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

The Sales Are In Full Swing....

And I've been ordering away online, I can't quite stop myself now and have gone over my birthday money budget in the hope (and also knowing how fussy I am) that half of what i've ordered won't fit!  But to start with, the boot in my post here, damn it they've gone down to £57 and they still have my size......what to do, what to do.  I haven't stopped thinking about them and what I can wear with them so I think I may call tomorrow and reserve them to pick up this week.

The Chinti and Parker top also in this post has now sold out, so that's that decision made (was also told it looked like a pj top by the husband and that did put me off slightly).  My quest for a cashmere hoody has been a long one so when I saw two on sale, I ordered both.  The Next one I'm not holding out much hope for as I reckon the stock will have gone by the time they despatch but it was worth a shot.  It was over £100 down to £39 in grey, no image even left on their website!  The pink Whistles one may be too pale but again, giving it a go as both free delivery so nothing lost there. 

£195 down to £60 (and now sold out via HoF from yesterday!)

Next currently have this lovely Whistles jumper left in their clearance.  It is 70% wool 30% cashmere.  I was tempted but I have a pink cashmere jumper already so I'm refraining from a double pink in the wardrobe. 

£145 down to £50

After searching around to see if the pink cashmere Whistles hoody was a good buy, I stumbled across this Whistles dress in Asos.  I have a wedding in a few weeks and although I have some outfits in the pipeline and wasn't planning on purchasing a new dress, I thought I'd give this one a go as I fell in love with the unusual print.  I have a very old silk Whistles dress that I bought for the exact same reason, I like it when the print is just that little bit different. 

£155 down to £51 via Asos

And whilst I have a bit of a jumper thing going on, I thought I'd share with you my bargain jumper I found in the Charing Cross TK Maxx on my birthday.  It is Marc by Marc Jacobs and was £45 from over £100.  I questioned it to start with as I thought it was a little retro for me but the more I looked at it, the more I loved it.