Best Made in Scotland cashmere?

spectre · Jul 18, 2008

Can anyone recommend what are the best of the current traditional Scottish cashmere sweater brands?
The makers I bought years ago seem to have disappeared or have become ultra fashion-forward.
I'm looking for conservative v-necks or crew necks in solid colours and Scottish makes, rather than Italian.
Thanks in advance.

RJman · Jul 18, 2008

Holding down the fort in conservative good quality are John Laing, William Lockie and Hawick Cashmere.

itsstillmatt · Jul 18, 2008

Originally Posted by RJman

Holding down the fort in conservative good quality are John Laing, William Lockie and Hawick Cashmere.
Unfortuantely, Laing seems to go in and out of business each year.

RJman · Jul 18, 2008

Originally Posted by iammatt

Unfortuantely, Laing seems to go in and out of business each year.

Yes... but many others simply go out of business -- Murray Allan is dead, Drumohr is a brand now made in Italy, McGeorge is just a name made in China, S Fisher is long gone...

Bob Loblaw · Jul 18, 2008

How about Ballantyne and Pringle?

misterjase · Jul 18, 2008

Ballantyne is Italian as suggested at http://www.ballantyne.it but the sweaters are produced in Scotland (as far as I know) Berk Cashmere (Burlington Arcade, London) is an online retailer of Ballantyne at http://www.berkcashmere.co.uk

spectre · Jul 18, 2008

Thanks, but it's a nightmare trying to make sense of what they have.

Laing's website leads you to a dead-end search engine, Lockie doesn't appear to offer even a standard v-neck and asks you to contact some guy to talk about it and I can only find women's stuff under Hawick's site.
I believed Ballantyne and Pringle have gone trendy.

I took a punt on a sweater from a Scottish site a year ago - they had a huge range and was adorned with Scottish paraphernalia - but when it arrived it was as thin and poor as Lands End and quickly pilled.

I bought a couple of nice sweaters in person at the Cashmere Store in Edinburgh a long time ago and it's still there, but again trying to navigate it on the internet is troublesome.

Originally Posted by RJman

Holding down the fort in conservative good quality are John Laing, William Lockie and Hawick Cashmere.

shoefan · Jul 18, 2008

Johnstons of Elgin makes nice things. You can pick them up at a good price from Sierra Trading Post, assuming they ship to Australia.

misterjase · Jul 18, 2008

There's a tonne of standard v necks in "Catalog of Sweaters" at http://www.williamlockie.com. William Lockie has an online store at http://www.heatherwallace.com/.

spectre · Jul 18, 2008

Thanks very much for the tips

spectre · Jul 18, 2008

misterjase;1179208 said:
There's a tonne of standard v necks in "Catalog of Sweaters" at http://www.williamlockie.com.

I must be blind - I can't see any solid v-necks in cashmere in the two pages they have...

RJman · Jul 18, 2008

All of them do extensive private label work. Try www.bensilver.com , www.paulstuart.com , and www.mausandhoffman.com

Maus & Hoffman in particular carried a lot of Scottish cashmere and sent a special catalog a few years ago of the various makers who provided them with cashmere.

However, they may not have a lot in season right now given it's summer in the US.

RJman · Jul 18, 2008

spectre;1179232 said:
Originally Posted by misterjase

Click to expand...

There's a tonne of standard v necks in "Catalog of Sweaters" at http://www.williamlockie.com.

I must be blind - I can't see any solid v-necks in cashmere in the two pages they have...

Click on "cashmere stock service" from their home page. It will show you what sweaters they have in stock and list the colors available.

rajesh06 · Jul 18, 2008

Originally Posted by spectre

I took a punt on a sweater from a Scottish site a year ago - they had a huge range and was adorned with Scottish paraphernalia - but when it arrived it was as thin and poor as Lands End and quickly pilled.

I don't buy much from LE - but I did get two of their cashmere sweaters and they have held up quite well.

spectre · Jul 18, 2008

The Lands End cashmere now is terrible compared to what they sold some years ago.

Best Made in Scotland cashmere?

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