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Welcome to Bluedot Living’s BuyBetter Marketplace, a biweekly newsletter that navigates the confusing world of stuff.
If your friend sent you this, you can sign up for yourself here to receive the BuyBetter newsletter every other Monday. Do you know someone else who would enjoy it? Forward to a friend.
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Bluedot Living’s BuyBetter Marketplace newsletter features items we believe in. When you make a purchase through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission.
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One spring day, as a college senior in St. Louis, Missouri, I checked the weather and saw that I was in for a wild ride. I brought a parka and an umbrella to campus, despite it being 67 degrees and sunny around 10:30 am; three hours later, I looked out my class window to see snow falling on the quad. Many students seemed alarmed, and I could see some running through the snow in shorts and tee-shirts. Happily, I wouldn’t be joining their ranks. I was ready and, I’ll admit, a little smug. I do love to be prepared.
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Wearing a snazzy wool coat and hat inspires good cheer.
Want to know what classic film this is from? Scroll to the bottom for the answer.
Photo courtesy Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
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According to Accuweather.com, this year will generally be much snowier than last, at least here in the Northeast. And while I’ve always had that Jewish Mother tendency to tell people to bring a sweater, I’ve never had the pleasure of telling tens of thousands of people all at once. Today is my lucky day. Bundle up, I say!
Before we get into the main list, I’ll draw your attention to a few brands I like but haven’t yet reviewed in detail (stay tuned). There’s Montana-based Duckworth, which offers quality clothes made with wool from American sheep; Menique, which makes affordable, organic merino sets for kids; Jenni Kayne, who’s known for a cashmere cardigan so luxe it makes me swoon every time I wear it (give one to someone special, and size down); and Naadam, which makes ethical, accessible cashmere.
Don’t worry, I haven’t forgotten your pup! Alqo Wasi makes super-soft alpaca dog sweaters, while Chilly Dog’s hand-knit organic wool dog sweaters are thick and seriously warm (they also knit doggy Halloween costumes!). My Finley likes wearing both brands. Speaking of dogs and wool, my top gift this
year is handmade in Massachusetts, and you’ll have to order now to get one in time for the holidays. Artisan Emily Willcut makes custom Little Wool Dogs that are incredibly lifelike. Little Winston, a tiny version of my dad and and stepmother’s dog, took her
nearly 10 hours to create. We texted back and forth until even his tongue and nose color were perfect. The process was a joy, the result perfection.
Lots more great stuff for humans below.
Stay warm, and happy shopping!
–Elizabeth Weinstein, Marketplace Editor
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There's a Reason Over 4 Million Professionals Read This Newsletter
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Welcome to Morning Brew - the free daily newsletter revolutionizing business news. Traditional business reporting is long, dry, and packed with industry jargon. Morning Brew is the opposite - quick summaries written in a witty yet informative tone that makes reading the news actually enjoyable. Subscribe for free.
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Our Forever Favorite
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Eileen Fisher might be the most responsible designer we know, and I love that her clothes never go out of style. The Doubleface Recycled Wool Cloud Hooded Coat is the piece I want to add to my winter wardrobe. For women.
Read our review.
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The Hip Newcomer
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Cotopaxi makes distinctive outerwear and bags from recycled materials, so some pieces are one of a kind. If I were shopping for a kid, a cool outdoorsy person, or just someone fun, I’d start here. For men, women, and kids. Read our review.
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The Outerwear Expert
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I remember sitting on a beach in Santa Barbara in the mid-’90s when my cool, bigger-kid friend told me that her super-soft fleece was made from old water bottles. Patagonia continues to innovate and impress. For men, women, and kids.
Read our review.
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The Most Feminine
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One Bluedotter raves that Christy Dawn’s clothing “just makes you feel like a girl.” Dawn’s best known for dresses, but we love her sumptuous collection of alpaca wool sweaters. For women. Read our review.
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The Comfort-Food Shirt
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Outerknown makes lots of great apparel, but their crowning achievement is the organic cotton twill Blanket Shirt, which doubles as a jacket. Bluedot’s founder calls it, simply, “perfect.” For men and women. Read our review.
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The Merino Mavens
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New Zealand-based Nui Organics makes merino clothing for the entire family. We love their layering pieces and the attractive, earthy shades like kelp, lichen, rust, and ochre. For men, women, and kids. Read our review.
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Dear Dot: What’s Behind the (Low) Price of Cashmere?
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Dear Dot,
I wear a lot of cashmere in the winter. I know that might sound snooty, but I do it because wool makes my neck itch. I've noticed that in recent years, I can buy it much more cheaply. But I got to wondering why, when everything else seems more expensive, cashmere has become less.
I have some of my mom's treasured cashmere and am looking for the best way to take care of it — like her, I seem to stain the cuffs and get pills all over, and don't want to keep running to the (blech!) dry cleaner.
–Jane, Hermosa Beach, CA
Dear Jane,
There is nothing snooty about cashmere, particularly that worn by a beloved mom who stains her cuffs.
But you are not the only one who has noticed that while the price of almost everything has gone through the roof, the cost of cashmere has become surprisingly affordable. On the one hand, yay! Even those of us without fat bank accounts can indulge our love of luxury. But, as is often the case with cheap fashion, is the price being borne by someone else? Or by the planet itself?
I took your cashmere query to Derek Guy, a fashion writer with Die, Workwear. Guy reminded me that everything we wear has an environmental cost. “You can take literally any garment in your closet and then just trace it back,” he says, “and you will find some crazy environmental story.”
To learn how to keep your
cashmere clean, what to look for when shopping for vintage cashmere, and how to choose items with what Guy calls “emotional durability” read on.
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Bluedot Contributing Editor Mollie Doyle reminds us of the joy to be had in making the very best use of garments and our own critical thinking skills.
“It also needs to be said that there is great satisfaction in wearing something out or repurposing it. A five-year-old yellowing white T-shirt becomes a rag … I feel a total charge of strength when I have the courage to walk away from something I don’t need. Better than the charge of the purchase. In every way.”
Find Mollie’s Closet Rules here.
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Have you seen our previous BuyBetter newsletters? If not, click to see products for your pantry, picnicking, food storage, and your kitchen counter, a clean-beauty roundup, picks for pups, the best baby shower gifts, solutions for renovating, laundry, and general household cleaning, and, because it’s always summer somewhere, items we recommend for school, the beach, clothes for warm weather, and white sneakers.
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FOLLOW US
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Want to get in touch? I’d love to hear from you. Tell me about your favorite sustainable products, topics you’d like to see covered, or anything else that’s on your mind — email marketplace@bluedotliving.com.
I’ll see you again in two weeks.
–Elizabeth
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Elizabeth Weinstein, Bluedot’s Marketplace Editor, lives in Manhattan with her husband; her papillon, Finley; and her cats, SanDeE* and Modell. When she’s not asking the folks at Bloomingdale’s and Nordstrom to try on all of their sustainable sneakers in a size 9½, she can be found at the Union Square Greenmarket or gardening on her rooftop terrace.
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P.S. The still above comes from the 1935 film, David Copperfield, produced by David O. Selznick, and shows actors Herbert Mundin and Jessie Ralph on
either side of child star Freddie Bartholomew, who played David Copperfield.
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