BR Knitwear quality fail. ETA : store manager comments when I returned it . - YouLookFab Forum

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BR Knitwear quality fail. ETA : store manager comments when I returned it .

Anonymous

I had to come up with a red sweater to wear to work yesterday for Women's Heart Health Day - so "treated myself " to a pretty cotton blend sweater from BR, based on recent rave reviews about quality . Wonderful orangey-red colour, which I NEVER wear but received so many nice compliments on that I'll consider making it more prominent in my closet . Anyways , the ticket price in Canada was $104 (as if) and I bought it at their usual 40% off..... but will be returning it today. Worn for 8 hours, in minimal-stress conditions , and it pilled very badly, looking cheap, old and worn before I even got home. Very unimpressed. Here are some photos to show the wear - am I overreacting here?

And no find available as the bookmarklet feature was not working, telling me to log in first before collecting, while I WAS logged on

https://bananarepublic.gapcana.....8;pid=5188

I think the photos are out of order - with the middle one being the patch of the sweater that stayed decent-looking, and the other two photos showing the pilling.

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53 replies

Latest reply was from Elizabeth P

Helena

Veteran

Hmm, Lisa, yes that looks a bit too fuzzy for just one wear Will you try taking it back? So disappointing ...

Helena

Veteran

PS - I agree their pricing seems to reflect that we will wait for the 40% off deals, so to me the 40% is actually regular price hah!

Bonnie

Veteran

What a beautiful color and it's too bad you had to return it but pilling in 8 hours is inexcusable.

Katerina

Veteran

It is disappointing indeed. This just should not happen, what a shame.

Anonymous

Oh yeah - I'm taking it back today . I wouldn't wear this again in this condition - even if it's really just a $60 sweater.

kkards

Veteran

this is so annoying...and now you need to go back to the store..what a pain

Christina F.

Veteran

That's terrible! I have the aqua version and it still looked great after one wear. You really just never know with knitwear these days, I guess. How unfortunate.

Roxanna

Veteran

That is AWFUL pilling. For one day's wear! Looks sloppy. I am 100% with you to return it. Also even if it hadn't pilled - I wonder how much you would wear it given you don't usually wear bright colours.

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

That's too bad Lisa P, and disappointing. (Did you break your no 2020 shopping resolution, or did you get the sweater last year?)

I have TWO of those BR sweaters - turquoise and citron - see Finds. Worn about 5 times each, laundered and ironed by me too. Perfect condition. No pilling. I love them and am quite impressed. I'm wearing the citron now.

So UNFORTUNATELY, the quality is inconsistent, which makes me sigh. Unlucky.

Yes to returning the red. Unacceptable. I bet you look GREAT in that colour! Deserving compliments I'm sure.

Banana Republic

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Banana Republic

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Anonymous

Angie , yes, I broke my no-shopping vow for this occasion . I didn't have time to go digging through second-hand stores hoping to find a red sweater at the last minute so decided to buy new because I had to have one the next day. If that makes any sense Roxanne - I really liked wearing it though - which totally surprised me. It's a flattering colour, I discovered, and was such a welcome break from our dead-ugly grey and black uniform. I'm not about to switch to brights, but having one piece like this was such a treat. I'm returning it though, and won't be replacing it.

Runcarla

Veteran

@lisap - return for sure! Unacceptable! Let them know it, too! Keeps you on target for your no-shop challenge, though I know that isn’t the point.

You know I like red, but even before it was a strong theme in my style, I always liked to have something red - for Valentines, Canada Day, the Christmas holidays, etc. When your ‘no shopping’ year is over, you might like to consider a really fabulous red something - just one, mind you - for such occasions.

smittie

Veteran

The colour is so pretty!
But my goodness that’s terrible pilling. And not the type that you can remove easily.
Definite return.

fathenry

Veteran

Too bad, I have the blue one and have worn it once with no problem so far. I too purchased several BR sweaters at a great price this winter and hope they hold up. I have had good luck with madewell. I'm holding onto a purchased but unworn Boden sweater now, trying to decide if full price knitwear is something I really want to chance.

