Spier & Mackay is a well regarded Canadian menswear brand, well known for their high quality suits and other traditional items. They’ve been having quite a few sales through the pandemic, so when I saw their merino wool cardigan on sale, I decided to give it a try.
Material
This sweater is knitted with 100% 2-ply Australian merino wool with an anti-pill treatment. I’m not sure what that treatment is, and being merino and a sweater, I haven’t had to wash it yet, but I haven’t noticed any pilling. Even if it does pill, a sweater shaver or stone is always a great trick.
The fabric is light and soft, and doesn’t have any wool scratchiness at all. It is also machine washable (lay flat dry), so no need for a trip to the dry cleaners when it eventually needs to be washed.
Fit & Style
The fit here is quite slim. I went with my normal XL (which they say fits up to a 44” chest) and it fits great everywhere, except it is quite snug when I button it. For me, that makes it more casual, since I prefer to wear it unbuttoned. Sizing up seems like it would likely make other parts of the sweater fit too big.
Spier & Mackay describe the style as easy to dress up or down, and I agree. I even threw it on over a t-shirt when I got chilly in my home office, and I thought it still looked pretty good.
Performance
Not much to discuss here other than its 100% merino — it doesn’t retain odors and likely will only need very infrequent washing.
Otherwise, it is quite lightweight, so I would describe it as a layer to take the chill off inside, rather than a sweater to keep you warm. It is also thin enough that you could wear it as a layer under a blazer.
Overall
Spier & Mackay did a nice job with this cardigan. It’s a little slim for me, but it certainly isn’t overly slim. The quality of the knit and the fabric seems to be above what you’d expect at the price point, and one sale, definitely would beat a UNIQLO cardigan. I paid $37, but think it represents a good value even at the current price of $68.
NOTE: where possible all product links on this site may earn the site money when you buy using those links.