How well does cashmere really wear? (Thread probably should be subtitled Am I Mad To Consider Spending This Much On a Jumper?)

[LemonGrapefruit]

I have a few expensive handbags but usually keep clothing at the Zara/& Other Stories level with the odd segue into John Lewis.

However, I saw a jumper in a more expensive shop and loved it. Price tag was just under £2000 so I asked myself what I was playing at even going into the shop and left.

I have now found said jumper online 50% off. Still a grand which is insane. But. I still love it.

(I appreciate someone will be along to tell me that I can get the same in Primark.)

It's 100% cashmere. I'm not sure I've ever owned a 100% cashmere jumper. How well does it really wear? I know it'll be dry clean only or hand wash cold - do not wring - do not hang - lay it flat - recite poetry to it whilst it takes a week to dry on the floor...but is there anything else I'd need to know?

I will not be identifying said jumper in case someone else is as mad as me and buys the one that's left. You'll just have to take it from me that it's gorgeous😀

Personally I like cashmere, specially in the winter, but there is no way on this earth that I would spend that. £150-200 tops.

And it always bobbles and needs defuzzing, whatever the price.

Cashmere bobbles like mad in my experience. Merino wool is much better and easier to look after.

Love cashmere and I have sweaters that are 10 years plus old, they have worn really well.

Don’t think I could spend that much. Probably could justify £250.

Unless you're incredibly wealthy this is madness.

I have never spent more than £200 on a cashmere jumper and the ones that cost that much (admittedly in the sales) are indestructible.

I love cashmere and wear it all winter. Unfortunately due to its lovely softness it bobbles really easily around high friction areas. I always seem to get holes in the elbows too after a few years of use. You also need to wash them very carefully. I spend too much money on clothes but I probably wouldn’t spend more than £250 on a cashmere jumper. I would buy 4 from Me and Em if I were you instead of one at £1000!

What do you love about it?
Ladies’ Cashmere | The House of Bruar

I love cashmere and haunt the Bora clearance section where a jumper might only cost £300. Which still feels insane to me, apart from the fact I wear them all the time.
But, they are a pain to wash, and my older ones have got shorter and wider, and apparently this can be fixed but its seems fiddly.

I think if you’ve fhe money to spare then buy it, cashmere differs in quality.

I do like cashmere, but generally my price point is about 250 pounds, I’d not consider it at 1k. Even though technically I could afford it. It would just be too extravagant for me.

could you link to it?

Me too, I’ve a few me and em ones, there is no bobbling.

I love cashmere but probably most I’ve spent is maybe £250 on a sweater. I also try not to wear them when I’m working as I find the sleeves bobble where my sleeves rub on my desk.

I wouldn’t want to spend much more in case the moths got to it to be honest.

I have some very old and well worn cashmere jumpers, they last well IME. I buy on a cost-per-wear basis, so if you think you'll get 1000 wears from that jumper then go for it!

I’ve found it really depends on the quality of the cashmere, which is tricky as it isn’t always obvious!
I’ve got an old Whistles cashmere jumper that must be nearly 20 years old that I still wear (can’t vouch for their current quality but this particular jumper is pretty amazing!) whereas other cashmere jumpers I’ve had haven’t lasted more than a few years before they bobble horribly. Unfortunately price isn’t always a good indicator either- hopefully someone wise will come along and let us know how to tell the difference!

It sounds like the kind of price (in real terms) that you used to pay for cashmere when it was a genuinely luxury product that I'd only ever seen worn by the poshest young women at uni. The market is now flooded with cheap stuff which has skewed our perception.

Assuming I had that kind of money to spare, I'd start by looking at the provenance, e.g. if it's a fashion brand, I wouldn't touch it but, if it was genuine Scottish cashmere, I'd look more closely although I'd still go very carefully.

I don’t find they bobble that much… certainly not as much as acrylic / synthetic blends (. Looking and you Uniqlo and Oliver Bonas ). They’re very lightweight and soft for the amount of warmth that they offer. I don’t actually spend that much on mine having been lucky to buy a few men’s sweaters in charity shops. I don’t even hand wash it I just throw it in the machine on a hand wash setting. They are moth magnets though so there’s no way I’d pay a grand for one.

