Everyone loves cashmere. It’s wonderfully soft, smooth, luxurious and warm and provided you look after it properly your cashmere can last you for years.
As with everything the best quality cashmere can be exorbitantly expensive, particularly if you go for a designer label, but there is good quality cashmere in the stores that won’t break the bank and is well worth investing in.
Here are the best six places for cashmere from sweaters to dresses and accessories.
Uniqlo – The place for modern cut price cashmere. Some of the very best prices around for
cashmere with longevity. You’ll find a wide range of colours for most of the styles and typically a sweater will set you back about £80 although there are frequently some special offers. This is a great place to find offers and cashmere gifts for Christmas, and buy something for yourself while you’re at it.
Brora – Brora offers very high quality Scottish cashmere in a wide range of styles, and as a brand is probably the most expensive here, however if you’re looking for an investment piece or a special gift this is a great place to shop and remember this cashmere comes from Scotland, not further afield, as most inexpensive cashmere does. Expect to pay around £220 for a classic V neck jumper and £80 for a cashmere scarf.
Pure Collection – Most will have heard of Pure Collection, which has branched out from its cashmere roots into clothing such as dresses, jackets and coats as well as a wide range of cashmere knitwear and accessories and usually a wonderful range of colours. There are quite shaped styles here, and you can expect to pay around £110 for a classic style which may be available in as many as 12 colourways. You can also immediately see which styles are available in which colours which can be both a blessing when you find what you want, and a curse when you discover it’s not in stock in your desired style.
The White Company – The White Company has created a beautifully edited collection of modern and minimal cashmere pieces in soft neutral colours. None of these are over priced, particularly bearing in mind the quality. You’ll find cashmere ponchos and cardigans, longline jackets and rectangular knits plus accessories such as scarves and gloves. The basic price for a cardigan is £110 and it’s worth noting that their packaging is very high quality.
John Lewis – Having moved into mainstream fashion a while back, John Lewis has created it’s own cashmere offer which is well worth looking at, from both a price and quality perspective. We most of us trust John Lewis as a brand, and when they do something they do it properly. There’s a very good range of basics and more colourful and styled pieces, with the classic v neck jumper starting at £69 and in 11 colours. There are also some more modern styles in neutrals such as toast, navy and black.
Net-a-Porter – Not necessarily the first place you might think of for lower priced cashmere, but with labels such as Crumpet, J Crew, Banjo & Matilda and Duffy it’s one that’s well worth checking out. Also, of course, there are far too many other temptations on offer and the packaging is gorgeous as well.
And………..
Then of course there’s also Marks and Spencer – A wider range than Uniqlo and many at roughly the same prices although not necessarily the depth of colour choice. Usually very good quality for the price. Some of the best colours and most popular sizes sell out early. Duh…..