Suz

(website)

Veteran

That is such a shame. It can be SO inconsistent!! Frustrating as all get-out. But I bet you looked fab in that colour! Let us know if they give you any flak at the returns end.

smittie

Veteran

Wow the quality is inconsistent within the same style? That’s crazy and so frustrating.

nemosmom

Veteran

What rotten luck! Hope they will return it for you.

Anonymous

I know it's crazy, which is why I wondered if maybe my toleration threshold for wear and pilling is lower than everyone else's. I didn't wear a purse, had no seat belt rubbing on it, etc, and it's not like it's a tight fit pulling and rubbing under my arms and around my chest. Simply no explanation for that kind of wear. One thing I did note though, is that it's not 100% cotton, as the description would have one believe. It's actually 72 cotton/ 28 poly. And yeah, I'm annoyed that I have to traipse back to the mall to return it too - it's about -40C here today with gale-force winds - really pleasant .

Marilyn

Veteran

Yep! I hear you. I've had two BR sweaters that have been complete fails this winter. And one other that I'm not happy with but colour and style wise it's a workhorse so I'm persevering with it. I'm loving the styes but some of these fabrications are not good.

The green one was a mess after one wear. Not just pills but fuzzy. I cleaned it up as best I could with a sweater comb. After the third wear I'd had it. Completely unwearable. The entire front and sleeves are fuzzy. I mailed it back with an explanation of why the quality wasn't up to par. They refunded my money....no questions asked.

The burgundy one is a cotton blend. It immediately went fuzzy. I should have returned that one too but I hadn't been burned by the green one yet. It's been relegated to around the house wear only.

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Gail

Veteran

Gosh that's horrible pilling for one wearing. Knitwear wear is so hard to purchase nowadays. Definitely a swift return for sure. I bought a Madewell cardigan this winter it looks like absolute trash and I haven't worn it that much.
PS I can't get my bookmark find to work anymore either despite being logged in.

rachylou

Veteran

Gross!

Anonymous

I just had a similar experience with a Uniqlo wool Marimekko sweater.
One day of wear and it was not only fuzzy like yours but had really big pills. Even after trying to depill and smooth it, it’s one hot mess. just awful.

Sorry about your sweater!

Runcarla

Veteran

Okay. Found this. I’m going to make some notes about WHY fabrics pill, and try to AVOID buying bad products in the first place.

Long fibres (yes), acrylic, polyester, nylon (no)

https://www.today.com/style/pi.....ls-t101329

nuancedream

Veteran

How disappointing because I'm sure the color was an absolute knockout on you. Unfortunately, inconsistent quality with knitwear at all price points seems to be a given. That's why I tread cautiously with knitwear now.

nemosmom

Veteran

I had a similar experience with the BR sweater Marilyn showed above. I bought it in green and lilac - both went immediately fuzzy after one wear. Not a tolerable amount of fuzz, either. Both are now loungewear.

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Laura (rhubarbgirl)

(website)

Veteran

I was expecting acrylic in the blend, which is notorious for doing that in sweaters. But I suspect polyester can too. I buy a lot of polyester and polyester blends, but not in sweater knits. I try to stick with only cotton, silk, rayon, and/or nylon (silk and rayon can shrink and fade faster than cotton, but they add a nice drape, which is hard to find sometimes if you don't wear wool sweaters).

RobinF

Veteran

Yeah I think that is too much for one wear. So disappointing. That's not a cheap sweater in my opinion and should definitely last longer than that.

Anonymous

Ha, Marilyn - funny, but I have that teal green vneck too (bought in December I think) and really like mine! It's wearing just fine, and not fuzzing or pilling at all! What gives with these sweaters??

neatnic

I'm also suspicious of the poly in this blend and wonder if that is one contributing factor. May be something to keep on your (and our) radar.

Jenn

(website)

Veteran

The sweater Marilyn and nemosmom had looks like a cotton-acrylic blend. Angie's and Lisa's are the cotton-polyester blend, with a much higher percentage of cotton. It's a shame the latter pilled too. I would have expected better.

ETA: The green v-neck is totally different. It's a wool blend.

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