The Great Jumper Debate

So if you're a regular reader of my blog, you may well know already that I'm always checking the fibre composition labels of a garment before purchasing. I blame my Mum, she taught me at a young age what to look for and what would be worthy of my pennies. It will now come as a shock then to show that I too ignore my own self imposed 'rules' in the face of a bargain. I hold my hands firmly up. Just before Christmas I saw this navy jumper in Gap for a whole £11.99. It had a sparkly neckline, fitted well and I just really really liked it. I briefly checked the label, saw there was a little wool (25%) but also 46% nylon and 29% acrylic. I however chose to bypass the fact it really didn't tick my natural material box and purchased it. After one wear and one hand wash, it looked like it was fit for the rag bag bin. I nearly returned it but I thought maybe another few goes may change it (I'm not sure what planet I was on at this point). Um, nope, even tattier. Gap have been great in returning it however it's a big slap in the face and firm reminder I must stick to my guns. Despite looking great on, despite the very good price tag, 2-3 wears is just not good enough. (Please note, this is not me saying that Gap aren't good enough - I shop there a lot, just that this combination of materials really doesn't work for an item).

So back to my comfort zone - some cashmere. This was ordered online from Next at the start of January (and finally arrived) with the intention of spending some birthday money on it. It was only £39 from over £110, grey, cashmere and a hoody - bonus! Luckily as I have now spent all my birthday money, it came up large. I know the style is meant to be loose but this hung off my body and was very long in the sleeve. Quality was amazing for £39 though. There is currently a size 12 left. Go to the clearance section, Womens, then type Cashmere in the item description box under the "Search by Keyword" section. Always worth checking back as sizes come in and out of stock. The pink and navy are £55 for some reason though.

On a recent trip to London I had a quick browse around & Other Stories as it's the only store in the UK. Yes, for those with really good memories I was doing my version of dry February (no shopping), it was going well until that Saturday. But it was the 28th so the last day of the month, I wouldn't call that a major fail, what's one day? For research purposes naturally, I saw this jumper and thought I should road test their quality. Merino wool and what I would call an animal 'ish' print - not a lot not to love. At £45 it was more than I would normally spend however based on the navy jumper above I figured if I wore it 10 times and it still looked good then thats £4.50 per wear - I expect it to last a lot longer than 10 washes though, will keep you posted.

Their 'Confetti' jumper!
I also popped into Cos and saw this lovely breton top with silk bottom half. I loved it but had already purchased the above so I refrained - I know, I'm proud too. This may have to be this months purchase but I'm trying to stick to 1-2 pieces of good quality items a month, the above jumper may have to now roll over to March and there may already have been a sneaky (but so worth it at just over 75% off) purchase already - will share soon, promise. April it is for the Cos top then! Oh and it's not available online - had to get this image via their Netherlands website. From memory was around £35 - £40 but will have to wait until I'm near a Cos again.

A classic with a twist