Wool clothing on a budget

rachbc

Like others have mentioned on the winter/ tough times thread I have really found that wool and natural fibres are sooo much warmer than artificial ones but am struggling to find all wool jumpers and cardis that are not too frumpy or mega bucks!

I've lucked out a couple of times in the CS (a brand new 100% c'mere jumper for £4) but buying new seems impossible - good old m&s have about 6 pure wool jumpers - none of which are cheap or very me!

Woolovers and Uliqlo have a few bits that I am considering treat myself too but if anyone else has any suggestions I love to know...wish I was better at knitting!

tootallulah

I buy all of mine at TK Maxx, sometimes there is nothing other days loads I just pop in whenever I am close by and see what they have from my list of things I need. I have bought a lot of very high quality knit wear, Fenn Wright Manson etc at a good price on the final reduction rail.

suki1964

tootallulah wrote: »

I buy all of mine at TK Maxx, sometimes there is nothing other days loads I just pop in whenever I am close by and see what they have from my list of things I need. I have bought a lot of very high quality knit wear, Fenn Wright Manson etc at a good price on the final reduction rail.

Indeedy, if you live by a tk makk make it a must at least twice a week and head for the final reduction rail

My hubby gets a lot of Polo stuff from there and we both got fantastic ski jackets earlier in the year which have been a godsend this winter

Also look in the camping hiking bit, quite often you can pick up top quality thermal wear

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

M&S jumpers shrink really badly, even when you follow the washing instructions to the letter.

sleepy-lady

I've never had a M&S woolie shrink in the wash - there must have been a fault. I hope you returned it for a refund.

Lily-Lu

I couldn't agree more about natural fibres being far warmer than synthetic. I avoid sythenics wherever possible; even bedding.

I have a few woolens from Woolovers and I'm generally happy with the quality. Providing they go on a wool programme wash, they don't lose shape or shrink:)

Penelope_Penguin

I find a thermal underlayer works wonders in this weather I'll move this to the Fasion Bioard where you'll likely get more replies.

Hi, Martin’s asked me to post this in these circumstances: I’ve asked Board Guides to move threads if they’ll receive a better response elsewhere (please see this rule) so this post/thread has been moved to another board, where it should get more replies. If you have any questions about this policy please email [EMAIL="abuse@moneysavingexpert.com"]abuse@moneysavingexpert.com[/EMAIL].

horsechestnut

I second the idea of going to T.K. Max. I have had some lovely cashmere jumpers from there, which have washed well. They were not as cheap as I would have liked, but I am very pleased with them.
Their wool garments last a long time and wash well.
M&S have either ultra fashionable (who wants a crop-top woollen jumper that will be out of fashion in six months!) or very frumpy woollies,with no shape; so those of us who like to be semi-fashionable are out of luck nowadays.

rachbc

of course - TK Maxx -not sure why I didn' think of them!

Got a wool and cashmere cardi for £20 and a chunky wool tunic thing for £25 on unliqlo so thats a good start - and sent 2 acrylic cardis to the to the cs...

PenPen I do have thermals - but prefer silk for those!

valk_scot

rachbc wrote: »

wish I was better at knitting!

You think hand knitting a pure wool sweater would be cheaper? Pure wool DK starts at around £3 a ball for the absolute cheapest and goes up to as high as you like. You'd need 10-12 x 50g balls for an average size sweater. Plus your time, of course. Knitting is not a cheap alternative to buying from the shops when it comes to clothing!

Desperate_Housewife_2-2

I agree with valk, knitting is not for thrift these days! I would keep trying the charity shops, even if the stuff is out of fashion you can wear it underneath as an extra layer.