Naked Cashmere

[Pesape]

Does anyone have anything from Naked Cashmere? I’ve been looking at their site for a year or so now and am thinking of getting a cardigan. https://www.nakedcashmere.com/products/oliver
they only have it in pecan and while I don’t know that is the color I would choose first, it would cause me to diversify from my charcoal and navy items I tend to stick with. I do see they won’t be restocking the Oliver “at the moment”. I’m not sure what that means.
these are expensive items, so I would want to be sure it is worth it. Weirdly I can’t find many real “reviews” online. The ones that I can find are super high level stuff. Anyone familiar with this brand or have any items? If so, any opinions?

[abh159]

I have no first hand experience with them and honestly had never heard of it until I clicked on the link in your post. That’s a good looking cardigan, but personally I’d be really hesitant to spend that much money on it considering the very limited number of reviews. The fact that they have only a 14 day return period makes me a bit nervous also.

I’m sure you could find that exact style in your preferred color from a more established brand.

[Pesape]

I have no first hand experience with them and honestly had never heard of it until I clicked on the link in your post. That’s a good looking cardigan, but personally I’d be really hesitant to spend that much money on it considering the very limited number of reviews. The fact that they have only a 14 day return period makes me a bit nervous also.

I’m sure you could find that exact style in your preferred color from a more established brand.

What brand would that be? Part of the allure of Naked Cashmere and the like is supposed to be the “lower price due to direct to consumer...” or whatever. $400 is a ton of money but relatively cheap for 100% cashmere. I’d love to find alternatives but don’t know what brands to look for.

[Token]

What brand would that be? Part of the allure of Naked Cashmere and the like is supposed to be the “lower price due to direct to consumer...” or whatever. $400 is a ton of money but relatively cheap for 100% cashmere. I’d love to find alternatives but don’t know what brands to look for.

Never heard of them, and I doubt you're going to find anyone on dappered who has, there aren't many people on here who would spend more than a few hundred bucks on a cardigan much less specifically from this brand. If you're really interested you could just try them out and return if you don't like it. Having tried a range of knitwear in different materials and price points, couple of things I'd say:

• You're right that $400 is not expensive for a 100% cashmere cardigan (depending on the quality), but based off initial impressions I wonder how serious they are about the quality of their product. Low quality cashmere imo isn't worth the markup over a good merino wool or lambswool, and especially as a cardigan you're probably not touching skin all that much especially compared to a sweater (which you could wear over a tee or even on its own) so I personally don't think there's as much benefit comfort-wise to getting cashmere. Just like how saying 100% wool by itself doesn't tell you anything about its quality, 100% cashmere doesn't automatically mean high quality. I've gotten "entry-level" cashmere from BR for $100, handled uniqlo cashmere, and there's a meaningful difference compared to more expensive quality cashmere. Honestly if you limited me to $400 I'd rather get a high quality lambswool cardigan from somewhere like Scott & Charters, it's super soft and durable.
• The site just reminds me of the countless brands whose only value proposition is "cutting out the middleman and delivering greater value to the consumer!" which most of the time is BS. Their brand has a certain... aesthetic to it (literally the first thing on the about page is a lady wearing only a cardigan leaning against a helicopter... can't wait for those targeted ads to start showing up now), and 2) they tell you that it's 6-ply (so it's on the thicker side and they're using a decent amount of cashmere) but I couldn't find the country of manufacture in a few minutes of searching or any other meaningful sourcing info which makes me think the focus isn't on the product.
• I really don't like the fit on that model. The proportions between the shoulder and waist look strangely off.
• If you're a fan of the chunky style cardigan I'd go with William Lockie, Scott & Charters, or the Armoury (Example below). I think you're right that you don't see too many chunky cheap cashmere cardigans, probably because they need to be at least 2-ply to get the proper thickness whereas most of the really cheap cashmere is almost certainly 1-ply.

https://drop93.com/products/the-armo...7070dc13&_ss=r

[mark4]

