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Fair enough.
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Fair enough.
Clearly, you've not spent much time in the Central Belt of Scotland. Other than Edinburgh, it will cure you of any romance with bonnie Scotland, Brigadoon, tartan, argyles and the music of Big Country.What do you mean by condition?
nah, I have bought numerous Brunello Cucinelli new and none of ti compares to the vintage cashmere. The old Scottish cashmere is so special where-as none of the modern stuff is except for maybe Hermes made-in-Scotland (Barrie).
No substitute for cashmere. Cashmere and tweeds = the greatest fabrics of all, and both very Scottish.
I see the vintage scottish cashmere in very romantic terms. It was an old Scottish cashmere club few were part of, and l wanted to be part of that world when men wore the best cashmere jumpers in existence that the modern world no longer knows about. But even that doesn't describe my real feelings; like l said, it is a romantic love of Scotland and the old world of cashmere that men and women moved in....it is a love of the cold gloomy old days of Scotland and the homely comfort of cashmere, and it's representation of when man was more simple and family orientated etc etc. The Italian cashmere jumpers doesn't give those warm romantic feelings.
Every piece of vintage scottish cashmere amazes me. Every piece l see wows me.
He was into his shoes in a big way, in an interview he was saying that was on of his big passions in retirement. If you see any later interviews with him, he reverted to a very dour and flat Scots brogue.Ronnie Corbett wore intarsia. It was part of his image. He lived in a house that backed on to The Addington golf course. Very funny man too.
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I think this is a men’s knitwear thread...so apologies for crashing the party. I recently got fed up with my Uniqlo cashmere and started researching how to buy cashmere without the nosebleed prices. I found out about vintage cashmere and have been building a collection over the past few weeks...
I lucked on an 60 year old lady selling 2 Ballantyne cardigans for $10 a pop on Facebook marketplace, a cream and a green, in very good condition (no holes or stains or musky smells). Can anyone tell by the tags what era they are from?
I also found some Lyle & Scotts, Westaway & Westaway, John Laing, and Andrew Stewart which I don’t think I’ve never seen mentioned in any of these forums. The one problem I’ve run into is that a lot of vintage cashmere runs really big for me - I am 5’3” and 110 pounds, and wear mostly 00/0 and XS. I don’t mind oversized and even crossover to men’s S sometimes to find stuff, but Andrew Stewart’s stuff surprisingly fits perfectly on an XS. Maybe he cornered the market on small Scottish ladies, but there weren’t enough of them and he went out of business?
I LOVE them. Absolutely obsessed. And I’m so shocked how well-priced they are. I’ve scored most of mine for ~$14 to $50 an item (including shipping!). Sometimes they have small holes that I fix pretty easily.Your Ballantyne is 1980's. Dunno about the other. Yes Johnny Laing and Lyle & Scott have been mentioned numerous times before, top makes. You are very lucky to own those cardigans, they are from a golden era of cashmere, and they are becoming increasingly difficult to find.
Do you like your vintage Scottish cashmere?
I LOVE them. Absolutely obsessed. And I’m so shocked how well-priced they are. I’ve scored most of mine for ~$14 to $50 an item (including shipping!). Sometimes they have small holes that I fix pretty easily.
The most shocking thing is how little pilling there is. My cheaper cashmere pieces pill like crazy, I have to constantly de-fuzz them. But the Scottish cashmere have very little pilling, even at high-friction places. I didn’t even know that was possible.
kiwanja said:It’s honesty such a gem, I can see myself easily accumulating hundreds of these knitwear and dying happily in a pile of floofy soft sweaters when I’m old and grey.
Malo is decent, but not in the same league as vintage Scottish cashmere. Malo does pill more, same goes with Brunello Cucinelli. None of it compares to the old stuff no matter how high the price. Loro Piana is good,m but it is still not as good as the vintage Scottish cashmere (not as sturdy).I also bought some Malo and Italian cashmere too. I love the designs as they are more contemporary / on trend, but I definitely notice more pilling. Italian cashmere is softer, but vintage Scottish cashmere is definitely sturdier. Scottish cashmere is like the Mithril that Bilbo gives Frodo - light, but deceptively strong.
The wool from the Pomeranian Landschaf also has fibers that are 18 micrometers fine, but also up to 70 micrometers thick. And this variety of fibers forms the high performance that we need for our outdoor textiles. The fine fibers make our textiles windproof and close the pores in the fabric and the thick fibers loosen the bond and prevent capillary action. The water droplets then form on the surface and run off like on a thatched roof.
