Sweaters, Cardigans...Scottish Wool? Norwegian? Cashmere? What are the best?

[sdsurfer]

I'm working on slowly building a wardrobe and as we enter fall/winter I've been eyeing sweaters and cardigans. I'm having a hard time figuring out what's really the best out there. I'd always had the impression cashmere was one of the best materials for sweaters but have seen pricing all over the place (say a Ralph Lauren or J Crew vs another brand even if that's also made in China). I also really like Nordic sweaters but are those more about the patterns/designs than the actual material used? Is Dale of Norway actually the best of the best? Seems like Scottish wool has a lot of hype surrounding it as well.

Anyhow, I'd like to get a handful of really high quality sweaters that will last and can be used in many outfits. I figured I would ask folks here to help guide my journey. Thanks in advance.

BTW, I did watch this video which helped me get started but still didn't answer my questions posted here.

 

[breakaway01]

You're basically asking "tell me what high quality sweaters to buy" for "many outfits" without telling us

- what kinds of outfits do you generally wear? "Many outfits" is not helpful.
- what will you wear these sweaters with? Are you still going for "Ivy League English professor"?
- what is your budget -- 'high quality' can literally mean $5000 if you're buying Brunello Cucinelli or Loro Piana cashmere

"The best" is almost meaningless when it comes to clothing (or most things in life). Tell us (or ideally, show us) what you're trying to achieve and your budget, and you'll get useful advice.

 

[sdsurfer]

You're basically asking "tell me what high quality sweaters to buy" for "many outfits" without telling us

- what kinds of outfits do you generally wear? "Many outfits" is not helpful.
- what will you wear these sweaters with? Are you still going for "Ivy League English professor"?
- what is your budget -- 'high quality' can literally mean $5000 if you're buying Brunello Cucinelli or Loro Piana cashmere

"The best" is almost meaningless when it comes to clothing (or most things in life). Tell us (or ideally, show us) what you're trying to achieve and your budget, and you'll get useful advice.

These are all fair questions and unfortunately my answer is not all that clear cut. Overall, everything I purchase from here on out I'd like to be able to wear it for many years to come. I'm looking more for timeless than trendy/fashion. I'm definitely not spending $5K on a sweater, however, I would be interested in knowing what the consensus is if there really is a "best of the best" out there. For example I do have a Field Coat(?) by Loro Piana that supposed costs in the thousands new. Did I pay that? Not even close (but it was still in the hundreds). Finding particular brands helps in the used clothing search but again there are fakes and of course many brands make different lines of quality (Polo or whatever on Rodeo Dr. ain't the same as what's at Ross). I'm just trying to build a wardrobe of quality. Stuff that feels like the best of the best and hopefully women with an eye for quality will notice that (as many men can't tell the difference and if I'm honest that's why I'm learning to step up my game).

I still like the English Lit. Professor/Wes Anderson kind of preppy aesthetic. Although I'm American, I do have some Scandinavian features (fair skin, green eyes, longer lighter brown/blondish hair) and since I do lots of family/friend events in the fall and winter I wanted to get some really nice Scandinavian (Norway, Iceland, etc.) knitted sweaters. The kind with snowflakes, reindeer, or whatever. Better than a cheesy disposable bad holiday sweater.

I went out to some resale shops today and although they didn't fit, I tried on a pair of David Lance custom made cords. They had the owner's name printed in them. I don't know anything about David Lance but I loved the way these felt. You could just tell it was quality (at least that's how it seemed to me). I wonder if I should go back and see if there's a possibility to let some out in the waist so they'd fit? Maybe the trick is getting 3 to 4 pairs of my pants bespoke and they just are what I wear most of the time?

Regarding budget, of course there's a limit but if I could find a used Loro Piana for the same price as a new O'Donnell's or something like that then I'd probably buy. That's kinda where my budget is.

I'm in So Cal but travel back east often so I do have the weather range to work in some nice sweaters. Hopefully this sheds some light on things.

 

[breakaway01]

Personally I think you have it all backwards here. It sounds like your intent is to acquire 'timeless' (more on this later) clothing but you don't really have a defined style. If your goal is only to build "a wardrobe of quality", IMO you're going to end up with a lot of pieces that don't go together. People are going to pay a lot more attention to whether your outfits are coherent than to whether each individual piece is 'the best' of its kind (and I'd reiterate that the whole notion is nonsense).

