One of my very first reviews was of Quince’s $50 cashmere sweater , and three years ago I thought that cashmere sweater was decent. I admittedly didn’t wear it a ton though because it was a tad sheer and the following year (2020) I went up a size and it didn’t fit anymore. Since then I have only dabbled in Quince’s sweaters, preferring to wear out my Everlane sweaters instead. But since I had sized out of those too, I got a handful of Quince sweaters this past year and here’s a roundup review of them all (organized by fiber type).
Quince Cotton Fisherman sweater, Cashmere Fisherman Sweater, Wool Cardigan in gray, and Alpaca half-zip in black
And a note on sizing: I’m wearing a medium in all the sweaters here. I’m about a size 6-8 on top and I would say that Quince sweaters fit TTS (unless it’s stated as oversized).
Cashmere Fisherman Sweater
Cashmere
Mongolian Cashmere Crewneck Sweater (their $50 cashmere sweater): As I mentioned above my first review of Quince was of their cashmere sweater. And at the time I thought it was on par with Everlane’s standard crewneck cashmere sweater. But unfortunately I didn’t wear it that often so I don’t know how it wears. Maybe a reader can comment about their experience? I do wonder though with inflation how Quince is able to keep the price of their cashmere so low without compromising on quality (or maybe they do 🤷🏻♀️)?
Mongolian Luxe Baby Cashmere: Soon after getting their standard cashmere crewneck I purchased their luxe baby cashmere version (made from the combings of baby goats) and I have to say it was by far better than their standard cashmere sweater. It was much thicker, warmer, and softer. But it is also double the price (though worth it I think). I sadly also sized out of this in 2020 and wasn’t really able to wear it more than a handful of times so I can’t tell you how it wears. But for the one season I did wear it, I didn’t notice any pilling. This is the one sweater I would consider repurchasing in my current size, but Quince is currently out of stock of most the sizes in this sweater.
Mongolian Cashmere Oversized Boyfriend Cardigan Sweater: I got this one this year but I didn’t wear it because it really was quite oversized. And on my petite frame it didn’t look quite right on me (or maybe I just can’t pull off the Gen Z baggy look considering I’m an elder millennial after all). So I ended up selling this pretty soon after I got it.
Mongolian Cashmere Fisherman sweater (pictured above): This sweater has been my go-to all winter. When I first felt it, I was amazed. It’s so soft, thick, and plush. It also is the warmest sweater currently in my closet. But with constant wearing (around 2-3 times a week), it has pilled quite horribly. It’s still soft and plush, but it looks like a 3 year old sweater, not a three month one. I’ll try de-pilling it and see how it goes. I still love it for it’s warmth and softness but it definitely doesn’t look that great anymore.
Cotton
100% Organic Cotton Oversized Cardigan (worn in the two photos above): This is by far my favorite Quince sweater. It’s super comfy and wears well. I like to so much that I have four of these (in navy, black, camel, and white). Excessive? Yea I know, but I am constantly wearing them. In the fall I wore it like in the outfits above and in the winter I wear them layered over my Mate the Label sweatshirt at home. It’s become part of my everyday at-home outfit (pictured below). And even with all that wear there’s no pilling and everything looks as good as the day I bought it. The only thing is that washing this sweater (I do it in the washing machine, in a netting, on delicate) is kind of a hassle because it’s so big and bulky. I also lay it out on a towel to dry to prevent the sweater from stretching out. But with good care, this sweater should last you a very long time.
100% cotton fisherman sweater: I got this one because I like my cotton cardigans so much. I haven’t worn this one as much because it’s still a tad too cold for cotton sweaters. So I’ll update this review once I’ve worn it more, but overall I like this cotton sweater as well.
