A cashmere polo instead of a sweater

Tate's question, asked in the doorway with his coffee: “It's a polo. Why would anyone pay cashmere money for a polo?”

Fair. So here's the honest version, judged from what's written on the listing and what you can see in the knit. We haven't put this one on, and I'm not going to tell you how it wears.

What the money buys

• The fibre. Cashmere is soft and warm for its weight. That's what you're paying for, not the name on the tag.
• The rib. A ribbed knit holds a cleaner line than a plain one, so the polo looks like a garment and not a sweatshirt.
• The collar and placket. A point collar and a short button front turn a knit into something you can wear under a wool overshirt, or on its own to dinner.

What it asks of you

Cashmere is not a throw-in-the-wash layer. It wants a gentle hand wash or a delicate cycle, flat drying, and a day off between wears so the fibres recover. It can feel warmer than a tee, so it belongs to cool weather, not a heated office in July.

At the consignment shop, the cashmere that comes in tired has almost always been dried hot or hung wet. The cashmere that comes in looking right has been folded. The fibre forgives a lot. It doesn't forgive a dryer.

Tate's follow-up

“So who should skip it?” Anyone who wants one knit they can wash with the towels. Buy a good cotton or merino polo and keep the difference. Anyone who runs hot. And anyone who'd only wear it twice a winter, because a cashmere polo earns its price by being worn a lot in the cold months.

The verdict

Worth it if you'll wear it every cool week and don't mind folding it instead of hanging it. Not worth it as a treat you'll be afraid to wash. Read the fibre content before the price: the label should say cashmere, not a blend with cashmere in the name. — M

Linked objects

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. The links below are paid links.

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  NAADAM Women's Cashmere Ribbed Button-Up Polo. Ribbed cashmere, point collar, compact button placket.

  Worth knowing: Ribbed cashmere needs gentle care and can feel warmer than a tee; it is best reserved for cool-weather layering.

  See the exact item on Amazon ↗ Paid link