CARA Cashmere…. so beautiful an ideal gift that lasts for all occasions suitable for those cocooning presently to all gifting scenarios and personal purchasing! www.caracashmere.com
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“Cashmere = Beautiful… But too expensive”
And in the past, I’d say you’re right. Because I used to think the same thing.
I lived in Europe for 20 years. I was surrounded by beautiful women, wearing luxury items and I wanted to look just like them. You can’t blame me – I grew up in North Queensland where style was an afterthought and class was going to school.
I saw these beautiful women – these stylish, elegant, usually Italian women – and I just thought “wow, they look so put together”. I wanted to look the same. Truthfully, I wanted to feel the same too.
I wanted outfits that made me look and feel chic. I wanted jewellery that made me look and feel successful. I wanted accessories that made me look and feel like I fit in, but also stand out.
The only problem was…
When I shopped for what they wore, it was wayyyyyy out of my league (aka budget). More than a bottle of Prosecco, that’s for sure.
My boyfriend (now husband), bought me my first cashmere scarf, knowing I wouldn’t buy it for myself. Oh, wow – I was in love… with the scarf (and him too, I suppose!).
When I wore my new cashmere scarf for the first time, it was like a second skin. I wore it constantly. I loved the way it made me feel and look. It was so easy. Instant sophistication. Add cashmere!
Before, I’d always say “Cashmere = Beautiful, but too expensive.”
Now, I was a total convert.
I realised that cashmere wasn’t as out of reach as I thought. I could spend $150 on a good piece of knitwear, but for an extra $50, I could have CASHMERE (yes, in capitals). For the way it made me look and feel, it was SO. WORTH. IT.
But when I returned to Brisbane in 2017, my relationship with cashmere came to a screeching halt. If I thought European prices were expensive, I was not prepared for Australian prices.
“$500 for a simple cashmere scarf!?!?”
There was no way I was paying that. So, I started searching online.
If you called me a Cashmere Convert before, I suddenly became Cashmere Consumed. I could not stop researching, thinking, calling, questioning, emailing, facebooking – everything I could.
Surely there were beautiful, soft, colourful cashmere scarves for an accessible price…?
There wasn’t.
“Why is it so expensive?”
It turns out the reason cashmere is so expensive is because there’s a middleman buying the cashmere from the goat farmers in Mongolia and selling it to the factories in China and Europe. Then we Australians cop it and pay huge prices because “it’s cashmere”.
You might be surprised to know that without the middleman, cashmere isn’t as expensive as you think. And it’s possible for you to have the luxury and class of the European woman without spending your life savings.
That’s what I do at Cara Cashmere.
Since I launched in 2018, thousands of women have been wearing 100% cashmere in all its sophistication and softness, with no middleman and no crazy profit margins.
The supplier we work with has their own free range goat fields in Inner Mongolia, where the majority of the worlds raw cashmere comes from (including those manufactured in Scotland and Italy). They purchase the raw cashmere direct from their goat herding families at a higher price in order to improve the standard of living for the herdsmen, discourage overgrazing and cultivate happier goats. From this, they ensure that only the best quality raw materials are used in the manufacture of their yarn on equipment imported from Italy and Germany.
Our cashmere comes via a small supply chain, enabling us to offer accessible pricing for this beautiful, soft, don’t-leave-home-without-it cashmere.
Look beautiful and expensive in cashmere you can afford.
Annie
Founder, Cara Cashmere
