Buying Free People Duster Cardigan comes down to a few checks you can do from the product page. Everything else is preference. A tight gauge holds shape; a loose one drapes and eventually grows. Fibre content tells you more than price. Look for the percentage, not the word cashmere. The groups below run from the decision that matters most to the ones you make afterwards.

What decides this is fibre, gauge and how well it holds shape. Everything else is preference. Two from the first group show the range: alcltd.com's Suzanne Brushed Alpaca Cardigan at $550, and apc-us.com's Marisa Cardigan - Black Wool Cardigan at $395. The first is the considered buy; the second is the one to start with. Fibre content tells you more than price. Look for the percentage, not the word cashmere. A tight gauge holds shape; a loose one drapes and eventually grows. A higher price mostly buys materials and finishing, and occasionally it buys nothing at all.

Tuck the front hem only. It reads as considered rather than fussy. From the second group, Simon Miller's Max Belted Knit Cardigan in Cheetah ($118) is the one that earns its place, because it works in more than one context without being restyled. The third group is smaller and deliberately narrower, knits, for the decisions you make after the main one. None of this needs the whole group. One piece from each is usually enough.

There are 20 knits here from 15 brands, $56 to $595, all in stock when this was written. We would not buy all of them, and neither should you. Kenneth Cole's Mock Cardigan with Buttons at $56 is the low-risk way in, and alcltd.com's Skyler Argyle Cardigan at $595 only makes sense if this is a category you already use constantly. On free people duster cardigan specifically: the difference between the top and the bottom of this list is real but smaller than the price gap suggests. Nothing here is included because it is famous, and price is not used as a proxy for quality anywhere on this page. If you take one thing away: the piece you reach for on a rushed morning is the one that was worth the money.