why is Brora cashmere so expensive?

[whoneedssleepanyway]

I have fallen in love with this cardigan
www.brora.co.uk/Product/Product.aspx?WebShopCodeStr=A1&WebSegmentCodeStr=S2&WebCategoryCodeStr=ZL&StyleCodeStr=LQ933

but there is no way I could justify spending £175 on one cardigan...

why does Brora cashmere seem so much more expensive, I know probably not comparable but Boden's cropped cashmere cardigan is half the price (but colours not as nice and style not as nice)

I don't find knitwear lasts indefinitely either and always looks a bit sad after a couple of seasons, if you spend more does it last better....

so tell why Brora cashmere is worth spending the money on.

You won't regret it! Lovely cardigan.

can I realy justify spending £209 on the V neck cardi then? compared to say £70 -ish with Boden discount......

I need more convincing, especially as my Boden jumpers are still going strong and un-bobbled after 3 winters.

i went and did the maths and a typical V neck cardigan needs 2000meters of DK yarn.

a 45m ball of pure cashmere yarn is £9.95

so that is roughly 44 balls of yarn for a cardie, that equals £437ish for the yarn.

then add however long it takes to make the thing.

so brora seems like quite a bargain.

now, how do convince dh?

yes, but bamboo surely the wholesale price for wool is not what you quoted?

i have no idea what wholesale prices are, thats could be why a cardie from brora is £250 and not the £437 it would cost if you knitted it yourself.

What's Brora sizing like?

I have no idea on the quality of the different brands

But you wouldn't knit an adult jumper on needles unless you were very very very bored of an evening. Most people would have a knitting machine - a basic sweater would take about 4 hours, so £24 in labour plus 10 balls of wool at about £10 a ball... Brora aren't making a very big profit, if at all!

PS my calculations were taken from 50g balls of wool and an ebay price - i would estimate that a £10 ball of wool retail would cost £4 wholesale? So, £64 before you've factored in overheads...

My cheaper cashmere tends to only last one year. Brora lasts years so IME it is cheaper to buy a Brora jumper than lots of cheap cashmere.

I buy one Brora cardigan per year and look after it. I buy about 4 Boden cardigans per year and they last just over a year before I take them to the charity shop. I've never taken a Brora piece to a charity shop. I will sell it on ebay.

The colours of Brora are all blended, there are about six different colours in each piece, so they 'go' with a lot more of your clothes. The price means you will look after it properly. You expect a quality peice of knitwear to last longer, and it does. My four Boden cardis cost almost the same as one Brora cardi, but the Brora one lasts longer.

Have a feel of an M&S cashmere cardi for £69 and then feel the Brora one. The quaility and finish of Brora is superb and the muted colour palatte is just lovely.

There is obviously also the smug factor of it being made in the UK, no slave labour, supporting British industry etc.

If you are unlucky and the moths do get it, you can send it off to brora to be mended, so it doesn't have to be the end of the cardi.

I like Pure, although agree, quality prize must go to Brora, but Pure has much more flattering shapes.

My Pure stuff is, I think, better quality than Boden/M & S.

I have a Pringle cowl neck cashmere jumper in a charity shop for £1.99 22 years ago and and have worn every Winter since, no shrinking, bobbles, fading! Wore it to a lunch party yesterday and was complimented on it by two complete strangers. Spent £60 on lst year on a M&S cashmere roll neck which is thinner, not a problem at first but then holes developed in three of the seams after one 30 degree machine 'hand wash'. Spent £100 on two sweaters from Edinburgh Woollen Mills sale which are superb so far. After reading other blogs am tempted to try Brora.