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Gwyneth made me buy it

Practising what she preaches - Gwyneth in grey
Practising what she preaches – Gwyneth in grey
Screen Shot 2017-05-11 at 13.18.26
Screen Shot 2017-05-11 at 13.18.35

I know, isn’t Goop just hilarious? Just the… madness of the whole thing.

But what I admire and respect most about the enterprise is that Gwyneth is undaunted. She doesn’t care when online gossip sites report that Goop is a massive loss-maker, or that we all want to make fun of her for trying to sell us in-flight “wellness” packs for north of £100, or that her fashion picks are always staggeringly expensive. Even the T-shirts! Even a can opener is $68.

She just sails on, regardless. It’s admirable really.

And in the end it’s just a fact that I have picked up probably the most useful piece of dressing advice ever from her, which was that a grey, fine-knit sweater will take you pretty much anywhere. First day of your period on the school run? Grey sweater. Sunday brunch? Grey sweater. Smart/casual dinner party? Grey sweater.

It’s got to be the right grey sweater. A chunky pilled horror (we’ve all got one) won’t do. It’s got to be a fine-knit merino wool job, as merino wool doesn’t form pills, worn loose and drapey. But not so drapey that you have batwings.

I have a J Crew Tippi in grey, which is beautiful but comes up rather short, which means I have to wear a longer vest underneath, which rather breaks up the line and spoils the effect.

Everyone always bangs on about Uniqlo knitwear and I have been a bit circumspect about it because I never think that something that cheap can be good. BUT… I went in the other day and tried on one of their Extra Fine Merino Wool Crew Neck sweaters and I was totally won over. I got mine in an XL for full drapeyness and comfort and do not regret it. Well, not for now anyway – we’ll see how it stands the test of time.

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Comments

  1. Rosemary White says

    May 12, 2017 at 7:49 am

    Uniqlo cashmere/ cotton mix (in the sale) wears very well I have found – to my great surprise! And survives the washing machine

    Reply
  2. Sarah says

    May 12, 2017 at 8:00 am

    Ive got this in grey Esther and I can confirm I do wear it a lot and it seems to be wearing quite well. But I do have a black cardigan from Uniqlo that I bought at the same time and its covered in bobbles and looks really old. I have never been on Goop but might have to have a look now, I do have a friend obsessed with everything Gwyneth does but in a funny way.

    Reply
  3. Cindy says

    May 12, 2017 at 8:02 am

    If Gwyneth is now taking credit for people buying useful grey jumpers, then she truly is at the height of her powers.

    She is someone that I don’t rate fashion-wise (like, she’s bothered) – she swings between normal to boring with a stop at awful. I never look forward to what she’s wearing at the Oscars for example, the same way I would Emma Stone or Cate Blanchett.

    Reply
    • esthermcoren says

      May 12, 2017 at 8:15 am

      Cindy that is damning

      Reply
    • Elaine says

      May 12, 2017 at 10:50 pm

      Cindy, this made me laugh so much! Elaine x

      Reply
  4. The Millers Tale says

    May 12, 2017 at 8:55 am

    With regards to GOOP and its costliness I am reminded of that moment in the Rocky Horror Show when Frankenfurter asks Janet what she thinks of his creation, Rocky, and when she is critical, he snaps “I didn’t make him for you!”

    GP created GOOP as a vehicle for sharing her tastes and recoms with her friends, all of whom I imagine don’t have to worry about money. There’s much on the site which is out of my price range too but I really like her book, art and film sections and actually her clothing choices aren’t always out of sight. Even though the press takes the piss out of her Christmas gift posts, and highlight the spendy items in them, there’s actually a lot of affordable stuff there too.

