Sunday, October 24, 2010

Cashmere aspirations

Last winter, in the midst of the cold, rain, fog, snow, and other atrocities that January and February bring, I decided that as long as I was going to put up with winter, I might as well start wearing more cashmere.

Cashmere is lightweight, warm, soft, and very expensive. Even the sale prices of 100-percent cashmere sweaters are very high. Not surprisingly, my efforts at developing my cashmere collection were dampened by the high cost of each cashmere piece. It's difficult to justify buying one cashmere sweater when I can buy two or three (or more!) other pieces for the same cost.

By the end of the winter, I had added only one cashmere-y piece to my collection, a black long-sleeved turtleneck sweater that isn't even 100-percent cashmere. Despite its shortcomings, it's a staple piece that I wear throughout the winter, so it was not a bad place to start.

However, I have a long way to go. My goal is not to achieve cashmere mafia status but perhaps a few more cashmere pieces would make winter more tolerable.

A couple weeks ago, I was scanning the sales at one of the online daily boutique stores (this time, ideeli, though I also belong to Gilt, Rue la la, and HauteLook) and came across a boutique of winter essentials. The boutique included several cashmere items--clearly I am not alone in my quest--including a gray duster (like a sweatercoat, but no buttons) that was begging to come home to me.

Ordinarily, gray is not my go-to color when it comes to sweaters, but a cashmere sweater is a basic piece that should last for years and transcend the cuts, colors, and styles of one season's fashion trends. Therefore, I willingly and happily bought it. The free shipping credit I had received earlier in the week from ideeli made the purchase even more worthwhile.

The sweater fit perfectly and is now hanging in my closet, awaiting the arrival of more cashmere friends, whenever they might arrive.

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