December 8, 2021
Time for another 2nd layer! In honor of all of the gift-giving occasions in the recent past and near future, I’m suggesting cashmere sweaters! (and yes, you can indeed purchase a gift for yourself? Who better to buy, and who better to receive?)
I’m recycling last week’s skirts, showing them in a less dressy way. If you’re going to own a skirt, you may as well get some mileage from it, right?
Sweater – L.L.Bean; earrings – Talbots; silver bells necklace – Talbots; skirt – Talbots; bag – Sostter; ballet flats – Trotters
A simple, beautiful sweater can be worn with lots of things, and will always elevate your outfit by a notch or two; if I were to only own 1 sweater, it would be a black cashmere cardigan:
The same plaid skirt that you wore for a holiday neighborhood gather can be worn to work too….
Cashmere cardigan – Lands’ End; earrings – Little by Little; Black Watch skirt – Talbots; bracelets – Canvas; bag – Royce; shoes – Naturalizer
The brown toile skirt looks just as good with an ivory sweater as it did with brown. Beautiful leather goods and some jewelry toned to match is all you need!
Ivory v-neck sweater – Nordstrom; toile skirt – Miaou; heart earrings – Lele Sadoughi; necklace – Akola; bag – Kurt Geiger London; boots – INC International Concepts
A velvet skirt will never be casual, but it can be perfect for those occasions when you’re not quite sure how dressed up you need to be…
Heather natural cashmere sweater – J.Crew; pink tourmaline and pearl earrings – Vintouch; skirt – J.Crew; pink tourmaline bracelet – Lola Rose London; bag – Hobo; ballet flats – Sam Edelman
There are so many options with this navy corduroy skirt – this outfit would be perfect for work, or for dinner, or for brunch…
Classic Navy cashmere sweater – L.L.Bean; navy earrings – Milou Jewelry; corduroy skirt – Talbots; sodalite bracelet – Nest; bag – Thacker; ballet flats – SoftWalk
As with velvet, satin is inherent dressy, but dark moss green boots, bag and sweater take this skirt down quite a few notches!
Dark pine cashmere sweater – Vince; earrings – Milou Jewellery; scarf – Fiorio; slate green skirt – J.Crew; bag – ZAC Zac Posen; boots – Sam Edelman
Are you making any plans to wear a skirt this winter holiday season? I’m not planning; if anything comes up that I don’t expect, I will just pull out my workhorse black pleated skirt and figure something out!
love,
Janice
p.s. Three years ago, I was packing for Paris… sigh…
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These outfits are lovely to look at! I’m a bit like you, with no specific agenda. I will attend to church again when my little one is finally cough-free (sigh…) and I may finally use a skirt (a denim buttoned a-line is my workhorse) or a shirt dress +sweater with heattech leggings under. BTW, winter is really happening this year and ate most of the autumn here in Barcelona, so not sure skirts and dresses will be my first choice. I may have to wait til spring since I do get cold in my legs (little bit jealous of you Janice!).
Love all of these combinations. I have several of the J Crew and Land’s End cashmeres and wear them a lot. Have you looked at Quince cashmere sweaters? They are only $50, but are great quality. Jennifer at A Well Styled Life recommended them, so I bought one; it is so nice. I’m ordering more.
Mind sharing sizing information for you and purchased product, Memee?
Thanks
I bought the crew neck cashmere sweater in burgundy and the navy vneck in Large. Fits true to size.
Aha! Up early enough to snap up a skirt! On sale…. Thank you Janice!
This is what I am wearing to work today :) Long ankle-length skirt with wool tights and boots, with a cashmere sweater. Cold and wet in Bilbao.
How does LL Bean Cashmere compare to Lands End or J Crew? My cashmere sweater is from Lands End because they do a petite which is the perfect length for me both in the body and sleeve. I have noticed that LL Bean and J Crew also do a petite fitting but don’t know how their sweaters compare.
Alison, Personally I find the JCrew sweaters to be a little thin. That being said, I have about five of them. I do have to size up for their cashmere. But I like a looser fit than some. I don’t think I have an LLBean or Lands End cashmere – just comparing them to other sweaters I have. Cheers!
