Please forgive me for using the cliché, but it’s key to stock warm sweaters with the winter around the corner. Or vests, sweaters, trousers or whatever, as long as it’s warm. People that live on the North Pole discovered it a long time ago: layers. Layers, layers, layers, they’ll keep you warm. Quality is chief. I’ve been looking for perfect yet pretty affordable and good-looking sweaters, which is kind of a quest. Real, pure, cashmere quickly exceeds my budget, we can’t walk around in angora anymore after all the recent discoveries and merino wool, well, what’s that exactly? And what’s polyester, viscose and acrylic? Call me stupid, but I don’t know. That’s why today’s Fashion Explorer revolves around educating and entertaining you. An overview of the most common fabrics and a what-to-look-for update when buying sweaters.

Wool

There are different kinds of sheep, and so many different kinds of wool. Sounds logical. The most well-known is the merino sheep. Its fur is soft, strong and gives very fine wool and likewise sweaters. Lamb’s wool, for instance, is also soft and fine though also quite vulnerable because of the short fibres. So keep this in mind when you see it on a label. Cashmere’s also a kind of wool, taken from the cashmere goat. Cashmere’s so incredibly expensive because only the underside of the coat is used and the upper side with sturdier fibres have got to be taken out. The result: only 150 grammes of cashmere per goat, which isn’t a lot. The goats are also quite picky about where they want to live: China, Tibet, and Mongolia. Add to this the fact that they need their furs in the winter to survive −40 degrees temperatures, and so it’s only possible to shave them during spring et voila: ca-tching says the register.

Acrylic

This is the best replacement for wool in case you don’t want that scratchy feeling. Acrylic is entirely chemically produced and so much cheaper than wool. It’s soft, warm and free of wrinkles. Though unfortunately, it doesn’t really absorb liquid and most of all; it quickly pills. I hate sweaters that pill, those stupid little balls that cheap sweaters get.

Viscose

Viscose is initially made with small pieces of wood, but the wood is processed over and over again with chemicals and even sulphuric acid.
For those who are really into eco and organic stuff; go easy on the viscose. Google the production process, it’s quite insane, really. The eventual fabric resembles cotton. It’s soft, comfortable, and light of weight. It’s many brands’  favourite kind of fabric because it’s not very expensive and it doesn’t rely on many natural influences like cotton.

Polyester

Cotton is the most used material world wide, but polyester is a very good runner up. Polyester Gaastra jacket? Great idea. Polyester gala gown? Not so much. Polyester is light, smooth, sturdy and durable. Words you probably wouldn’t associate with beautiful and fashionable clothing. Advantage is that it dries pretty quickly and you don’t really have to iron it. But if those types of considerations were really important then we wouldn’t wear 16 centimetre heels.

In conclusion, preferably choose natural materials even though you won’t be guaranteed a pillfree life if you buy the most expensive sweaters of cashmere. In case everything starts to pill, attack your sweater with a razor (it helps, apparently). Pull tight and shave just like a sheep. After I’ve browsed the internet for about half an hour, looking for the ins and outs of fabrics I mostly learned that A) chemical processes are really difficult to understand and B) I’ll rather save up for a real cashmere sweater. So, this was my lecture. Questions anyone?