Saw It On Social: Quince Cashmere

Nov 10, 2022

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.

{this post contains affiliate links that may generate commission for the author}

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  1. Cheryl says:

    I have a few pieces from Quince and love their silk button down and silk t shirt. They lay just right on me and hold up well w/ delicate wash, line dry. They are part of my regular work wear rotation.
    I found their silk skirt and dresses not flattering (I think the silk is thin so it’s too clingy?) and the cashmere was itchy, but I just received and really like the alpaca sweater.
    Grateful for the review! I especially appreciate that your saw it on socials are not sponsored- feels like you are one of the few bloggers i can trust.

  2. Courtney says:

    Thanks for this review! I’m a fellow wool allergy sufferer who lives in a cold place. What types of sweaters do you purchase? I can’t find a warm cotton sweater to save my life and layering a long sleeve tee under a cotton sweater doesn’t seem to make a big difference in warmth for me.

    • Belle says:

      Land’s End and LL Bean both make good cotton sweaters. But mostly I wear acrylic sweaters or blends with just a bit of wool, I can sometimes get away with them if I wear something under the sweater.

    • Danielle Lewis says:

      Able has some really cozy sweaters this season in cotton and blends that feel soft like cashmere but don’t contain any wool.

  3. Kaitlin says:

    Thanks for your review! For others looking at their stuff … their alpaca sweaters are dry clean only. I washed mine with wool detergent on cold and it shrunk. Something to be aware of when you consider the price tag!

    • KL says:

      I’m a knitter and I would definitely hand wash any alpaca/wool blend sweater (have done with a J. Crew commercial sweater, although the Quince one I recently ordered is still in the mail). However, I wouldn’t trust the “hand wash” or delicates cycle of a machine. Actual hand wash by soaking in a sink, no wringing, roll up in a towel to squeeze out excess water, then lay flat (not hanging over a drying rack, but actually flat on a mesh rack or table) to dry. Yeah, it’s annoying 🙂 I usually only wash my sweaters a few times throughout the winter, though.

  4. MICHELLE says:

    I have a few pieces from Quince, so I’m going to add to this review.

    – the $50 cashmere sweater: I bought one of these two years ago. It did not hold up as well as I had hoped. The Quince sweater pilled more than I wanted/expected it to. Compared to Everlane cashmere – which is my personal gold standard – the Quince sweater is kind of “eh”.

    – I also bought a pair of their cashmere joggers as an early days of quarantine splurge. Since I am not leaving the house in those, I didn’t care much about the pilling issues. Comfort-wise, they were heaven and continue to be a great piece of loungewear.

    – Lastly, the cotton fisherman sweater: This is a dupe of the Jenny Kane cotton fisherman sweater. It is unquestionably the best purchase that I have made from Quince. The quality is very, very good, it has a great cut, hangs nicely, and the cotton weave is nice and tight. The $40 price tag is a steal!

  5. Karl says:

    I like Studs Terkel????‍♀️

  6. Rt123 says:

    I really like the Quince Shrunken Cashmere sweatshirt as an Everlane dupe. Less expensive and almost identical.

  7. KL says:

    +1 to Michelle about the cotton fisherman sweater. With your wool allergy, you should definitely try it, Abra! The Mom Edit did a video review recently comparing it side-by-side with the Jenni Kayne version. I’m tempted but I find the sleeves ridiculously long on JK fisherman sweaters so Quince being a great dupe of course has the same problem.

    I have ordered a lot of stuff, and returned a lot of stuff, from Quince, including back when they were called Last Brand. Their quality is definitely consistent across all of their products, but the design/fit/color selection could use some work (Quince, please hire an experienced product designer to choose your colors!). A lot of their non-neutral colored leathers and knits read as low-end, I can’t put my finger on why but just compare Quince’s colors to Jenni Kayne’s colors on the fisherman sweater and you’ll see what I mean.

    Their home goods are great though. I have their white linen shams on my bed alongside a Parachute linen fitted sheet and Cultiver linen pillowcases — I’m picky about fit so ended up mixing-and-matching brands — and the linen quality absolutely holds up to those pricier brands. (FYI to anyone else shopping for linen bedding and equally picky: Cultiver’s fitted sheet doesn’t quite have the right dimensions for a US queen size mattress, and Parachute’s envelope-fold queen pillowcases don’t fit a 30″ queen size pillow, only standard size pillows.)

    I’m also typing this while sitting under a Quince faux fur blanket, which I suspect is a Pottery Barn dupe although I haven’t felt the PB version personally. It’s beautifully heavy, comes in an XL throw size, plus it claims to be machine washable which most heavy faux fur blankets are not.

    Now I just wish they would nail fit better on their women’s clothes. At the quality vs. price ratio though, with free returns, I’ll keep trying.

    • Ak says:

      Same here! Have bought and returned a ton from them. Fabric quality is good, but their fit and design needs work—more often then not, their clothing seems to have something “off” about it.

      If you deep dive on the customer reviews, many people feel the same—there are a lot of “I wish [clothing part] was [bigger, smaller, etc], but I put up with it because the quality and price are great. So 5 stars”

  8. Agnes says:

    I love Quince! I recently bought a few of their alpaca sweaters and cardigan. It is unbelievably soft and warm. No pilling yet. I have bought their linen shirts and tencel tank dress. For the price, the quality is amazing.

  9. Madeleine says:

    Thanks Abra! I’m thinking of trying them out. Do you she a referral code to share? Would love to use it!

  10. Susan says:

    So, I have the cotton sweaters (great!) tried the leggings and sent back (yuck) but my personal hero is the ponte pants. Absolutely the best pants I own.

    • Judy says:

      Susan,

      Which ponte pants do you recommend? The ones with or without pockets? Straight or boot? The reviews seem mixed about sizing. Plus the reviews of the pants with pockets say the pockets do not lay flat.

      Do you wear them to work?

      Thanks in advance!!

      • L says:

        I have the straight ponte pants with pockets- they are great for work with shirts tucked in or not. extremely comfortable and forgiving, but look professional and don’t look like leggings (which is what they feel like). they tend to stretch after more than one wear though.

  11. Kelley says:

    Thanks for this review! I’ve been wondering about their quality after seeing it in my ads, so this is SO helpful.

  12. Jill says:

    Thank you for the review. Do the silk t shirts need ironing? That can be a barrier to entry for me, ha.

    • CitrineDC says:

      I have one of the silk shirts, and love it. When I hand wash it and air dry, I definitely need to steam out the wrinkles, but they steam out easily.

      And thanks Abra for doing this review! I also have a pair of the ponte bootcut pants (Spanx dupe) and really like them. I bought the petite size though and I would say the run really long (as in I had to have about 6 inches hemmed off) and also slightly big. And I also have the black leather jacket and love that too.

  13. Aria says:

    I agree about their leggings (good for lounging or having leggings that aren’t too pricy for toddler stains), but I really like their sports bras and workout sweatshirts.

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