I have a black Lands End Turtle neck which never pills but is heavy in weight…it’s warm too warm for regular inside wear but awesome under a puffer vest or a thin puffer jacket if it’s really cold and don’t want my parka. I do want a LE black cardigan though..My favourite is Bloomingdale’s house brand Aqua or ‘C’ buy them on sale. Great value and many colours & styles. With cashmere you get what you pay for…I have some ‘budget’ types that looked great for the first wear but pilled and eventually were relegated to house wear only. Also some are very thin ply and see through so require a camisole underneath. It’s best to wait for sales, a decent long lasting cashmere sweater that will not pill and give years of wear will cost more than 50.00msrp so I would be wary of that.Also many less expensive sweaters are not 100% cashmere or have a sketchy provenance. LE & LLBean will give you nice sweaters. I have heard the JCrew can be hit or miss. Although a friend bought one early this year has worn it many times and is satisfied. I wash my sweaters on hand wash in a lingerie bag in cold water. Lay flat to dry and attend to any pilling before storage. I always go up a size as I am large busted and find that’s where sweaters are too tight also it allows for moderate shrinkage.
Burgundy, plum, purple with silver grey is one of my favourite colour combinations in winter. I don’t wear skirts very often (prefer trousers or dresses) but I love the pink velvet skirt; so different to the usual dark velvet colours. To add an extra accent, I wear pink.
I really like the first grey + burgundy and last silver + dark green combinations as winter festive options…I think the grey/silver has an icy vibe that resonates with the season.
While I’m normally in skirts constantly by now, WFH/stay at home has me in pants/jeans again this winter.
Love the moss green collection but I wonder what colour of tights you would wear with the satin skirt?
I was wondering the same thing.
Oy. I would try to find something to match her shoes…. Why is it so hard to find tights and socks in a range of colors? I used to buy socks in Paris, just because I could find the right shade of red or whatever color I wanted…
If someone opens a sock store, they just carry a bunch of cute prints, but they neglect the solid colors that so many of us would want.
Do we know of anyone online that carries a truly wide range of colors in hosiery?
hugs,
Janice
I have finally (at 52) decided that I just don’t like wearing skirts or dresses at all & see no reason why I can’t wear pants all the time. They just don’t do anything complimentary for my apple shaped body & I have to contend with shapewear & hose. Cashmere sweaters however, I adore, and your selections are lovely. My husband just received an invite for his company’s end of year party, to be held in January. They are billing it as a “casual indoor/outdoor winter wonderland” theme. I’m planning on wearing a cashmere sweater, probably with velvet jeans. The only other event on my calendar is dinner out with my husband for our anniversary – I’ll wear some sort of sexy (but not too revealing) top with black wide leg velvet pants. We don’t celebrate Christmas so I’m looking forward to 3 very relaxing weeks with my 2 college boys at home.
Janice, Love the first navy sweater and skirt and the toile skirt with brown boots with the ivorty sweater has my name on it!! So very me!! Thank you for all your work!!
Hi Janet
When I click on link for navy shoes from Naturalizer, it takes me to the paisley skirt from Talbot’s.
Dear Char,
I think I got it fixed – thanks for letting me know!
hugs,
Janice
Truly, timeless selections! I love cashmere, cashmere does not always love me. I have unbearably sensitive skin and some of my sweaters were just like wearing itch cream! Quality cashmere I might add. That said, 100% cotton is usually my go-to. I will substitute and for the holidays, particularly Christmas, finding bright colors in cotton, not so easy. Any ideas?
ps: I am currently making a lining for a favorite sweater hoping that it will be a good buffer between me and cashmere.
I have eczema prone skin and I can wear merino wool next to the skin without any problem. My go to is usually cotton, but I find it too cold for the winter months, whereas merino wool tends to warm up nicely when next to the skin – the only negative is that it is usually finely woven, so I tend to layer over it with a fleece jacket, coatigan or a gilet.
In the past I have dyed cream and white cotton cardigans using Dylon dyes which worked surprisingly well, although I did have to change the buttons.