Life Essentials: A Cashmere Tracksuit
Recently, I feel like I’m not doing justice to the name of this blog. While there is some life, there is very little cold climate – most of the stuff I’ve been posting could have been written somewhere in Sahara. To a certain extent, it’s because the winter has been mild both in Brussels and in Tallinn, but considering that I’M ALWAYS COLD, I could do a better job honouring my Nordic roots.
So here we go, a cold weather post. My love for cashmere is well documented, but I’ve never owned a cashmere tracksuit. It’s one of those things women in magazines – with their Gucci loafers and personalised Globetrotter luggage – always hail as their must-have. And I agree. I always thought top to toe cashmere sounded amazing, but never found a set where the quality-price ratio was to my liking (this is code for “they were all bloody expensive”).
Until J came home one day with a grey-beige cashmere tracksuit from Suit Supply. Now, I’m not usually one for stealing my boyfriend’s clothes, but I believe I wore this every minute that he didn’t. As soon as I could, I got myself to the store and ordered a set for myself as well (they were out of size S, but it only took me a couple of days to have it delivered). It isn’t exactly cheap, but cashmere never is, it can only be a bit less expensive. Considering that, 300 euros for a hoodie and trousers is a pretty good deal. Alternatively, Everlane does cashmere tracksuit bottoms that you can combine with a top you like (upper halves are much easier to find), but they of course don’t ship to where I am.
If you need further encouragement, I can assure you that in terms of cost per wear, it’ll probably be your best buy ever. I have worn my tracksuit every single day since I got it: it’s warm and soft and extremely comfortable, but still looks somewhat presentable, in case you have forgotten that your child has a playdate and the friend in question and her parents arrive entirely unexpectedly as you’re having your first tea of the day.
You can wear the tracksuit outside the house as well, although generally I think in that case it’s easier to style the pieces separately: the the hoodie with jeans and a blazer, for example, or the bottoms with a sleek grey poloneck. I’m also getting ready for the final, ultimate stage of comfort dressing: wearing my tracksuit to an airplane, probably with a tailored black or camel coat. And Gucci loafers and personalised Globetrotter luggage, of course.
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Love cashmere and really like your suit. Does it come with that adorable dog? (sorry, I’m new to your blog, so it’s the first time I see him (her?)).
I attempted to get a suit for myself but I didn’t like the quality of the one that I got so I sent it back. I might have been tempted much more if it hadn’t been for out climate (North California): it’s relatively warm and, as the result of that, we have a much more limited offerings of the cold weather attire. But one day… 🙂
Thank you! I think Lumi has been on the blog once before (posing with a ball for a post about football) and she’s a girl. But even I get confused sometimes and say “he” – I guess it’s the cultural conditioning plus her tomboy nature. She also looks pretty wild, as our approach to grooming is very… minimal.
Coming back to cashmere: it’s a godsend in a cold climate, but something like this suit would be useful in more moderate climes, too, especially if it ever gets chilly in the house. As long as I’ve worn cashmere, I’ve always worn the older sweaters at home. Usually, the problem with shmere past its prime is pilling or the moths get do it, but I don’t mind these things when I’m reading and drinking teaand can still enjoy thee softness and warmth of the fabric. It also makes me feel better about spending on cashmere, as I know I will wear it to death. I hope you’ll find a suit you like and we can compare notes!
Yay cashmere and for looking beautiful and happy with your sweet doggy! I “discovered” cashmere when I moved from the swamp to the high desert and experienced snow and single degree temps on a daily basis. I lurve Garnet Hill cashmere sweaters-at first I balked at the prices but waited for sales (going on now) and invested in a few. They have been worth every penny when I was fumbling for a real winter wardrobe in a tiny town with ZERO shopping. I like the Laundress products too but I’ll admit I’m lazy and use the handwash cycle on the washing machine (they’ve come out beautifully though if laid on a drying rack). And to enable just a bit, they ship to Brussels but it might cost you a limb 😉 As always, thanks for a great read.
Oh, they have some lovely turtlenecks… And while not cheap, the prices are reasonable: there aare limits to how low you can go with cashmere, it’s just not possible to produce for the same price as cotton or wool. And thank you for the machine wash info – I take mine to be dry cleaned, but it’s not in fact the best option for cashmere. Thanks for stopping buy!
That Lumi is adorable,but she’s photo-bombed you a couple of times already in the past!Lol(I recall you on a dinner-table,she was lurking I think!Lol!)Love the casual-chic-cashmere.X
Cashmere is the best thing to wear, and I have to say, it takes a particular type of beauty to carry off that beige so successfully., You emerge from it all glowing and gorgeous, which I never could. Great buy.
In Aotearoa-New Zealand, cashmere is slightly hard to find, and what is available seems to be positioned for tourists and the denizens of cruise-liners. Certainly, nothing as chic as your trakkies has ever crossed my path: everything seems to be pastel and embroidered with little flowers. Or “jewels”. What is available in abundance is fine, fine merino, quite often combined with silk or possum. Possum is a noxious pest here (protected in Australia) and we try to eradicate it because it’s destroying our native forests. A by-product of the hunting industry is this very silky fur that can be spun and combined with merino to make an ultra-soft, light, warm yarn. It’s not cashmere, but it’s quite nice. Now I’m wondering if I could make a tracksuit like yours…I’m off to a fabric shop today to do some thinking. Thank you for the inspiration!
Dear Frances, it always takes me while to respond to your comments, as they are so thoughtful and lovely and I want to reciprocate, at least a little.
I completely understand that you are not drawn to jewelled cashmere in pastel colours (although I’m thinking Miu Miu could do something fabulous with the concept). I struggle with finding cashmere, too – I haven’t seen many embroidered items, but the cuts are often old-fashioned and needlessly complicated. I usually want a very simple, slim-fit crew neck and these are almost impossible to find (alternatively, I go full-on slouchy). It has gotten better evently, though, with many hugh street brands offering a selection.
The merino-possum mix sounds fantastic. One day, I’ll come to Aotearoa-New Zealand (did I get that right?) and get some! Thank you for coming here and have a beautiful New Year!
The “office-disco” brown dress…Lumi photobombed you twice!Haha!I had to go investigate again!Lol.
Hah, indeed! You know my blog better than I do?.
I entirely agree -I have never got a cashmere tracksuit because they seem as you say expensive (although that shouldn’t be a complete reason not to!) but I did get a year or two ago a pair of black cashmere tracksuit bottoms from Banana Republic. They are lovely and I wear them all the time at home without feeling, as you say, too shabby. You look great in your suit and your dog is also great- both summing up Nordic cosines and charm perfectly! Happy New Year
Thank you! And yes, the key is to get the bottoms somehow, the upper half can be found so much more easily and it doesn’t have to be an exact match. Or a match at all. I guess some of the non-shabbyiness is purely in my head, as I KNOW I’m wearing cashmere. But in the end, it’s my head that counts?