# How many Shetland sweaters are enough?



## Brio1 (May 13, 2010)

I'm just curious as to how many Shetland sweaters the average member owns? I've picked up two Shaggy Dogs in the past few months and may buy a third before the winter is over. However, I'm not sure where I could find the room to store them in my wardrobe.

How many is reasonable?


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## The Rambler (Feb 18, 2010)

O! Reason not the need; our basest beggars
Are in the poorest things superfluous:
Allow not nature more than nature needs,
Man's life is cheap as beasts'.

_King Lear _2.4


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## C. Sharp (Dec 18, 2008)

Longwing started a similar thread awhile ago, https://askandyaboutclothes.com/com...hetlands-how-many&highlight=shetland+sweaters

Reasonableness does not seem to factor into it. They can be addicting to collect. Also when you have a handful of suppliers, increasing prices it is hard not to hoard. I have feeling that in some of our lifetimes we will see the Shetland sweater completely disappear. 
I am looking at eight right now in the collection not counting Fair Isles, but considering that the maker for Press offers 150 colors and they can be brushed or plain, that makes 300 possible temptations.


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## Cardinals5 (Jun 16, 2009)

12 with number 13 on the way (and I live in the South)


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## srivats (Jul 29, 2008)

I have 4 ... all from Oconnells. Two of them are vintage McGregors, the other two are Oconnells house brand. They are really addicting. Like cards, I live down south (florida!)


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## Trip English (Dec 22, 2008)

1 more than whatever you have seems to be perfect number.


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## Brio1 (May 13, 2010)

C. Sharp said:


> Longwing started a similar thread awhile ago, https://askandyaboutclothes.com/com...hetlands-how-many&highlight=shetland+sweaters
> 
> Reasonableness does not seem to factor into it. They can be addicting to collect. Also when you have a handful of suppliers, increasing prices it is hard not to hoard. I have feeling that in some of our lifetimes we will see the Shetland sweater completely disappear.
> I am looking at eight right now in the collection not counting Fair Isles, but considering that the maker for Press offers 150 colors and they can be brushed or plain, that makes 300 possible temptations.


Is the maker for Press a Laurence Odie Knitwear of Scotland?:icon_study:


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## Brio1 (May 13, 2010)

I might add to the discussion how many should one limit oneself to buying in a year? I've read here that one a year seems sensible. I'm thinking that two a year for an initial selection.

Will the price go up on an annual basis?


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## C. Sharp (Dec 18, 2008)

Denis Black two years ago said they shop these out to different makers but the Laurence Odie people say the Press sweaters are theres. I take it you have seen the recent Ivy Style post. I have seen Andover shop brushed Shetlands that have a little tag that says LOKL, which I figure is Laurence Odie Knitwear of Yell. Jamgood spoke of this in this old thread https://askandyaboutclothes.com/com...451-Shetland-Opinions&highlight=laurence+odie


Brio1 said:


> Is the maker for Press a Laurence Odie Knitwear of Scotland?:icon_study:


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## Cardinals5 (Jun 16, 2009)

C. Sharp said:


> Jamgood spoke of this...


Where is our man Jamgood?


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## Saltydog (Nov 3, 2007)

Cardinals5 said:


> 12 with number 13 on the way (and I live in the South)


I can see where you would have enough really cold days in Greenville...but a bit further South where I live there just aren't enough days when these beautiful sweaters would be comfortable. I hate not having occasions to wear some of the colder weather clothing folks talk about...but I'm happy not having the frigid temps. Today, for example, my BB 3/2 Camel hair blazer got warm around midday. I guess I could get some to lay out and admire.


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## phyrpowr (Aug 30, 2009)

Trip English said:


> 1 more than whatever you have seems to be perfect number.


Amen, Brother:icon_smile_big:


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## Mississippi Mud (Oct 15, 2009)

The Rambler said:


> O! Reason not the need; our basest beggars
> Are in the poorest things superfluous:
> Allow not nature more than nature needs,
> Man's life is cheap as beasts'.
> ...


"Reason is, and ought to be, the slave of the passions."

David Hume


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## AdamsSutherland (Jan 22, 2008)

They do take up quite a bit of space, though.


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## eyedoc2180 (Nov 19, 2006)

The Rambler said:


> O! Reason not the need; our basest beggars
> Are in the poorest things superfluous:
> Allow not nature more than nature needs,
> Man's life is cheap as beasts'.
> ...


Indeed, as The Bard said! Only 2 Shetlands here, but a bunch more could happen. Not soon enough.
:icon_smile:


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## Danny (Mar 24, 2005)

Sweaters are addicting and they do take up a lot of space. Between hand me downs and sweaters I have bought I probably have 20-22 right now. As far as shetlands I have around 5. In a way I'd love to wipe the slate clean and just have 8-10 O'Connell's shetlands. IMHO they really are the best that there is. They have all the right details.

I store my sweaters under the bed in big plastic tubs with cedar pieces inside. Seems to work so far.


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## Danny (Mar 24, 2005)

Also interesting, adjusting for inflation, a shetland today at $145 should have been $20 in 1960. I wonder if that was the case. I bet they were slightly more than that....but given that fact, they aren't really that expensive today...it's just that cheaper clothing has been invented in the interim.


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## DoghouseReilly (Jul 25, 2010)

Sounds like you guys have too many Shetlands. :icon_smile_big: Feel free to let me take them off your hands. I'll be awaiting their posting in the Exchange.