Specific example. Let's say you do buy 'the best' Norwegian sweater with snowflakes on it. I don't know, maybe it costs you $500. Does it automatically go with 'the best' slim-fit Kiton 14 micron grey worsted wool trousers because they're both 'the best'? Maybe not. Maybe that sweater goes better with a $80 pair of J. Crew wide-leg chinos.

Back to 'timeless' - what does that mean to you? Is there really such a thing? Cary Grant? James Dean? Ben Franklin? Louis XIV? Julius Caesar?

Spend time looking at pictures and outfits. Buy items intentionally - they should either go with something you already have (easier), or to build a specific look that you don't yet have (harder).

 

[KOz]

[...] hopefully women with an eye for quality will notice that (as many men can't tell the difference and if I'm honest that's why I'm learning to step up my game).

Have you tried asking women about this since that's your goal? Asking a bunch of guys will only get you as far.

That aside, the vast majority of men and women cannot tell quality after a certain point and that point is pretty low.

 

[GaiusM]

Buying expensive clothes to impress women is useless. A well put together JC Penneys outfit that fits you perfectly will go a lot farther in that department than a $700 knit sweater with reindeer.
If you are buying things just to get women skip the clothes and go for cocaine.

 

[TheIronDandy]

A humble suggestion:

Brows around the net, and find 3 pictures of outfits that you think captures how you want to look. Then put a figure on how much you're willing to pay. If we know what look you're going for and what your general price range is, we might be able to help.

This is particularly important because as you say, you don't know exactly what look you're going for. Having a visualisation really helps. Words like "quality" and "timeless" won't get you closer to your target: building a wardrobe from timeless, high quality pieces (if such a thing exists) is like trying to make a meal by mixing together quality ingredients. Kobe beef, beluga caviar, pacific salmon and aged parmesan might all be quality ingredients, but you can't just mix them up and serve with a bottle of 2008 Dom Perignon. Things have to go together. Starting from an outfit you like lets you reverse engineer what you really like about a look.

Oh, and don't get discouraged if we don't give you the anwers you're looking for. Most people here are deep into clothes and genuinely want to help others find their style. But we've answered the same questions a lot of times over the years, and there's just no way to just point someone to the "timeless quality" store that matches their preferences. Especially not if we don't know what those preferences are.

 

[sdsurfer]

Thanks for all the suggestions. Lots of food for thought here. I think we're going off on a bit of a tangent. Let me rephrase my original question to help: you're getting an amazing sweater for a special occasion.

You open the box and the sweater is:

A. Cashmere
B. Merino
C. Shetland
D. Something else (please specify)

 

[KOz]

Thanks for all the suggestions. Lots of food for thought here. I think we're going off on a bit of a tangent. Let me rephrase my original question to help: you're getting an amazing sweater for a special occasion.

You open the box and the sweater is:

A. Cashmere
B. Merino
C. Shetland
D. Something else (please specify)

If you insist, it's a brushed shetland with some thickness and texture in a colour that fits my wardrobe. This might not help you much since my wardrobe/needs/style is not yours.

 

[Using Technology]

Thanks for all the suggestions. Lots of food for thought here. I think we're going off on a bit of a tangent. Let me rephrase my original question to help: you're getting an amazing sweater for a special occasion.

You open the box and the sweater is:

A. Cashmere
B. Merino
C. Shetland
D. Something else (please specify)

If you're trying to impress your average person, cashmere is what will get people saying "ooh that's the best!" For menswear nerds, the answer is going to be about maker and method, plus individual tastes and fit in a wardrobe. There isn't really a way to rank those wools because there can be great cashmere and crappy cashmere, good merino, and mid merino, etc. And style really is broad. It's like asking what the best shoe is to go with outfits. Going to be rugged boots for some, black leather dress shoes for another, sneakers for a third.

 

[breakaway01]

Thanks for all the suggestions. Lots of food for thought here. I think we're going off on a bit of a tangent. Let me rephrase my original question to help: you're getting an amazing sweater for a special occasion.

You open the box and the sweater is:

A. Cashmere
B. Merino
C. Shetland
D. Something else (please specify)

The fact that you think we went off on a tangent means that you still don’t get it.

The material is just one property of a sweater but without additional context you might end up with something unsuitable for your wardrobe or just plain weird.

If I wanted a thin V-neck fine gauge sweater to wear under a sportcoat I wouldn’t want it to be a brushed Shetland. If I wanted a sweater for a cool summer night I wouldn’t pick cashmere—I’d pick something that’s not on your list.

Start with your outfits and needs, then decide what style of knitwear fits those scenarios. The material literally comes last.