Cashmere….
Hello Darlings,
I completely forgot to share with you these pictures from my Niagara Falls Valentine’s getaway. The beauty of the falls is indescribably beautiful especially during the winter, but the weather around it is beyond freezing. The weather was crazy cold, Andrew and I definitely focused on bundling up when outside. It was cashmere over-load all the way: P
My outfit was a simple combination of my favorite pieces…a cashmere dress, a cashmere scarf, cashmere gloves, warm tights, booties and my much loved Mackage. This Mackage jacket stole my heart and I have refuse to take it off ; the rest of my jackets are completely neglected. I feel terrible. I hate favoring my clothing and shoes.
I am wearing: Autumn Cashmere Cashmere Dress; Calvin Klien Opaque Tights; Club Monaco cashmere scarf and gloves; Mackage Bijour Jacket; Michael Kors Booties; Marc by Marc Jacobs Miss Marc Earrings; Michael Kors Watch; Gustto Cokera Purse; Ray Ban Aviators.
Andrew is wearing: Club Monaco cashmere Sweater; Levis Jeans; Marc by Marc Jacobs Cashmere Scarf; Juicy Couture Cashmere/Wool Coat; Prada Shoes; Michael Kors Watch.
Andrew’s look consisted of his favorite pieces... cashmere scarf, cashmere sweater, jeans, his favorite Prada’s, and a pea coat. He and I share a similar philosophy to fashion: simple and timeless pieces get you far : P No fuss and nothing complicated, but just simple and easy. I think that would explain why we often times shop together.
As some of you may know, I am head-over-heels in love with cashmere. I love wearing it and to a certain degree collecting it. My way of facing Canadian winter is by stoking up on cashmere. My philosophy is one can never have enough cashmere. I think that quality cashmere is worth spending more on as it does last a long long long time. In this case, consider price-per-wear. Your cashmere will take good care of you, if you take good care of it. Therefore, I decided to share with my personal rules for buying and caring for cashmere....because when you spent that money you want to make sure that it lasts a while 
♥ Buying Cashmere ♥
- Check the label before you buy. It has to be 100% cashmere.
- Look for items with 2-ply yarn (ply is a single strand of yarn twisted together to form a one piece of yarn), it is more durable. More than 2-ply is going to be very warm and might be too warm for indoors.
- Feel the fabric and make sure that it is über-soft. Rub it to against your face and your neck, if your skin feels irritated then it is not for you.
- A new garment should have no balls, wrinkles, or creases. All being signs of lower quality.
- It should not look shiny, feel slippers or look fuzzy.
- It should rebound back to its shape when stretched.
- Examine the piece meticulously.
♥ Caring for Cashmere ♥
- Some labels say dry cleaning. Personally, I stay away from dry cleaning as much as I can because of my terrible experiences with them (a ruined silk dress and a cashmere/wool coat). I just have the worst luck, ever!
- I prefer gentle hand- wash in cool water with mild shampoo (it is Himalayan goat’s hair 
) or special detergent. Press out water with a tower, and then lay flat to dry.
- Store in plastic, zip-locking bags in order to keep moths away.
- Lint balls can be removed by a dry cleaner, or I use a fine grained pumice stone. Sweater brushes tend to pull on fabric threads and I really do not like that. Better quality cashmere will develop less lint balls over time.
- Always keep your cashmere folded, it will stretch if hung.
P.S. To learn more about how to care for fabrics and to tell whether it is quality, check out this post "Quality over Quantity" Investigated
These are the basic guidelines that I follow and so far my cashmere pieces have served me very well. Some of my favorite brands for cashmere are Club Monaco, Autumn Cashmere and Hayden. Club Monaco has affordable and good quality cashmere. Autumn Cashmere and Hyden are a little more but the quality is fantastic ( I tend to buy these brands on sale at Bluefly, as their regular price tags are a tad too high for me). Whichever company you chose, just make sure to examine the garment closely!!! Cashmere is also pretty easy to find on sale, so keep an eye during January-March sales.
I hope that my “advice” is a tiny bit helpful. Venture out an indulge in the beauty of cashmere, cashmere gloves and scarves make for luxurious accessories to keep you warm and stylish; meanwhile dresses and sweaters keep you snug and soft during the coldest of the winter days. Enjoy and take care!
P.S. By the way, I must shamefully admit that I've deleted some of your e-mails by complete accident. Some of the e-mails ended up in my junk mail and I pressed delete. So if you sent me an e-mail and did not receive a reply...then I apologize. Please do re-send it and I will gladly reply. I ALWAYS reply to e-mails withing couple of days and if you did not receive a reply then I definitely did not receive it. Thanks If you need to contact me press here or if you would like to send an anonymous question, click here! Or if you want to follow me on Twitter you can find me here
Wishing Everyone a Beautiful Monday!!!
With Love...
Marta
Both of our outfits are fairly simple and consists of cashmere.
Enjoy this article?
♥ C’est Moi…
♥MARTA
♥ Toronto, Canada
♥ Fine Art/Architecture Student
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March 4th, 2010 - 19:37
Couldn’t be more jealous of your shoes.
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March 3rd, 2010 - 21:32
I have never been to Niagara falls, but I am much closer now that I live in Philadelphia instead of Alaska. I’m convinced from your photos that I must go in winter. It’s breathtakingly picturesque! And I do the same thing with favoring particular clothing. I pretty much haven’t taken off my Diesel non-leather motorcycle jacket all winter. It blocks the wind, I can wear sweaters underneath and it looks good with everything!
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March 3rd, 2010 - 09:00
You’re fantastic !
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March 3rd, 2010 - 05:51
Oooh I so hope I get to see Niagara falls one day.