In addition, from 30 micrometers and thicker, the fiber is hollow. The air pockets in it ensure that the material is highly insulated and at the same time very light. As a result, our jackets are much thinner and lighter than similar jackets made of merino wool with the same insulation.
It also makes a difference whether you wash the wool with or without detergent before processing. If you use detergent, the wool is completely degreased. This makes the fiber brittle and no longer as elastic.
In our manufacturing process, we leave a high lanolin content in the wool right through to the end product. That's why we don't dye or carbonate. As a result, the fiber remains softer, more water-repellent and of course does not sting as much.
The Shooman , the Derkogner is Dachstein wool from the Schladming-Dachtein region. They were a big producer in the 70's & 80's and seemed to have a pipeline to Australia at least for their Dachstein mittens.there is some interesting information about sheep wool here: nordwolle.com
there is also a tv documentary about the company on youtube, where the owner talks about assessing wool quality and the various properties of different races.
e. oh and it's Viktor instead of Dikter I think
The Shooman , the Derkogner is Dachstein wool from the Schladming-Dachtein region. They were a big producer in the 70's & 80's and seemed to have a pipeline to Australia at least for their Dachstein mittens.
Through people I met people in the industry. Like you, I like to find information at the source if that can be had. But living where I live I'm as interested in the quality of my outdoor gear as I am shoos. Equivalent of your level of shoo & jumper enthusiasm. Bespoke and custom. I study the CLO insulation value of clothing. Test different insulations. Tinker with layers to give me the lightest, warmest layering system for the weather. Especially important and interesting given that I was born in a place where there was usually a city-shutdown blizzard on my birthday every year in March, almost 20 years living in the Arctic on and off plus living here now where we had -53C windchills last week.How do you know all these things; it is because you have lived in very cold regions and you know all about these things?
But living where I live I'm as interested in the quality of my outdoor gear as I am shoos. Equivalent of your level of shoo & jumper enthusiasm. Bespoke and custom. I study the CLO insulation value of clothing. Test different insulations. Tinker with layers to give me the lightest, warmest layering system for the weather. Especially important and interesting given that I was born in a place where there was usually a city-shutdown blizzard on my birthday every year in March, almost 20 years living in the Arctic on and off plus living here now where we had -53C windchills last week.
One day you find yourself dreaming about what did Hillary wear on Everest? Ventile, what's that? And then you find an homage and an homage to the homage.
Standing on the shore of Gjoa Haven in Nunavut and wondering what did Amundsen wear when he iced the Gjoa and hung around for 2 years exploring?
Why was the British-made Rab parka too warm for Inuvik which is above the Arctic Circle? Why was the MH Absolute Zero parka too warm as well?
What was that funnel neck heavy wool sweater the climber dude was wearing to scale Thor in Auyuittuq National Park on Baffin Island?
Dachstein? I'll have to check that out.
BTW, starting the truck.
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and someone has a new custom titleWow, that nails this post and makes it one of the finest posts ever made in the history of internet forums.
and someone has a new custom title
Buzz Rickson and Real McCoy are Japanese workwear/denim head brands reviving ‘historically correct’ patterns like USN pea coats and deck jackets (aka Shoreshank Redemption jackets). If you are more interested in staying warm than looking like a 1940s sailor daddy, there are better options for the money.
Up until a few years ago, you could still pick-up good surplus USN coats and jackets cheaply. I think I posted here when I bought an excellent condition 1967 peacoat (Kersey wool, not the new Melton) for a little over $100. At that time, no one was interested in deck jackets so you could find them for much cheaper. Even the rare alpaca lining.
I very much like the navy look, hence white trousers with navy blazer and peacoats etc.
Apparently the peacoats before 1980 were kersey wool.
Apparently the 1949 peacoat was the big daddy according to connoisseurs.
I had a wonderful 1970's peacoat that was the bees knees that l gave to a friend, and l also have the BIG Daddy and a couple of others that are lighter.
Looks like Anderson and Shepperd are selling 12 ply shawl cardigans in light gray and holly green.
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Cashmere Chunky Cardigan
A chunky ribbed cashmere cardigan perfect for chilly walks and winter days . The oversized fit and generous shawl collar make this an investment piece of knitwear for many years to come.shop.anderson-sheppard.co.uk
Meh, Lockie does a completely different style. Most likely would be Scott & Charters, same style.Lockie.
A woolly jumper is a good to wear under a jacket, but doesn’t the shawl collar make that difficult? Is it only worn as outerwear?
A woolly jumper is a good to wear under a jacket, but doesn’t the shawl collar make that difficult? Is it only worn as outerwear?
