To make an affordable cashmere sweater look its best, it helps to understand how price influences quality.
Cashmere yarn is made from the soft undercoats of cashmere goats. Zoe Vanderweide, a senior staff writer on the style team who has investigated the cashmere price gap, explained that the most inexpensive sweaters use yarn spun from coarser, shorter, and broken fibers, which means they probably won’t last as long.
On the other hand, “The most expensive and desirable cashmere is meticulously hand-combed or carefully sheared in the spring, when the goats naturally shed their winter coats,” she says.
Zoe told me that the most skilled producers are able to retain the longest, thinnest hairs from the goat’s undercoat, which can be more-tightly woven into smoother, stronger yarn and thus turned into a smoother, stronger sweater.
Still, not all affordable cashmere is created equal. Some brands incorporate more long fibers than others, which can make a noticeable difference.
