Why is it so hard to buy a nice sweater for my daughter?

[dirty ethel rackham]

She asked for a good quality sweater that isn't too boring and not in gray, black, beige, or navy.  Something with color.  I struck out at my old standby, Land's End.  Tons of cashmere, but she wants something not quite so high maintenance.  I think I found one, but it is in a light blue.  I saw some at L L Bean that were surprisingly less stodgy than Land's End, but no Cyber Monday deals.  Pretty expensive.  I hope they are worth it.    Eddie Bauer used to have nice sweaters but now they are all recycled plastic.  

[Harriet Vane]

Honestly, I cannot stand the way all our clothes contain plastic these days. Sorry for your sweater woes. 

[KungFuPanda]

I’ve heard good things about barefoot dreams sweaters, but I think they’re mostly neutral. I think they have eco friendly fabrics and are known to be soft.  They’re made in CA and are having sales now. 

[TechWife]

Have you looked at Talbot’s? They have a lot of different colors. The quality is okay. Better than Lands End, but not as good as it used to be.

I used to save $$ up to buy the good clothes - the ones with linings, finished seams, etc.. Now, I just don’t see those around anymore, at least not at the same retailers.  Perhaps they exist in places where the entry price point is much  higher, IDK. Fast fashion isn’t fun for me for this reason.

 

[Kanin]

I keep getting Facebook ads for the Quince $50 cashmere sweater...

[MercyA]

I see that L.L. Bean still sells their Double L cable sweaters. I bought one in high school and wore it for at least 15 years, I think. It stayed looking really nice all that time--no pills or fading. There's no telling if they are still the same quality, but they still look nice. 

[mmasc]

I haven’t tried it *yet*, but I’m going to try one of these Quince fisherman organic cotton sweaters. I loathe cashmere or anything with a speck of wool in it, and these are all cotton and have great reviews. 
 

Eta: this is my number two choice. Also, fair isle is tending right now if she’d be into that, there are lots to choose from!

Edited November 28, 2023 by mmasc

[Innisfree]

3 hours ago, Kanin said:

Quince

 

21 minutes ago, mmasc said:

organic cotton sweaters

I’m not familiar with Quince, but dd1 would love some of their sweaters. Are they generally good quality?

[sassenach]

I adore Quince! Their quality is fantastic. I have the cotton Boyfriend sweater in 2 different colors and sizes. It runs oversized. If you size down, it will be more cropped (but not really too cropped).  I also have the cotton fisherman sweater in ivory, which has already been a staple this season. This alpaca sweater is so detailed and gorgeous but definitely more on the delicate side. The cotton sweaters are well-constructed and wash without incident in the delicate cycle. I will probably own everything they make by the time I'm done.

 

DM me your email addy if you'd like a $20 off referral code!

Edited November 28, 2023 by sassenach

[mmasc]

47 minutes ago, Innisfree said:

 

I’m not familiar with Quince, but dd1 would love some of their sweaters. Are they generally good quality?

I follow two fashion bloggers who say yes. But I haven’t tried one yet. 
https://themomedit.com/style-women-fisherman-sweater-quince-cashmere-cotton-crewneck-cable-knit-pulllover-under-100-worth-it-fall-outfits-laura/

[crazyforlatin]

I have a few Quince cashmere sweaters. Like all cashmere they will develop lint, but I have an electric lint remover so it always looks new. I’ve tried other brands like Everlane. I actually think Quince lints slower than Everlane or Uniqlo. Quince is good quality yet affordable. Shipping does seem to take long maybe 1-2 weeks. I’ve been eyeing a few items for Dd and possibly for me. I only wear cashmere or merino wool in fall/winter because I don’t like to wear layers and layers of clothes. And Quince has good customer service. When I ordered a gray cashmere sweater, it didn’t come with a price/info tag, and they sent me another sweater right away without having to return the original one.

[HenryHanson]

Thanks for the advice. I will keep it in my mind. 

Edited April 2 by HenryHanson

[Brittany1116]

I was in a Tommy Hilfiger this week and they had some very pretty sweaters 50% off. The normal red, white, navy, as well as some emeralds, baby blues, and a few others. I noticed a few were free of the logo on the chest, too. 

[dirty ethel rackham]

I wrapped up a gorgeous eggplant colored sweater from Quince for her for Christmas.  I'm impressed with the quality and wish I had purchased a couple for myself.  I had trouble finding a color I wanted. (other than the eggplant color) because they all seem to be in the warm/neutral palette, which looks terrible on me.

Thanks again for the suggestions!

 

[J-rap]

I agree that it's hard to find a good sweater!  Even nicer stores sell pretty sweaters that start looking a little ragged just a year later.  

I do like LLBean sweaters though.  They're expensive (very few sales), but they seem to hold up for years. 

[sassenach]

10 hours ago, dirty ethel rackham said:

I wrapped up a gorgeous eggplant colored sweater from Quince for her for Christmas.  I'm impressed with the quality and wish I had purchased a couple for myself.  I had trouble finding a color I wanted. (other than the eggplant color) because they all seem to be in the warm/neutral palette, which looks terrible on me.

Thanks again for the suggestions!

 

Glad it worked out! They change out their colors seasonally. Circle back in the spring. 

[dirty ethel rackham]

5 hours ago, sassenach said:

Glad it worked out! They change out their colors seasonally. Circle back in the spring. 

Oh, I definitely will.  I think those colors are super popular this year.  I've needed to replace some clothes and had trouble finding a palette that worked.