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## TweedyDon (Aug 31, 2007)

Enough shetlands? I'm sorry I don't think I understand this question....


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## eagle2250 (Mar 24, 2006)

Trip English said:


> 1 more than whatever you have seems to be perfect number.


Sir, your logic is to be applauded and perhaps, applied to every componet piece of our wardrobes...shetlands, tweeds, navy blazers, shoes/boots, etc.! :thumbs-up:


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## C. Sharp (Dec 18, 2008)

We tackle some of that in this thread. https://askandyaboutclothes.com/com...lands-at-LLBean&highlight=inflation+shetlands My take was they were running about $45 over the historical price range. I think commodity inflation as well as rarity might be a factor. The closer one can get to the $75.00 wholesale price the better. I once got lucky and bought a mid 60's vintage dead stock Allan Paine for about the price of a cheap Dept store brand. Here is a vintage ad with price https://news.google.com/newspapers?...AJ&pg=5835,1173634&dq=alan+paine+radley&hl=en


Danny said:


> Also interesting, adjusting for inflation, a Shetland today at $145 should have been $20 in 1960. I wonder if that was the case. I bet they were slightly more than that....but given that fact, they aren't really that expensive today...it's just that cheaper clothing has been invented in the interim.


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## MacT (Feb 16, 2008)

Trip English said:


> 1 more than whatever you have seems to be perfect number.


 Seems like a good rule. Seeing as how the McGeorge I picked up at Jacobs -- thinking it a Shetland (after asking the guys) -- is actually lambswool (now that I read the fabric tag); and since I was planning to get one more, maybe I can get 2 more. The Jacobs sweater had the look, feel and smell of Shetland, but it is not. Still was a good deal & one of the better sweaters I own.


C. Sharp said:


> Denis Black two years ago said they shop these out to different makers but the Laurence Odie people say the Press sweaters are theres. I take it you have seen the recent Ivy Style post. I have seen Andover shop brushed Shetlands that have a little tag that says LOKL, which I figure is Laurence Odie Knitwear of Yell. Jamgood spoke of this in this old thread https://askandyaboutclothes.com/com...451-Shetland-Opinions&highlight=laurence+odie


The Shaggy Dog I bought recently has an LOKL tag on it, as well. This year's crop is from Odie, apparently. I think it's a great sweater, and the sizing down gambit produced a good fit for me.

Come fall, I believe my next Shetland will be from Spirit of Shetland. Meanwhile, I can ponder which of the 230-odd colors to get...or which 2 colors.


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## Thom Browne's Schooldays (Jul 29, 2007)

I have a ton of sweaters, as I'm sure most members here do, but lately I've been wondering if I'd be better served with only a couple.

There are more than a few I'll unpack in October and put away in march without ever wearing.


On top of that, when I think of the people whose style I admire-- both real imaginary, known and unacquainted-- many of them don't have a vast arsenal of sweaters.

I'm thinking of just one or two really nice sweaters, maybe a shetland and a cashmere, in a color that goes with both brown and gray trousers, and works underneath my jackets.


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## unmodern (Aug 10, 2009)

Thom Browne's Schooldays said:


> I have a ton of sweaters, as I'm sure most members here do, but lately I've been wondering if I'd be better served with only a couple.
> 
> There are more than a few I'll unpack in October and put away in march without ever wearing.
> 
> ...


On the minimalist theme, I in fact own only 2 sweaters: a thick grey v-neck and a thinner deep red lambswool crewneck. I might eventually want to add a shetland in navy or green if it comes along at the right price, but I'm in no hurry. I wear each of my sweaters once or twice a week, and switch off with either of two tweed jackets, a down vest, and (gasp) a fleece jacket (natural-shoulder, of course) as midlayers under my overcoats. I'm coming off a sweater purge, and I've just realized that one doesn't need too many. Yale's 1960 wardrobe guide as quoted in Take Ivy, for example, only recommends two sweaters.


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## Danny (Mar 24, 2005)

I tend to gravitate towards the same few sweaters. I have sold a few recently that are nice, but that I don't wear much. I have found that if you consider a piece of clothing that you do not wear essentially worthless to you [no matter how much it cost originally]...you can put it on ebay with no reserve and not feel bad about it. It's just taking up space. Sweaters do seem to lose a lot of their original value when sold used though...no matter how nice they are.


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## Brooksfan (Jan 25, 2005)

I used to have a lot more than I found necessary. As I've gone minimalist, I've winnowed down to navy cable crews in shetland, cashmere, and cotton. My other sweaters are cashmere V-necks in navy, burgundy, charcoal and camel. I keep thinking I "need" a cardigan but so far I've resisted the urge.


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## The Rambler (Feb 18, 2010)

Danny said:


> Sweaters do seem to lose a lot of their original value when sold used though...no matter how nice they are.


that's fo' sho' : speaking as a person who never bought a used garment before joining this thread, beautiful sweaters are often seen for 10% or less of their original cost, and old sweaters kept away from moths develop their own kind of patination.


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## swb120 (Aug 9, 2005)

How many Shetland sweaters are enough? How many yachts can you water ski behind?


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## HalfLegend (Aug 1, 2010)

Speaking from personal experience... 3 isn't enough. But honestly, how does one manage to get "too many". They can run a hefty price...


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## Trip English (Dec 22, 2008)

swb120 said:


> How many Shetland sweaters are enough? How many yachts can you water ski behind?


At once? One.

In a day? Four.


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