I purchased this babaa no25 merino wool sweater this past summer because I saw it for a fairly good price on the RealReal (like this one) and I had some credit there as well. I’ve only tried the thick chunky babaa cotton cardigan in the past (my babaa review here), which I loved for its quality, but in the end I never really wore it because I’m not super into chunky sweaters (I feel like it adds too much bulk). However since I was so impressed with their quality, I was willing to try them again and I have to say it does not disappoint.
This sweater is made of 100% extra fine merino wool and even though I’m slightly itchy to wool, this is not itchy to me at all. This is a very fine wool sweater, though I would expect nothing less from babaa (I mean have you looked at how they look after their producers and their sheep). This seamless sweater feels like a true luxury, on par with the like of Loro Piana and other Italian knitwear companies. And TBH the price is about the same too (currently this merino sweater is $198 but it depends on the conversion rate). But that’s why I love to scour the RealReal for secondhand ones at much lower prices—I usually wait to see if it goes down to 40%). I’ve been wearing this sweater pretty consistently and I have yet to see any pilling so that’s a great sign.
The only negative thing about babaa is that they continue to do sizing as one size fits all. The merino sweater fits like a S/M to me and I’m about a size 6 on top. The sweater is snuggest at the collar and upper arms on me. I think if you’re a size 8+, you’d definitely find it too small I think. The one size fit probably works better with their chunky knits and cardigans, but for a thin sweater like this one, you really do need a variety of sizes.
Anyway I’m not a babaa superfan or anything, though I really do like the quality of their wool. I’ll probably continue to check the RealReal for deals (their current selection here) and this probably won’t be my last secondhand babaa sweater.