I found Quince (also known as One Quince and formerly known as Last Brand ) thanks to a wonderful reader of the blog who also loved “vintage” Grana (edit: Thanks Viktoriya!). Anyway I’m so glad I learned about them because it’s always exciting to share a new brand that’s trying make quality products, at a great price, and with ethics in mind! There’s so many things I want to talk about this brand that I’m not sure where to start.
Ok, let’s first talk about customer service, because even if you have a great product if your service is bad, I’m not going to shop with you. Well, I was a real PIA customer to Quince and they were wonderful. Don’t ask me why, but I placed my order for the bag and sweater in Hawaii and wanted it shipped there (actually I know why, it was because I was so excited I wanted to try their products asap). And I got the bag right away, however due to a national holiday in China the sweater was delayed for a month. So when I got back home to California, I emailed them to let them know I didn’t get the sweater and wasn’t sure if it would be forwarded to my house. So they gave me a full refund for the sweater. When I did get the sweater a week later, I emailed them to let them know and to pay for the sweater. And they were so nice to say don’t worry about it! So technically I guess you can say this sweater was gifted lol. They pass with flying colors when it comes to customer service!
If you’re not familiar with Quince, they are a fairly new brand that’s definitely going after the Everlane and Grana market. They make quality items in a socially fair manner. They go into their factory standards here.
They do have transparent pricing on each product page, and I have to wonder how this company stays in business. From their pricing info it looks like they only make about $2-5 per product. How are they even paying themselves a living wage?
Now onto the actual products. I’ll start with their mongolian cashmere sweater, which I got in the cream color crew neck style. By feel alone I would say it’s comparable to Grana’s and Everlane’s cashmere (with the Quince cashmere being a tiny bit softer), which makes sense since they’re made with Grade A cashmere fibers. If you want a quick refresher on cashmere fiber figures, this review I wrote 4 years ago breaks it all down. In fact, the cashmere fiber of Quince’s sweater is a tad longer than Everlane’s and should be more expensive. However Everlane charges $100 for a sweater that costs $46 to make while Quince charges $50 for a sweater that costs $48 to make. Like I said, I’m not sure how this company is surviving unless they’re being bankrolled by another company/person?
As for sizing, I found that it ran true to size and is similar Everlane sizing. I’m wearing a size small in this sweater and it fits well (I’m usually a size 4-6 in most brands).
I do have to mention that the cream cashmere sweater isn’t 100% opaque and so you can see the outline of the tank top I’m wearing underneath in the photo above. But this is true for pretty much any light colored cashmere sweater you get from companies like Grana, Everlane or J. Crew. That’s why I usually go for a black or gray cashmere. But since I have a closet full of black and gray, I decided to go for something different this time. Quince doesn’t carry a lot of variety when it comes to colors and styles for their cashmere sweaters (that’s probably how they keep their costs down), but I don’t think you’ll find a better value when it comes to cashmere {September 2021 update: As of now they actually have quite a few colors available and have expanded this line since they first released it.}
Please excuse the mess, I took this right after we moved
I also ordered the Italian Calfskin Crossbody in the black croc stamped leather. This sleek looking crossbody bag is right up my alley. And for $75 it’s a good bag, but let’s not kid ourselves: it may be manufactured by the same factory that makes Gucci bags but this is not a Gucci bag. The quality of the bag is better than expected for a $75 bag but it is not comparable to a $400 bag. The hardware is a dead giveaway—it feels cheaper than a luxury brand’s hardware. Also it’s hard to tell the leather quality on this one since it’s a stamped leather, so maybe the other regular leather bag might feel more luxe. Or maybe all stamped croc bags feel this way (I’m not sure since this is my first croc stamped bag). But the bag functions well with smooth zippers and cotton canvas lining on the inside. {Update: since writing this review they’ve had to increase their price to $89.90. I still think this is a great bag for $90 and 100% worth it.}
It’s also the style that I’ve been looking for: a simple rectangular crossbody in croc embossed leather. The embossing of the leather means that it can handle the rain and it doesn’t show scratches. This is a chic and low maintenance bag that can fit all the essentials and then some. {Update: I’ve since purchased every colorway of this bag to give as a Christmas gift to my friends and the regular leather is amazing. I don’t have any experience with the current Gucci crossbodys so I’ll say that the leather on these feel like Cuyana’s but better (my review of the Cuyana crossbody here). Also my friends loved their bags and I see them use it all the time now, like alllll the time}.
So if you’re looking for a great deal on quality cashmere sweaters and functional bags I think you should definitely check out Quince. I’m tempted to try more of their items, like their tees.
{Update: My contact at Quince has read my review and let me know this is how their company survives: “Basically, as we grow our input costs come down meaningfully (i.e. the cost of the sweater from our factory partner, shipping costs, etc. and we also make more money when people buy multiple items since we save on packaging, shipping, etc). We have set prices where we think we can make a good, fair profit and hope to grow into those numbers as we scale. Hope that helps.” Also isn’t it kind of nice that they even noticed a nano-influencer such as myself?}
{Update: Added some edits to this page due to Last Brand changing their name to Quince. I updated all the links and also edited content to reflect the changes in their new website.}
{September 2020 Update: I’ve been using the croc embossed calfskin crossbody as my quarantine/coronavirus essential shopping purse for the last 4 months and I have to say I love it. It’s easy to carry and easy to wipe down with a sanitizing wipe on the outside. It looks just as good as the day I got it! I’m below $1 for cost per wear, which is a good indicator of a great purchase!}
{And yet another update: For those who are interested in my other Quince reviews (I’ve reviewed their linen tee, jewelry, leather tote bag, towels, and linen sheets) see all of them here: All Quince Reviews}
{Nov. 2020 Update: Fast Company just did a write-up about Quince where they go into how they’re able to keep their prices so low (and basically undercut all their competitors). It’s a pretty interesting read and you can find it here.}
{December 2020 Update: It’s been one year since I’ve written this post! Anyway one of the bloggers I respect the most in the ethical blogging sphere has weighed in on Quince and I’m glad she finds their business practices sound and their product good (it’s always good to get a second opinion and I’m relieved that we’re on the same page!). Read Leah’s review here (and I gotta say I’m jealous I didn’t think of the great Quince puns first lol!). Also I was happy to see that Quince didn’t have any sales during the holiday season, thus confirming that the price they’re offering is in fact the best the can do. No gimmicks and BS here!}
{September 2021 update: So for those of you guys who are wondering what is the difference between Quince’s regular cashmere and their baby cashmere (cashmere fibers combed from the coat of baby goats—don’t worry no baby goats were harmed in the process), I’ve tried out their baby cashmere and can tell you it’s definitely more luxe and worth the extra $50. The baby cashmere is thicker and softer (though don’t be expecting Loro Piana grade thick cashmere-l think the Quince one is still a lower ply number than the Loro Piana ones which tend to be pretty thick). The only drawback to the baby cashmere (other than being double the price) is the limited colors it comes in (burgundy, black, and white). I ended up getting the burgundy since it’s a color I don’t already have. Since this is something they released last year, limited sizing is left.}
P.S. I also wanted to let you guys know that I ended up selling the crossbody bag. I found that as Emi got to be a toddler (and we frequently went out together) I started using that bag less and less. I know use much bigger crossbody bags daily. Also once I got the Verlein bag I found that the shiny croc embossed design looked a bit more tacky to me. I think if I were to get another of Quince’s crossbody bags in the future I would stick to the regular leather ones. I always see my friends wearing theirs and think I should get a solid leather one too lol.