it's in the same boat as Shaker, and interesting in that the Amish are thriving). It was amazing to be in the middle of nowhere, and pass by shoemakers' shops, and hand-painted signs at the ends of driveways selling homemade quilts, clothes, and aprons. Living craft history is really interesting.

 

[K. Nights]

Anyone know a source for made in USA shaker knit sweaters? It seems like it has such American roots, it would feel a bit wrong to buy one that's imported.
It's kind of a shame if no one is making them here, there are a plethora of options for fisherman sweaters that are made in the UK and Scandanavia

 

[dieworkwear]

@jah786 said he was interested in maybe doing some Shaker knits in the future and he generally (maybe exclusively?) uses American manufacturers. (For those who may not know, he's the man behind American Trench.)