Like many pp I love cashmere and wear it all winter but £250 is my top price and I aim for more like £100-150.

It always bobbles no matter how expensive (the thin gauzy knits are the worst) and mine wear through at the elbows because I wear them to death. Plus a little shrinkage is inevitable even with careful cold washing - I now buy a size up to account for this.

I can’t imagine spending £1000 on any clothing item except maybe an amazing winter coat. Definitely not on a jumper, it just won’t last.

i only have cashmere jumpers and they’re wonderful - AND - absolutely can be machine washed. Just use the wool wash and woolite detergent or similar. It’s so versatile and comfortable and lasts forever if looked after well.

that said, if you have moths; don’t buy it. I have moths and have all my cashmere jumpers zipped up in anti moth bags but I don’t spend £1000 on cashmere. I have spent £700 but it was also on sale and I was GUTTED to get a hole in there, courtesy of a moth.

Go for it. They are not tricky to wash and you wouldn’t wash them as often as a shirt
Strictly hand wash. Do not trust wool or silk cycle. I use baby shampoo in cold water, then gently push the jumper in it, move it left right up down, then soak a few minutes. Use TWO bath towels. Lay one on the floor. Put the jumper you have rinsed on it then the second towel on top. Press the water out do not roll like you would for a wool jumper.
Agree with previous posters that cashmere (like wool) comes in different qualities, but you touched yours and liked it, so go for it.

I have cashmere jumpers of various provenances. My best bargain buy was an & Other Stories jumper for €20 (full price €180) in a charity shop. Properly decent cashmere is super soft and finely knit.

My most ridiculous but best full price buy was a Team Mongolia jumper from the recent Winter Olympics. It is double knit, smells faintly sheepy (good wool with lanolin) light but amazingly warm and genuinely traceable Mongolian cashmere.

Mongolian Winter Olympics cashmere jumper

The customs fees were almost a third extra on top but the quality is excellent and the same company does fantastic everyday cashmere clothing.

In all cases they don't need washing as often as regular clothing. I do wear an underlayer to prolong the wear and spot rear any stains that arise.

Hmm … 😀

I think my hesitation might be that it doesn’t sound as if you have any experience in choosing clothes at this price point. So I can’t tell if you’re looking at something genuinely exceptional, from manufacturers with a history of craftsmanship and artistry in the making of cashmere garments, or a £400 jumper with loads of embellishment and a big label.

I completely understand the falling in love. I’ve been stalking an approximately £700 wool, not cashmere, jumper for more than a year. It’s exactly me - but right now I cannot persuade myself that my lifestyle fully justifies it. (And I’m someone who enjoys spending money on good clothes.)

On the one hand, I would ask you whether you can see yourself wearing it for the next 10 years, and being happier with your choice each year you spend with it.

On the other, I already know that, on my deathbed, all my regrets will centre on beautiful clothes not bought.

I've got a cashmere jumper that is about a decade old now, still looks good ( it was a £40 one from Tesco, thought that's irrelevant to my point).
My issue is with moths. You can have the most expensive, well looked after jumper but the moths won't care how much it cost. If you have ever had even one moth hole in your clothes, or any indication at all that there might be moths in your house, then I wouldn't risk paying that amount for something that could end up being a moth's dinner. I have had at least 5 jumpers eventually nibbled, despite all the preventative steps I have taken.

This.

It’s short fibres that cause the bobbling. As spinning technology improves so shorter and shorter fibres can be spun, hence the availability of much cheaper cashmere. It’s difficult to tell the length of fibre used hence even quite expensive cashmere (and other wools) can bobble. If I was going to spend four figures on cashmere I would go to one of the specialist shops in Milan where they survive on their reputation for excellent quality.

That’s interesting- I had noticed bobbling is worse on my newer cashmere than the stuff I have that’s 15+ years old. Shame