I totally agree that cashmere really is the way to go in icy conditions, and thanks for the tips with relation to buying it!
Love the stripy jumper also.
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March 3rd, 2010 - 00:14
I absolutely love Niagara Falls during the winter time…. so so so beautiful! And I am envious of you and your Mackage jacket!
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March 2nd, 2010 - 23:04
I hope you had a GREAT TIME.
You have a new hair color?
You hair look AWESOME this way.
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March 2nd, 2010 - 23:15
Hi Cinthia,
I’ve been adding red-ish and cooper highlights to my hair for the last 6 months…it has been a very subtle transition. I am very careful with my hair and my hairdresser is all about keeping it as healthy and natural as possible.
Thank you so much
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March 2nd, 2010 - 20:51
Beautiful dress! I’ve been to Niagra Falls a couple of times and it always gets better and better. Did you get to go underneath the falls? It’s breathtaking.
Kisses,
Stephanie
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March 2nd, 2010 - 21:13
Hi Stephanie,
I’ve been under the Falls and it truly is magical
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March 2nd, 2010 - 16:34
what a great post! can you believe that i was nearly 20 before i owned my first cashmere cardigan!? now, i am obsessed!!! and it’s just amazing how long good cashmere can last you, IF you take care of it properly. your pictures are stunning, with as many times as i have been to new york, i never made it to the falls…my insane fear of natural bodies of water probably has something to do with it. great post
http://laurenlanzaosias.blogspot.com
be a follower, not a hater
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March 2nd, 2010 - 08:26
s o beautiful marta !
you and andrew are so sweeeet.
oh- the beauty of canada.
miss it !
have a beautiful week
xo
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March 2nd, 2010 - 05:24
Love your outfit! And your hair looks a different color too, it looks very pretty
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March 2nd, 2010 - 00:33
I love your whole outfit! Its so classy yet stylish at the same time! (though, I may freeze a little bit just in tights at Niagara)
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March 2nd, 2010 - 01:00
Hi Joe,
I wore two pairs of tights…That’s the secret
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March 2nd, 2010 - 11:54
genius!
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March 2nd, 2010 - 16:34
that is genius!!! so stealing that idea!!!
http://laurenlanzaosias.blogspot.com
be a follower, not a hater
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March 1st, 2010 - 23:37
Love the pictures, so romantic! I don’t own any cashmere, but these tips are perfect!
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March 1st, 2010 - 22:31
you look gorgeous here!I cant brave the cold in niagra, I get cold too easily so I would always want to be indoors! where did you get that sweater dress? its fab! also great tips as always
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March 1st, 2010 - 23:01
Hi Sher,
I got it on Bluefly last winter
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March 1st, 2010 - 22:22
Marta, the first photo of you is breathtaking. You look so beautiful. We are so similar. I adore cashmere anything and I take great care when washing all my clothing, using only mild detergents. I also hate when I see sweaters hung on hangers. I am glad you guys had a beautiful trip. Thanks for sharing these photos. xo
http://www.fashionsnag.com
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March 1st, 2010 - 20:26
A lovely post, Marta! Your getaway seems so nice –I hope my beau and I can go to Niagara falls this year. I’ve *always* wanted to go –it’s a dream of mine. I think whenever I feel like going and can’t, I console myself by painting a watercolour of it instead.. lol
I really love that first picture of you with the light filtering softly in. The sweater dress is gorgeous, and you are always stunning! ^_^ I also love the 2nd picture. It just makes me feel incredibly warm and happy inside whenever I see a happy couple who had their picture taken…. *blush*
I do have the tendency to collect sweater dresses (among other clothing items… lol) but so far I’ve yet to get an all cashmere one. I love the feel of cashmere and how you don’t have to be all bulkily bundled to be warm — but it’s taking me a while to buy a single one, because so far, I haven’t seen a single one that perfectly fits my ‘dream/vision’…
Also, thank you for your comment –and wishing me good luck.
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March 1st, 2010 - 20:30
P.S. I’m shocked that they’ve ruined so many of your clothes! Two is a lot! Was it the same drycleaner? That’s one reason why I self-maintain my coats, and other delicate dresses and tops –I’m so afraid of having them ruined!!
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March 1st, 2010 - 20:39
Hi Cordelia,
Thank you so much for your sweet comment!
Yea, I have really bad luck with dry cleaners. It was actually two reputable dry cleaners…if I can’t trust the best then I might as do the work myself
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March 1st, 2010 - 23:19
Oh, that’s terrible.
But I agree –who better than yourself to take care of your clothes the way you want them to be? 
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March 1st, 2010 - 20:18
Aw such lovely pictures !!
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March 1st, 2010 - 20:13
Wow, the falls look so pretty in the winter!
I love the tips that you gave on taking care of cashmere. One thing I’ve found is to never use those sweater shavers, they will literally kill anything they touch. For my cashmere, if you have a front load washer, putting it in the handwash cycle doesn’t do anything to it either; I prefer that to handwashing only because it saves time.
You both look lovely, fabulous and that jacket is so amazing, it looks super warm!
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March 1st, 2010 - 20:40
Hi Marz,
I use the handwash cycle as well…sometimes as well. As long as it is not dry cleaners
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March 1st, 2010 - 20:01
Your advice is always helpful, Marta! (and I love that striped dress on you!)
Cashmere is such a comfort! I bought a few scarves and a great cream dress this winter.
I am so happy that I did! They have become favorites. Thanks for mentioning some great
tips on care and places to purchase more. I will definitely look out for some additional
pieces from Club Monaco. I find their cuts fit me well and remain true.
You two look great! What a wonderfully beautiful getaway…
xo,
Sarah
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