I have no experience with Naked Cashmere either, but chunky cashmere shawl collar cardigans are not that common, and that price is pretty reasonable for one, IMO. Another online cashmere retailer is Everlane. They kind of invented affordable direct to consumer cashmere. Their stuff is decent quality - I have two sweaters from them that are now about 4 years old and holding up fine. They tend to run ~$100 per sweater for their cashmere, which is a really good price considering the quality. That said, they do not now have nor do I ever recall seeing them stock a cashmere cardigan for men, much less a chunky shawl collar cashmere cardigan for men. Those types of cardigans require a lot of wool/cashmere because they're thicker, usually a little roomier, and the shawl collar is extra fabric, so they would tend to be more expensive than a typical crew or v neck.

[garryowen47]

I haven't purchased from them but if you're looking for affordable cashmere I highly recommend naadam.co. They also have a shawl collar cardigan. I have a few of their $75 sweaters and a pair of sweatpants that are great. Of all the cashmere that I own, Naadam is my favorite.

[Token]

I haven't purchased from them but if you're looking for affordable cashmere I highly recommend naadam.co. They also have a shawl collar cardigan. I have a few of their $75 sweaters and a pair of sweatpants that are great. Of all the cashmere that I own, Naadam is my favorite.

There are the environmental / ethical concerns for super cheap cashmere, but just focusing on the quality of the product, personally don't find it worth it as it's designed to feel soft at the onset but the durability is terrible (it's kinda like fast fashion where the clothes aren't designed to last because they want you to be a frequent repeat customer). Obviously if you really want cashmere then you should get cashmere, but for the same price you can get quality wool options that'll last longer.

On the specifics of Naadam, I haven't tried them, but $75 for a cashmere sweater really makes me wonder how much they're sacrificing on quality... especially when you consider that they probably have significant costs outside of the literal making of the sweaters (they're paying for retail locations e.g. rent in Greenwich village, digital marketing campaigns, billboards all around SoHo, etc.) Compare that to a lot of the Scottish makers who sell for much higher prices (~$400), yet do next to no marketing, own their own factories, have limited retail presence (although prices are marked up somewhat from wholesale to retail so it's not exactly apples to apples). But even though prices are much higher, it's not like the Scottish makers are raking in the profits with huge margins (they've actually been struggling quite a bit), so how is Naadam able to sell their sweaters at much cheaper prices? Lower labor costs being one but I'd guess using lower much lower quality materials is also part of the answer. I have no experience with Naadam but if OP has the budget to spend $400 on a cardigan I'd recommend going for a higher quality option.

Interesting article on "affordable" cashmere from dieworkwear in case anyone's curious.
https://dieworkwear.com/2018/10/04/t...mmon-cashmere/

[garryowen47]

There are the environmental / ethical concerns for super cheap cashmere, but just focusing on the quality of the product, personally don't find it worth it as it's designed to feel soft at the onset but the durability is terrible (it's kinda like fast fashion where the clothes aren't designed to last because they want you to be a frequent repeat customer). Obviously if you really want cashmere then you should get cashmere, but for the same price you can get quality wool options that'll last longer.

On the specifics of Naadam, I haven't tried them, but $75 for a cashmere sweater really makes me wonder how much they're sacrificing on quality... especially when you consider that they probably have significant costs outside of the literal making of the sweaters (they're paying for retail locations e.g. rent in Greenwich village, digital marketing campaigns, billboards all around SoHo, etc.) Compare that to a lot of the Scottish makers who sell for much higher prices (~$400), yet do next to no marketing, own their own factories, have limited retail presence (although prices are marked up somewhat from wholesale to retail so it's not exactly apples to apples). But even though prices are much higher, it's not like the Scottish makers are raking in the profits with huge margins (they've actually been struggling quite a bit), so how is Naadam able to sell their sweaters at much cheaper prices? Lower labor costs being one but I'd guess using lower much lower quality materials is also part of the answer. I have no experience with Naadam but if OP has the budget to spend $400 on a cardigan I'd recommend going for a higher quality option.