Sorry, I mispelled it (now corrected), it's recozit Motten Spray Lavendel, you can find it also on amazon (de).Interested in the moth killer, but couldn't find anything online. Can you confirm the name and maybe say more about it?
Yes, a shawl cardigan is surely meant to be on display, but not so a classic vee one, especially if made of thinner knit, it's great, as well as a waistcoast, under a sport coat or jacket. Shawl cardigans are usually very thick and have a loose fit, so quite unsuitable to be worn underneath another garment. As you say they are great in more casual situations. Personally I don't have any and prefer other styles and combinations, but can't deny that a shawl collar has its own charm.Shawl cardigans are naturally worn as outwear as it would be impossible to wear a coat over it without looking really silly; the shawl is a beautiful feature that is meant to be on display.
A coat will always look sharper than a cardigan, and it can make a man look very smartly dressed, but a cardigan can make a man very well dressed in a casual environment.
I like shawl cardigans because they are more comfortable than a coat when sitting down, and they won't get creased when sitting down. If l am at home or doing casual activities l will often wear a cardigan; other times a coat is called for to present a more serious image. I used to always wear sportscoats, but as l have gotten older l wear a lot more knitwear; l like the flexibility.
Surely you would be perished with the cold having to venture outside with just a shawl cardigan when it’s 25 degrees centigrade?Shawl cardigans are naturally worn as outwear as it would be impossible to wear a coat over it without looking really silly; the shawl is a beautiful feature that is meant to be on display.
A coat will always look sharper than a cardigan, and it can make a man look very smartly dressed, but a cardigan can make a man very well dressed in a casual environment.
I like shawl cardigans because they are more comfortable than a coat when sitting down, and they won't get creased when sitting down. If l am at home or doing casual activities l will often wear a cardigan; other times a coat is called for to present a more serious image. I used to always wear sportscoats, but as l have gotten older l wear a lot more knitwear; l like the flexibility.
I wouldn't mind a nice 12 ply cardigan as an addition to my collection - even though there's probably just 2 or so weeks left this year to use them. Weather is getting promisingly better here in London. Time to switch from cashmere to merino (or finer cashmere).
Meh, Lockie does a completely different style. Most likely would be Scott & Charters, same style.
Kabbaz/Scott & Charters / Anderson & Shepperd (the same)
William Lockie v's O'connells v's different William Lockie style
4th and 5th pics: collars are exactly the same.
Also notice how the Scott and Charters and Anderson & Shepperd has this feature:
None of the William Lockie have that design.
Conclusion
Scott & Charters do only one style of 12 ply as Kabbaz once said, and they would do Anderson & Shepperd cardigans.
Lockie do various style of shawl cardigan as can be seen here, and likely do O'Connell's 12 ply cardigans.
Is this one Ballantyne? I had it on my watchlist and i forgot to bid. Just sold out for 37 quid
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Why do you think the Drakes is John Laing, doesn't it look identical to the Lockie Windsor?It is something substantial and well worth the cost imo. It is a luxury that isn't easy to obtain. I would like to get a few while l can.
Here is a 4 ply Drakes shawl collar costing $1,600:
View attachment 36359
while a Begg & Co 8 ply costs much less:
View attachment 36360
The O'connells 12 ply cashmere cardigan = $1,300 USD
The Drakes 4 ply cashmere cardigan = $1,600 USD
The Begg & Co 8 ply cashmere cardigan = $1,200 USD
Why is the Drakes so expensive? Because it is supposed to be very high quality and made by John Laing. The others would be made by William Lockie imo and l am guessing not as good.
Would anyone pay $5,000 - $6,000 for a properly made 12 ply cashmere shawl cardigan? Probably not because there might not be a market for true luxury cardigans. I would love to have a business that sold $6,000 cashmere cardigans, but l probably wouldn't make much money.
Will from a Suitable Wardrobe also sold 4 ply cardigans under his own label and apparently made by John Laing. High prices like Drakes, and 4 ply also at nearly $900 USD. See how A Suitable Wardrobe cardigan is almost identicle to Drakes (John Laing) except for a minor alteration of a top button added. Obviously only one cut IMO, hence Laings being in 4 ply with all the same cut.
View attachment 36362View attachment 36363
Drakes does look similar to one of the Lockie shawls, but l understand Laing has made for Drakes, T&A and A Suitable Wardrobe in the past, and all have high prices, much higher than companies that use Lockie.Why do you think the Drakes is John Laing, doesn't it look identical to the Lockie Windsor?
I still think you are getting confused by or at least putting to much emphasis on the ply count. I doesn't really say much about the quality and beefiness of the garment, does it?