Sure, we all know what wardrobe essentials for work professional women are supposed to have in their closets, but if you’re buying one for the first time or replacing one you’ve worn into the ground, it can be a pain to find exactly the right incarnation in stores. In “The Hunt,” we search the stores for a basic item that every woman should have.
So we haven’t talked about affordable cashmere for work in a while — let’s discuss! I was intrigued, upon looking around at the stores, how many “weekend” options for cashmere there are. Hoodies! Boyfriend sweaters! Ponchos! Duster cardigans! If you want more of a classic, sleek look to wear with beneath blazers or on top of blouses (or both!), it can be a bit tricky to find them in stores right now. So we rounded up some favorites! Ladies, what sweaters are you reaching for the most on chilly mornings? Have you bought anything in years past that you still love — or have you bought anything recently that was a great find?
Pictured at top of post: one / two / three / four
Hall of Famers (specific styles that have stood the test of time, some pictured above): Halogen, J.Crew, Talbots, Brooks Brothers (cable knit, shawl collar), Lord & Taylor- Usual Suspects (reliable brands or stores to check first): Lord & Taylor, Halogen, Neiman Marcus, Everlane, Uniqlo
- $100 or Under: (Everything pictured below is under $100!)
- Where to Splurge: Brooks Brothers, Brora, Eric Bompard, InHabit NY, Loro Piana, Akris, TSE
- Plus sizes: J.Crew, Talbots, Lands End, Bloomingdale’s (sign up for our newsletter focusing on plus-size workwear!)
- Petite sizes: Lord & Taylor, Nordstrom,
Curious for past iterations of this roundup? Here they are from 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, and 2012.
Here are some of the great cashmere sweaters for work we’re finding today…
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Pictured above: Uniqlo is always a great spot to check for affordable cashmere sweaters for work — they’re warm, classic, and come in a zillion colors. (Pro tip: check out Uniqlo’s Heattech line if you’re looking for a lot of warm options, especially for commuting clothes!) The red V-neck pictured above is $79.90, comes in __ colors; the brand has similar options in a turtleneck, crewneck, and cardigan.
This sweater may look basic, but don’t be surprised if it’s one of the softest cashmeres you’ve felt — I was thrilled to find several Inhabit sweaters at Nordstrom Rack. The pictured sweater (above) comes in black in sizes XS-L for $79 (originally $368!).
This Halogen sweater is only $89 and has close to 500 super positive reviews at Nordstrom. I love how simple it is — it’s very easy to throw on beneath a blazer, add a statement necklace on top or a dickey beneath it (or an actual blouse!), and wear it to work. It comes in 8 colors, regular and petite sizes, XXSP-XL. The brand has a ton of more casual cashmere options as well.
For $99+, J.Crew has a ton of great “everyday” cashmere sweaters. (Sadly, they are all excluded from the 40% off promo happening today!) The sweaters are available in sizes XXS-3X, which is great; the pictured crewneck comes in 23 (!) colors. They’ve also got a great everyday cashmere turtleneck. (To discuss: are turtlenecks “back” in style or have I just not noticed how many there were in recent years? I’ve always thought they’re a great basic look — certainly great background for a brooch or two! — but they felt like they were rarer in years past.)
I often get asked about Everlane, and I will say that I’ve always been happy with their cashmere and merino sweaters — everything I’ve had has been great quality, and felt like a very current but classic take (so, for example, the longer cuffs here feel very au courant but the sweater itself is classic — not a ruffle in sight, thank goodness, and it’s a polished enough look that you can wear it to work or on the weekend.) The pictured sweater is $100, comes in 18 sizes (including some fun stripey options), in sizes XS-XL.
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AK
FYI Kat, “three” takes you to the Talbot’s landing page, not the sweater pictured in the collage.
Kat G
Sorry about that; fixed it!
Fishie
Am I alone in being over cashmere? Unless you are going to pay top dollar for really high quality I think it rarely looks good. My Halogen sweaters are pilled to high heaven. My L&T ones that used to be my go-to brand look fuzzy. I’m focused on merino these days – more polished for an office environment IMO
Anonymous
I’ve been snatching up second hand high quality deals in cashmere and I hand wash everything. So far so good. But I’m also in a casual environment.
Scared of Having Kids
Following up on the earlier thread about having or not having children, I was wondering if any readers are pulling off a more ‘laissez faire’ style of parenting, with or without plenty of paid and family help? Is it possible to have children and not have your life and marriage totally taken over by them? I’m not saying we should go back to a ‘children should be seen and not heard’ model, but surely there has to be some sort of middle ground between sending them off to boarding school (classism aside) and spending every spare moment acting as chauffeur and tutor, right? Does anyone identify with this or am I deluded?