100% Organic Cropped Cotton Polo Sweater (new for 2023 and pictured above): Since I was such a fan of Quince’s organic cotton line, I decided to try out their cropped cotton polo sweater this year. And I looooove it! The cropped length is perfect for my 5’4” frame and I love the 90’s J.Crew vibes of the polo style. And the organic cotton is a nice tight thick weave, just like my other organic cotton sweaters from Quince (which one year on, is still in great shape—it hasn’t stretched out or pilled at all). I would totally get this sweater again if Quince came out with other colors. Right now they only have the navy, white, and striped (I’m thinking about the striped one but I’m not really a fan of the thickness of the stripes).
Alpaca
Baby Alpaca Wool Quarter Zip (worn in the photo above and below): I really really loved this sweater when I first got it and it even made honorable mention in my Most Worn Quince Items in 2022 post. Since then I’ve worn it A LOT. And it pilled like crazy: small little balls everywhere. Then I de-pilled it with my sweater shaver and it looked decent for a bit. Now it looks like the pictures below: still pilling some but also just more wisps of fiber everywhere (as opposed to little balls). I still wear the sweater because I love the feel and the style, but I would wear a different sweater if I wanted to look more polished.
Baby Alpaca-Wool Waffle Stitch Polo Sweater: I got this new at the end of 2023 since I wanted to try another alpaca-wool sweater even though the one above pilled like crazy. And even though I thought the waffle stitch might pill even more than the quarter zip sweater above, I was pleasantly surprised to see that it doesn’t. So far I’ve been wearing it pretty consistently and the pilling is less. I’ll add a picture here when I get a chance, but between the two alpaca sweaters, this one is clearly the winner.
[December 2024 Update: I only repurchased another Quince sweater this winter and it was the baby alpaca-wool waffle stitch polo sweater above. I love my one in black but this year I wanted to get a brown one (which wasn’t available last year). And I have to say I really love it and have been wearing it constantly. Again the pilling isn’t so terrible considering I’m wearing it almost everyday.]
Wool
Merino Wool Button Cardigan (old 2023, no longer available): Not gonna lie, I purchased this wool cardigan and the crew neck sweater below because I felt like I needed to at least try Quince’s wool offerings to round out this review. As you can see in the picture below, the cardigan was a smidge tight even though it’s a medium (my usual size). But the merino wool is a nice thin wool that’s not too scratchy (though if you’re sensitive it will probably feel scratchy to you). I haven’t worn this sweater a ton yet so I’ll update the review later with how it goes. Also in general, wool doesn’t pill as much as cashmere so I think this one shouldn’t have as much as a pill problem as the cashmere.
Merino Wool Crew Sweater (old 2023, no longer available): I also haven’t worn this sweater a bunch, but I really love this classic wool crew neck sweater. I got mine in black and it looks and feels a lot more expensive than its $30 price tag. The fit on this one is also slightly on the smaller side and I think if I were to buy this again I would size up to a large for a looser fit.
Australian Merino Wool Half Zip Sweater: This is a new addition for 2024. I decided to try this out since I loved my Alpaca Quarter Zip so much, but didn’t want to purchase another Alpaca item because of the excessive pilling. So I thought why not try a zip sweater in wool. I got it in the gray and sadly it also pills like crazy. I actually got Everlane’s felted wool half zip at the same time as this Quince one for comparison, and this Quince one pilled almost immediately (at least by the first wear). After several wear it looked quite pill-y. So much so that I only really reach for the Everlane one and I have to say Everlane beat out Quince for quality on this one.
Australian Merino Wool Cable Sweater Vest: This is also new for 2024, and I got it because I’ve never had a sweater vest before. And I really like the style and warmth it provides. It also does pill a bit though I would say not as much as the wool zip sweater above.
A side note about the merino wool selection for 2024: I have to say there are better options available for 2024 and the wool quality is better, which is probably why a lot of their selections are currently sold out as of February.
And those are all my Quince sweaters! Overall it’s a very mixed bag but my favorite is my cotton cardigan. Quince sweaters are priced well but the quality for some of them could be better. My Grana and Everlane cashmere sweaters have held up better over the years (well at least compared to Quince’s cashmere fisherman sweater). At any rate, I’ll be updating this post periodically with how all these sweaters fare over the years. You can find my other Quince reviews here.