    Maybe not affordable if you’re on minimum wage, but the fact is that GP didn’t make GOOP for them. 🙂

    Reply
  5. The Millers Tale says

    May 12, 2017 at 8:55 am

    That wasn’t a dig at you btw,. 🙂

    Reply
    • esthermcoren says

      May 12, 2017 at 12:02 pm

      I didn’t take it as such x

      Reply
  6. melbournista says

    May 12, 2017 at 10:05 am

    I have finally found grey jumper nirvana at Trenery an Australian brand – drapey v neck merino and cashmere – wear to work out for dinner and with pyjama bottoms

    Reply
  7. laurawelsh says

    May 12, 2017 at 10:23 am

    I’ve just bought a pale blue men’s sweater from M&S (I look dead in grey, I had my ‘colours’ done a few years ago and can highly recommend) and it’s super quality, plain and not mucked-around with like the women’s knitwear always is and the merino wool ones are about £20 max. I got a large and I’m normally a size 10.

    Reminds me of being at boarding school and buying oversized men’s cardigans from M&S which we then stuck our thumbs through the cuffs of.

    Reply
    • melbournista says

      May 13, 2017 at 5:10 am

      Yes ! The men’s jumpers are so much better I lived in them at boarding school and even university!

      Reply
  8. zoe says

    May 12, 2017 at 10:56 am

    I became obsessed with and found a fine soft dark grey sweater this very week. Black can be a bit melodramatic and I read somewhere it’s very ageing which obviously sealed it for me.

    Reply
    • esthermcoren says

      May 12, 2017 at 12:03 pm

      you have to have very high colour to wear black…

      Reply
  9. philippa says

    May 12, 2017 at 1:35 pm

    When I went back to work after child number 2 last year, I decided that the only way I could manage was if I had a work uniform and it was this jumper (I have 3 colours), black skinny jeans (I know! But the right pair of trousers eludes me) and smart boots or shoes. I wear this at least 2 out of my 4 days in the office. It’s quite boring but frankly I don’t think anyone really notices or cares. ANYWAY, from my experience, these jumpers wear and wash brilliantly, if you put them on a delicate wash with woolite and air dry them. I might even get a new colour soon, although 4 of the same jumper does seem a bit bonkers.

    Reply
  10. Kristy says

    May 12, 2017 at 4:31 pm

    Floppy grey knitwear is my thing, and has been for years. I’ve got more drapey sweaters, cardigans, vests and shirts than you can shake a stick at, and right now am wearing one from GAP. Puddle through the madness in there, and every now and then good things appear. If you sign up for their emails, you get daily (bloody daily) discount codes, and I reckon I got this one for about £10 after all the discounts were taken off. True, they don’t last, but then the charity shops win as well. Covers all sins and is a light enough grey to throw some light back up to your face (much needed).

    Reply
  11. Emma says

    May 12, 2017 at 5:15 pm

    I love Gwyneth. I love Goop. Once when I was in Bangkok a group of school girls asked to have a photo with me. They thought I was Gwyneth! I was so chuffed I just went along with it… I would like to smell her new perfume.

    Reply
    • esthermcoren says

      May 12, 2017 at 6:14 pm

      Emma I’m not sure if your last line was supposed to be very funny part-stalkerish but it WAS and I did a LOL

      Reply
      • Emma Onslow says

        May 13, 2017 at 8:49 am

        Yeah. As soon as I posted I thought to myself god that makes me sound a bit mental.

        Reply
        • esthermcoren says

          May 13, 2017 at 5:54 pm

          just pretend it was an intentionally-timed very precise and niche v funny joke

          Reply
  12. Sue Collins says

    May 12, 2017 at 6:16 pm

    I’ve got the Uniglo sweater – you have to wash them very carefully because they shrink every time you wash them. They also lose a little of that wonderful softness no matter how careful you are. Still worth buying for the money.

    Reply
    • esthermcoren says

      May 12, 2017 at 7:35 pm

      Yes I did think that, hence in an XL rather than just an L. But thank you, it’s always good to know one has not made a mad purchase x

      Reply
  13. Siobhan says

    May 15, 2017 at 6:49 pm

    This is so true. My current go-to is a drapey grey sweater from Wyse, which I think I may have actually discovered through you, Esther…. Anyway, it’s the one with the coloured stars down the sleeve, so you get a bit of zaniness while still being basically in a grey jumper.

    Reply
    • esthermcoren says

      May 16, 2017 at 8:10 am

      Yes I’m sure I have mentioned Wyse. I literally can’t have cashmere in my house otherwise I would be attacked within 8 seconds by ravenous moths.

      Reply

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