Interesting article on "affordable" cashmere from dieworkwear in case anyone's curious.
https://dieworkwear.com/2018/10/04/t...mmon-cashmere/

That's all fair but I have zero interest in environmental / ethical concerns. Also, compared to other entry level cashmere I've purchased from Uniqlo and J.Crew, I think Naadam is superior. I agree that Uniqlo's cashmere is noticeable inferior. I haven't yet compared Naadam to higher priced cashmere, so for entry level options, especially if you're trying to explore the fabric before investing into higher cost options, Naadam is excellent.

[stuffedsuperdud]

That's all fair but I have zero interest in environmental / ethical concerns. Also, compared to other entry level cashmere I've purchased from Uniqlo and J.Crew, I think Naadam is superior. I agree that Uniqlo's cashmere is noticeable inferior. I haven't yet compared Naadam to higher priced cashmere, so for entry level options, especially if you're trying to explore the fabric before investing into higher cost options, Naadam is excellent.

The founders of Naadam sound like a bunch of gargantuan brotastic douchebags cynically throwing around sustainability buzzwords in order to line their own pockets, and I would hesitate to give them my hard-earned money even if their product is indeed marginally better than what is available at a mall store.

[abh159]

The founders of Naadam sound like a bunch of gargantuan brotastic douchebags cynically throwing around sustainability buzzwords in order to line their own pockets, and I would hesitate to give them my hard-earned money even if their product is indeed marginally better than what is available at a mall store.

To me they are exactly like every other "direct-to-consumer" company on the market right now. By that I mean a bunch of buzzwords about sustainability but who knows if it's actually true.

I will say that I got a Naadam cashmere beanie as a gift a few years back and have loved it. I would never have bought it for myself (I think they are around $75 or so), but if you are someone who really wants a cashmere beanie I've found the one I have from them to be excellent.

[JDOG]

State Cashmere has cardigans. No personal experience but their marketing sounds good.
https://statecashmere.com/collection...utton-cardigan

[stuffedsuperdud]

To me they are exactly like every other "direct-to-consumer" company on the market right now. By that I mean a bunch of buzzwords about sustainability but who knows if it's actually true.

What they claim to do is a an agricultural impossibility. Unless they've got these goats in a lab somewhere, genetically modified to convert every last gram of food they eat into soft fiber, they are doing the other thing, which is to take advantage of the fact that Mongolia hopes to switch from extractables to cashmere as their vehicle for catching up to the 1st world, and will sell as much as possible to Western buyers, regulations optional. So say hello to overgrazed lands, crappy fibers shorn from half-starved animals, and bankrupt overleveraged herders who end up butchering their own animals. I hope I am wrong and it's actually the first thing but it seems like any time $$ and MBA bros are combined, the truth is actually worse than any nightmare scenario my innocent mind can conjure up.

[Pesape]

Popping back into this thread to follow-up. I ended up buying the Naked Cashmere sweater but immediately returned it. For context, I'm 5'11 and upper 170's depending on day. I workout every day but more circuit based no weird disproportions. I ordered the medium. The arms fit fine. The shoulders probably too. The torso/stomach area was where it was just wrong. I'm in good shape, but like most guys I feel like I could lose a good 5 pounds around my core. Pointing that out to stay that my stomach is definitely not super slim. With the bagginess of the stomach area on the sweater you would have though otherwise. It just looked incredibly sloppy. I don't know if it was a one off or this was indicative of most of their fits. The fit was supposed to be relaxed (so normal), but they had a looser fit too. I can't imagine what that would have looked like. If I were to see a slim/tailored fit, I would not be against giving them a try again, but the one I ordered was no where near worth $400.

[Geo]

Pesape Window shopping on Huckberry this morning and noticed this cashmere shawl collar cardigan. I have no experience with this company but thought you might be interested.

https://huckberry.com/store/wills/ca...ollar-cardigan

[DocDave]

The Huckberry shawl looks a lot like the one I bought from the Gap. Of course the difference being my shawl collar cardigan from the Gap isn't cashmere. Mine is still pretty cozy though.