Knitwear season is finally here, and with it comes the temptation to grab the first (but pleasantly affordable) synthetic sweater that catches your eye.
However, this year you can really resist that urge and opt for cashmere. Soft, elegant and brilliantly wearable for both day and night (just pair it with jeans or a satin skirt), cashmere will be a hard-working piece of your wardrobe for years to come.
But while it used to be a luxury purchase, these days you can easily find great quality cashmere for under £100 on the High Street and even under £50 in the supermarket.
Jacket, £85, sosandar.com; above, £75, F&F on tesco.com; skirt, £149, brandsandspencer.com; Jacket, £49.50 and shoes, £45. brandsandspencer.com; above, £89, thewhitecompany.com; skirt, £79.99, mango.com
Trusty Marks & Spencer has high-quality cashmere, starting at £69 for a vest, and the cut of its Autograph cardigan has been updated this year to be looser around the waist.
Avoid knitwear with narrow cuts that hug the hips. It looks dated. I will also leave my teen in any cropped style. Longer cuts are more flattering and grown-up.
As prices seem to be rising everywhere, let’s cheer for John Lewis, which has reduced its cashmere entry price to £69 for a sleeveless V-neck in three colourways. The store’s own-brand pink cardigan is a spitting image of the £1,790 Prada version, but a fraction of the £95 price.
For those who like bold colors and prints, look to Boden. Their cashmere starts from £110 and features lots of stripes and rainbow colours.
Fashion’s love affair with tank tops shows no signs of abating, so if you want a piece that’s on-trend, you can’t go wrong with Boden’s fuchsia tank top, which is guaranteed to liven up your jeans. denim.
When it comes to layering, looser-woven cashmere, which feels lighter, is a great way to stay warm and is more affordable. The White Company Striped Short Sleeve Jumper, £89, fits like a second skin and won’t be bulky if you tuck it in or layer a cardigan over it.
Shirt, £129, never fully dressed.com; tank, £150, boden.es; trousers, £295, cefinn.com; shoes, £90, dunelondon.com; Scarf, £45, F&F at tesco.com; cardigan, £119, brands and spencer.com; jumper, £79.90, uniqlo.com; skirt, £75, dennercashmere.es
Jumper, £45, tuclothing. sainsburys.co.uk; skirt, £120, anthropology.com; bag, £215, shop.kaai.eu; Roll neck, £150 and jeans, £34. boden.es; cardigan, £95, johnlewis.com; loafers, £245, russellandbromley.co.uk
At the end of the supermarket, Tu at Sainsbury’s offers you the basics.
Their merino and cashmere blend crewnecks, £45, in grey, navy and black, won’t set the fashion world alight, but they will be extremely useful. And the V-neck from F+F at Tesco, £75, is suitably soft and not paper thin.
Finally, don’t forget a destabilizer (£55, steamery.co.uk) to keep your cashmere pom-pom-free and freshen up your old ones too.
And remember that cashmere’s nemesis, moths, love dirt, so use a gentle wool wash to keep your knitwear clean (£14, thelabco.com) and store safely in a resealable box or bag.