Monday
Oct052009
Drakes Cashmere Shawl Cardigan
Posted on 
October 5, 2009 by Ryan Willms
October 5, 2009 by Ryan Willms 
While I can respect what Steve McQueen has done for the push in menswear lately, I haven't been one to stockpile images of him or mention of of his wares on the blog. Drakes however have come right out and stated his inspiration on their fall knitwear. Drakes set out with a goal to create the "veritable cynosure of this iconic sweater". I haven't had an opportunity to put this sweater on myself, I can say from the product shots they did a pretty good job at making the best shawl cardigan known to man. With great buttons, simple pockets, a perfect colour palette and a reasonable material choice, this may be one of the most stand out single items for the fall. The navy, tan and grey are all beautiful and couldn't be much better.*Side note: I saw these fist on Mister Crew's blog, which if you don't read has a nice curation of products and thoughts.
Tags : Drakes
Drakes 
Reader Comments (11)
what kind of asshole has 650 pounds to spend on a goddamn run of the mill sweater.
someone who is an asshole and probably is a banker or hasn't got a life outside of looking like a peacock
^ The sweater isn't actually a run of the mill sweater.
^robdaplank - what are you talking about? Maybe you should stop leaving comments, for your own sake.
for my own sake ?
that's an interesting tone
it's ok. i've seen better for much less from ralph lauren.
Such vulgarity wow! Really gentlemen?! I do like this in navy and although not in my particular $ range it is difficult to find a quality shawl collar that you would actually keep around for a long time that's worth the investment. Why not this one?
Firs two comments are uncalled for, on another note Ryan you kind of undersold it - how is 100% finest hand knitted cashmere just " a reasonable material choice " haha it doesn't get any better and is the main reason for the high price tag, that said it is still over priced.
Great piece though still as cool today as it was in the 60's and for anyone who is lucky enough to afford it a lifetime investment for sure !
Great piece to present, Ryan. The cost of production for pieces like this(with 4-ply cashmere) is remarkably high, and Drakes, whose products are all domestically handmade and do considerable bespoke service, likely just break even.
Just by looking over the photos, the quality of this sweater is definitely superior to that of Ralph Lauren's version, which I have seen in person. The RL version's collar does not feel very naturally laid upon the shoulders and their cashmere department is something to scoff at for their price.
are you drakes accountant brendan ?
Hand made Cashmire garments of this quality cost money to produce. While I appreciate the garment may not be to everyones taste, when a company produces garments of this quality which is sometimes difficult to ascertain from a photo the least you could do is acknowledge the time & effort undertaken in it's making.
I actually disagree with the ralph lauren cashmere being something to scoff at. i have owned cashemere pieces from malo, tse and other respected brands of high end knits and ralph lauren hold up extremely well- and some of their pieces are handmade. from my viewpoint, rl can keep his prices significantly lower through his unmatched advantage in economies of scale.