At this price the fibre alone stops being a useful signal, since almost everything is labelled cashmere or merino and the quality varies enormously within that. What actually separates the good from the disappointing is fibre length, ply and gauge. Longer staple fibres resist pilling, which is the only failure mode that matters in practice. Two ply or higher gives a denser, more durable fabric than a single ply of the same weight. And a tighter gauge holds shape where a loose one stretches. None of those numbers appear on a swing tag, so the proxies are weight and hand. A jumper that feels substantial for its size and springs back when stretched between two hands is well made. One that feels light and soft in a slippery way is short fibre and will pill within a month.

Cashmere is the softest and the most fragile of the common fine fibres, and there are places where it is genuinely the wrong choice. Anything worn under a coat with a bag strap, or worn several times a week, will pill at the friction points regardless of quality. Merino is more durable, holds its shape better and is far more sensible for a jumper in constant rotation. A wool cashmere blend is often the smartest buy at this price, giving most of the hand with considerably more resilience. Cotton and cotton blends sit lower on warmth and higher on breathability and are the right answer for a piece worn in a heated office. What to avoid outright is a high acrylic or viscose content, which feels soft at first and goes flat quickly.

Our position is that one very good jumper beats three adequate ones, and at this budget that means buying a plain colour in a heavier weight and accepting fewer pieces. Care does more for longevity than price does: washing by hand or on a cold wool cycle rather than dry cleaning, drying flat, storing folded rather than hung, and using a comb rather than a razor on the first pills. Done that way, a mid priced knit lasts many years. If you take one thing away, judge the knit by weight and recovery in your hands rather than by the fibre on the label, because that is the test that actually predicts how it will look next winter.