Saw It On Social: Quince Cashmere

Saw It On Social has only two rules:

1. No gifts, freebies, sponsorships, etc. — I buy everything with my own cash.
2. The product has to be served to me in my social feeds.

For months, readers have been asking me to test out Quince.  But this direct-to-consumer brand known for their affordable cashmere sweaters wasn’t popping up in my feed, so writing about it would have been a violation of Rule #2.

However, once several dozen of you began mentioning it in your DMs and sending emails asking if I’d tried the brand, the algorithms that be began dropping Quince’s ads into my social feeds. So you can thank the “algo” for this review.

When I first perused the About Us page for Quince, and read about their ethos as an ethical brand producing luxury quality goods at mall prices, I thought: Dear God, not another one of these brands.

Like many of you, I’ve been lured in to the DTC “ethical, affordable luxury” trap before, and I’m tired of reading the tortured, Studs Terkel-esque backstory that comes out of the marketing department of every sustainable brand.  But purple prose aside, the promises seemed to good to be true.  So I broke out my AmEx and placed the order.

To get started, I ordered three pieces from Quince.  I ordered the $50 Cashmere sweater because it’s their signature item.  (Keep in mind, I cannot wear this because my wool allergy has been straight fire since we did IVF.)  I also grabbed one of the washable silk t-shirts and the ultra-soft performance leggings.

Let’s start with the bad: The leggings.  Ever since COVID, every brand needs to sell leggings and loungewear.  It doesn’t matter what your customer base is anymore apparently, if you sell clothing to women, you better stock leggings.  It’s exhausting.  And frankly, most of these brands can’t make a decent legging to save their lives, and these are no exception.

The leggings are made from a material partially comprised of recycled plastic bottles that’s moisture-wicking and anti-microbial.  The brand compares them to a Beyond Yoga or Vuori legging, but no, they are not that good.

They’re fine.  The material is soft and they’re very comfortable.  BUT.  They don’t stay up.  I was pulling them up constantly all day, and even after I tried a different size (because postpartum bodies are not usually the same as pre-baby bodies), they still didn’t fit.  So it’s a pass from me on the leggings.

Next, let’s talk about the silk tee.

Silk and satin tees and tanks are something of a wardrobe staple for me. I wear them under suit jackets, under sweaters, and sometimes solo.  So when I see a good one, I buy it immediately.

The Quince silk tee is good verging on great.  With a Momme weight of 19mm, it’s not thin, not as heavy as I had hoped it would be, but heavier than most of what is on the market right now.  But I was only disappointed in the tee because I had expectations.

My desires aside, the tee is well made, easy to wear, and you can wash it, which makes up for a myriad of sins.  I liked it enough that I also bought two of their silk pajama tanks, but instead of wearing them to bed, I intend to tuck them into a high-waist pencil skirt.

Lastly, the item that launched 1,000 social campaigns, the $50 cashmere sweater.  Despite my wool allergy, I wanted to get a look at this sweater to see how it stacked up to some of the other social-friendly cashmere brands like Naadam or Naked.  Could it be as good for one-fifth the price?

Available in 14 colors and running sizes 0-16, this sweater is a good wardrobe staple.  The sweaters are made of high-quality, grade-A cashmere with a tight weave, soft feel, and light weight.  This is a nicer sweater than you would find at J.Crew for a lower price.  And the brand is honest about the fact that at some point, the sweater will pill, but that a light combing should restore it to top shape.

Bottom Line. From the good-quality clothing at reasonable prices to the 365-day return window, there’s a lot to like about Quince.  It’s not all good news, but I highly recommend giving their pieces a look.  You might find a great wardrobe staple or even pick up an entire capsule wardrobe.

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