Hi Stax,
I have had Smedley merino in both polo shirt and crew neck
The quality is superb as are their colours but personally I find it a bit too fine. Unless you are Adonis it tends to show every bump and lump. Sadly my strict diet of salt beef, bagels, chocolate and Chablis prevents me from wearing anything too clingy.
I know a guy who likes to wear Smed cardigans under sports jackets to create a waistcoats effect and they’re versatile enough  to do that.And look very sharp.
You could ring the factory store and see if they do mail order.
The other option would be Sunspel. I’m not sure on cardigans but their merino is a thicker gauge.

The merino from Smedley is much better than the cotton, which I find impossible to wash and reshape. The wool on the other hand washes well, as do my wife’s (who washes hers after every wear it seems to me!!!)

Might be worth checking M&S and John Lewis too, I have one of the former roll necks and it’s a wonderful weight merino. If going the lambs wool route Uniqlo always worth a look.

Last edited by Tomiskinky (2024-01-03 01:55:15)

The one thing I've noticed about Smedley sea island is that the white polo shirts don't hold their shape as much as the colours.

I bulk buy their navy polo shirts from the factory shop and haven't experienced any issues whereas the white is much harder to keep the collar looking sharp. The quality of their colour dyes is very good and has withstood numerous washes.

With regard to Paine I currently only own silk-cashmere-cotton long sleeve polo shirts. I haven't experienced any issues with these so far.

Uniqlo merino is very good price v quality wise. I just wish their collars were a tad larger

The William Lockie lambswool cardigan arrived today, nice colour, excellent wool, fit good BUT the rib at the bottom of the cardigan was far too tight, layed flat it was much narrower than the waist,I measured the rib of a couple of 10-12 year old Brooks merino cardigans I have, one in M and the other in L, it was 3-4 inches narrower, I was surprised as it’s not a ‘ fashion’ or ‘contemporary ‘ fit, Deal breaker, it’ll be winging its way back to Scotland tomorrow, Online shopping sucks!

Stax-I was also interested in the JT cardigans. If it meets with you approval I might be interested as well. Keep us posted. As you say a potential real bargain

Yes will do Robbie,
AUS - couldn’t agree more,

AUS,

Is the shawl collar cardigan the version with side pockets?

My business partner has bought both a grey colour and navy. They look really great.

Robbie - Update on the JT cardigan, it arrived via RM on Saturday which was just 3 days after ordering but they hadn't sent me any tracking info !
I ordered a size 'L' as the dims showed the chest was 41-42", it was enormous, the p-2-p measured 24", it appeared to be a good quality wool and well made ,nice shade
of ' pine' green, although it didn't have that lining you often get behind the buttons and button holes on cardigans, but I thought it was worth a second punt so I've returned it to exchange for a size 'M', (I know it makes sense to order different sizes when you're not sure of the right size but to me that just seems a bit negative), assuming the 'M' is a good fit I'll keep it and I believe for £49 it's a good buy, if after a few wears I ' bond' with it I may go back for another in a different colour. As a comparison the JT cardigan looked & felt as good as the Wm. Lockie one ( £ 145),that arrived and was returned a couple of weeks ago, unfortunately none seem to come close to my Brooks heavy-ish merino from around 2012, A couple of things to consider , if you go for the JT cardigan, they are in the ' Clearance' department ( different to the 'Sales' dept ), and you only have 7 days to return , if you sign up in advance for their newsletter you get a free delivery, I'll update when the replacement 'M' arrives,

Just stumbled across this in case anyone's interested, "Mens generously sized cardigan Knitted in  Shetland Wool. This classic cardigan has patch pockets and mock leather buttons, it is satisfyingly warm and snug without being bulky or cumbersome – the perfect choice for long autumnal evenings and cold winter days. A great way to keep warm and cosy in an array of co-ordinating colours"

Looks quite old-school (a la Sid James in "Carry On......") and a bargain for 100% Shetland wool (£79). Nice Colours too.

Unfortunately don't seem to stock it to fit scrawny chaps like me.

https://www.countrycollection.co.uk/products/383/shetland-cardigan-mens

Sid James fashion icon.

Does the trend have a name? Sid Corrrrr!

CarryOnCore?

The replacement size M cardigan arrived from JT this morning, good fit, it's staying, the difference between a L & M is enormous, I checked their website a few days ago and there weren't many colours left at £49, I think the navy is back up to full price at around £140, so at £49 my one in pine is a bargain. Out for a ruby tonight so maybe I can get some food stains on the cardi to give it some authenticity......

Robbie- like you I don’t think I’d pay full price, I think JT are one of those websites (like Lands End) that are always discounting, their starting prices seem overpriced to me, but with discounts reasonable value for money, before Christmas I had and returned 2 pairs of 5 pockets due to the fit, but they were decent quality so I’ll keep an eye on their offerings particularly for 5 pocket cords but I’d need to size up for extra thigh and arse room !
BTW the JT service is very good, I dropped off the L size cardigan at the Post Office last Saturday, delivered Wednesday, exchange received today,