Anonymous
I have 2.5 year old twins and I am a big fan of benign neglect :-) They are obviously not to the tons-of-extracurricular-activities stage yet but even though our son is developmentally delayed and I need to set aside time to work with him alone, I have plenty of time for my own hobbies even though we do lots of stuff as a family. I’ve leaned in at work. To each their own, but I feel like my priorities list goes 1) children’s needs; 2) parents’ needs; 3) parents’ wants; 4) kids’ wants. They go to bed at 7:30 and I read or watch TV, and on weekends I stick them with the husband if I want to go off and do my own thing for a few hours.
HSAL
Put this on the afternoon thread; I think you’ll get more responses. It’s an interesting topic and it’s something I’m shooting for. Right now we’re in the unavoidable takeover phase (3, 4 months, and 4 months), but I’m hoping to have more of a life in a few years.
Anon
Would love to hear answers to this. I thought I would be able to do ‘laissez faire’ parenting but the reality is different. As in, I’m too lazy/busy/tired to look for a babysitter so we never go out. And the couple of times I got a babysitter we were so tired we didn’t end up doing what we previously planned (concerts) and just had dinner and drinks instead. I’m too busy to plan getaways and my DH never did it before, so no one does any leisure planning and therefore we spend all weekends at home. Maybe if someone has a truly equal partner? Or a lot of household help?
Seafinch
No, not deluded. I think it is possible to reject the notion that we all have to buy what the modern parenting movement is selling. We are VERY old school. My one friend and I joke we are following the 1982 Parenting Approach. We don’t really do activities. We did a short, six week rugby season last summer for the two big kids, it was down the street in the field at school. During the school year the 7 year old only does what she can walk herself to from our house, i.e. Brownies and piano). This will never change and they will not be chauffeured anywhere. So if they want to do something they take the bus. I wouldn’t say our life isn’t taken over but we make things very easy on ourselves and don’t over-extend our resources. We don’t do any weekend activities. Our three kids (#4 due in March) play outside a lot, or do lego in the basement and they have to watch the two year old. We have a very close knit neighbourhood where the kids play together and we cut out any stressful commuting by having an Au Pair (in Canada, the cost is comparable to daycare). The kids sleep in and get up when they want (hugely helpful 0915 start time at school). We have grandparents within two blocks. We took it on the chin and bought a much more expensive house than we normally would to be able to be close to them. They are retired and helpful. My kids are not entertained by us or screens and have to contribute to the household. The 7 year old puts away all the kids’ laundry. the four year old strips bed linens, clears the table and sets the table. They look after their own spaces. The big kid has to manager her own social calendar and school work. I don’t monitor it. Some people would probably be bored by our life. It is very simplistic and revolves around cooking from scratch (which they like to help with) and hanging out. It works for us and even with two fast paced careers, I am not stressed out. Neither of us work weekends, I travel for work for about three days every eight weeks. It is all very manageable and we really enjoy this phase of life (7, 4, and 2 year old with aforementioned new one coming). We live in a MCOL (?) Canadian city (our house cost 635K and needs a lot of maintenance and investment) and have a HHI of 270K.
anon
I hope I’ve found a middle ground, but I have to admit — my life is still very kid-centric, even though we say no to a lot of “extras” that other families do. Anon at 3:26 is right. To have a life of your own, you have to be really proactive about carving out your own time, because it won’t just naturally happen on its own. Personally, that’s been one of my biggest struggles, due to just sheer tiredness from juggling work and family life. It also means you need to have a group of friends willing or able to do the same. Even though my DH is totally on board with whatever girls’ nights I want to have, many of my friends say they get tired of negotiating personal time with their spouses … so they just don’t. Or they’re similarly tired/busy/also haven’t been proactive.
For a long time, I was shocked — shocked! — that I didn’t actually want to go out or do that much without my kid, because I was already spending a lot of time away from him while working. Not everybody feels that way. I expected to be a lot more laid-back than I actually ended up being.
What has worked well for us is hanging out with other families. The kids entertain each other (for the most part), and you still get to socialize/have adult conversations that don’t revolve around work. This becomes even better as the kids get older and can get their own snacks, Netflix set up, etc.
We don’t have regular babysitting help. Finding a babysitter has been harder than I expected, for a variety of reasons. I would make that a priority while your kid is young. My in-laws moved to our town about a year ago. Having backup has been a refreshing change, but we’re really conscious about not over-using them for free babysitting.