Hi, all -- my wardrobe is in a pretty strong place, but my mission this fall/ winter has been to replace/ upgrade some knitwear. Most of my knit tops are between 5-12 years old. Many are still going strong and I don't intend to let those go, especially the pricier J. Crew and Boden cashmere sweaters, all of which remain in decent to excellent shape. (Yay for relatively non-pilling knits! As we all know, there is no predicting about that, but I have been pretty lucky in many of my choices.)
However, much as I love my older knits and value their durability, I have to admit I'm a bit tired of some of these sweaters. Most are fluid fit/ longer and while they work well semi-tucked as sweater-tees, that's not always the look I am going for with higher waist jeans and trousers. Moreover, I find cashmere a little harder to wear out here on the west coast. Or rather, perhaps it's more accurate to say that my season for cashmere is a bit shorter, especially if it is heavier weight. I often find merino works better in this climate, or other blends.
Anyway, I've made a few new purchases already this season -- an Ann Taylor cotton sweater and an Everlane alpaca, and a J. Crew polo collar cashmere -- but I have also been scouting sales for a few more options. Here are a few from BR, plus a pair of trousers I'm considering.
A note: I am not currently at home and only had one pair of footwear to try, and could not do a whole lot of outfit styling -- these are just try-ons, not fully styled outfits.
First, the Sienna trouser. My review. This trouser is lightweight 3 season wool (in my climate), double pleat, very wide leg, and high waist -- a real Katherine Hepburn type trouser. It is beautifully made, truly, with elastic waist adjustment inside (you can wear it higher or lower on your waist, to a degree) and many other lovely features. There is seam allowance at the hem if I wanted to let these down to become "pooling pants." (They would actually pool on me as is, if I wore with sneakers.) There are slash pockets as well but I haven't opened those up in case I don't keep. These are a tiny bit creased from packaging but if I hung them up, those creases would drop out in a minute.
Sizing: I took a risk and tried petite (for the length). Typically, despite my borderline petite height, I can't wear petite pants because the rise is not long enough for me, but I figured in a style this loose, that would not prove a problem. This proved true. Also, I sized down. They are a perfect fit. At the sale price, they are a great price. My only question is whether they are just too much! :)
Note: there is also a pinstripe version which looks fantastic, but it is not currently on sale and reviews suggest that the fabric is thicker and does not drape as well as the solids. FWIW.
I am inclined to keep...except...if the trend is away from wide legs and high waists, will I get enough wear from these, do you think? Maybe I should put this money into a pair of nice wool cigarette pants. :)
Merino sweaters. BR currently has a few styles in ribbed merino and they are lovely, lovely quality! Not at all scratchy, and quite warm. They are on the body con side (due to ribbing) and they all have very long sleeves with a sort of V (so it looks like a thumbhole sweater when extended) but you can also easily roll up the sleeve if you don't want that feature. I tried a few styles -- the mock neck and the polo collar. I am considering the colours here. This blue is warmer than I typically wear, but I do think it works, and I like it. I also ordered the red to try, but it has not arrived yet. The mock neck stands nicely on me -- it doesn't collapse, as on the model. The cream is possibly a bit warm for me (thoughts?) and I might want to size up in that style -- so I have ordered grey in a size up to compare. Would love your thoughts!
Cotton-silk blend sweater. I ordered two of these, one in my regular size in lilac and one a size down in the stripe. At first I thought I would just keep the lilac, but looking at the pics, I'm not sure. The sleeves are very long on these, but the cuffs can be rolled back neatly. In my regular size, the sweater is a bit boxy, but nice. Obviously, I wouldn't wear it out with these pants -- I'd choose different bottoms to wear it that way.
Quality is gorgeous! The silk component makes the sweater drape and gives it a hint of sheen. Now, looking at the stripe, I quite like that one as well -- it looks more like a traditional welted sweater on me, a neater, more tailored fit but also nice?
I can keep any or none of these -- all are returnable and they are within the budget. I'd love to hear your thoughts! And I hope these reviews may help others in the market at the moment. Thanks in advance!
