Dappered

Affordable Men's Style

In Person: The $34 Calibrate “Slim Fit” Sweater

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Calibrate Trim Fit Cotton Blend V-Neck Sweater – $33.90 ($69.50)

Originally featured as a sweater with potential over here in a best bets for $75 or less.  Ships free and returns free as always through Nordstrom.  From one of their in-house brands.

The Pros
  • The feel of the fabric blend:  54% cotton, 39% Modal, 3% Spandex, 4% other.  This sweater is ultra smooth, feels pretty strong, and doesn’t have any of the bulk you’d get with an all cotton sweater.  Feels closer to a glass smooth merino.  A good amount of stretch in there too.
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  • The depth of the V:  Not too deep. Just right.  Has a an inch wide ribbed border around it.
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  • The knit detail:  There are these slim side panels along the side and near the shoulders of a ribbing that just barely stands out.  It’s subtle.  Wasn’t sure at first, but it’s not a bad look at all.
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  • The trim arms:  No flapping fabric wings hanging off your triceps here.  Arms are nice and trim.
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  • The range of available colors: Eight colors in all with a good amount of sizes left.
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  • The Price:  $33.90 shipped with free returns is awfully tough to beat

Arms are awfully trim, especially through the forearm.  Sweater isn’t as trim at the sides near the hem.

The Cons
  • The not so trim lower body:  Proportionally, it’s not nearly as trim at the waist as it is through the arms.  It’s pretty good, but if it was as trim as the arms all the way through the body it’d be a must have at this price.  At it’s widest across the back, a few inches above the hem, it comes in at 19.5″.  To compare, Banana Republic’s silk/cotton/cashmere v-neck, which isn’t labeled a trim fit, is around 19.25″.  And the BR could certainly handle a little slimming.
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  • The Laundering Instructions:  Machine wash, but lay flat to dry.  Not a huge issue at all.
The Bottom Line

Really close on this one.  It’s a great spring weight sweater that’ll do just fine in the colder months, and the cotton blend feels terrific.  Some modal fabrics may be prone to stretch, but who knows with this one.  You could do a lot worse for $34, but if they just would have brought the body in by an inch or two, this would have been the best sweater on the market by far.  Overall, a real good sweater for the price.

The alternating weave at the shoulders.  You’ll also find it at the back of the collar and at the sides.  Maybe that’s part of why it’s not draping as flat as it otherwise would?