🗝 TREASURE CHEST 🗝: The 100 Best FW24 Sweaters Under $200

Hand-selected from Miu Miu, Brunello Cucinelli, Sézane, Chloé, vintage sellers, and more, all for less than two bills.

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Hi, sailor. If there is one thing you need to know about me, it’s that I adore a SWEATER. I love drowning in fabric; the tactile bliss of a mohair or merino wool; the feeling that whatever desires, sartorial or otherwise, are warmed, enshrined, made recherché under thick knit layers. I hunt cashmere down in vintage shops and covet the precise turn in autumn when I can pack up my summer linens and pull out my sweaters.

After how so many of you loved the Mermaid Café Fall Fragrance Guide, I wanted to launch a new series I’ve been calling 🗝 TREASURE CHEST 🗝 — a ginormous index of my favorite shoppable pieces, with each list rendered specific for garments, silhouettes, trends, ideas, or whole seasons. I didn’t want to create anything that isn’t actually advantageous for you, so there are a few TREASURE CHEST tenets I live, write, and shop by:

1. Everything on TREASURE CHEST is under $200, because while I love window shopping and investment pieces, I want to focus on tangible value, here, rather than the imaginary. IMO, $200 is the price ceiling that lets people indulge in quality without sacrificing their salaries.

2. At least 30% of all TREASURE CHESTs are made up of vintage, resold finds — a holistic mix of both luxury brands and mass-market items that hold up.

3. I’m not recommending anything I wouldn’t wear. If you’re subscribing to this newsletter, it means we align on some aesthetic level. Any outlet can tell you to buy a white Old Navy crewneck for your capsule wardrobe, but we read fashion newsletters to discover a different dimension of taste. I think you’re smart and sophisticated and deserve recommendations that aren’t so elementary. So consider this a literal treasure chest of precious curios — both versatile basics and more off-kilter items — hand-selected just for you. 

4. Last but not least: in the interest of saving time, I’m not doing my typical long, grandiloquent spiel for each item. Whether you love or loathe my wordiness, it can be distracting on a list this long. Know that while I have my private opinions and quips about each garment, they all share a common denominator — I love them and want to share them with you.

There are a lot of great finds, here (Paloma Wool! Vintage Brunello Cucinelli! A lobster sweater!), so I’ll promptly stop talking so you can start scrolling. Enjoy!

Mermaid Café is made possible solely through subscriptions. All of the products I’ve included are because I actually like them — not because a brand is paying me. All of this to say: being a paid subscriber means I can afford to live and write! You’re helping *me* help *you.* Every paid subscription is deeply appreciated (and a very chic gift to yourself, I might add). Thank you! ꩜

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Every garment is grouped by color and sorted by price (low to high). Note that I don’t often wear saturated or vivid colors, but many of these sweaters are available in brighter, bolder colorways if that’s your vibe. Starting with neutrals…

#1: Autumn Cashmere, Asymmetrical Sweater ($65) 

#2: A&F, Easy Funnel Neck Sweater ($70) 

#3: Sézane, Barry Cardigan ($120)