Two Italian Knits at 70% Off: My YOOX Haul (Dondup Alpaca Turtleneck + P.A.R.O.S.H. Mohair)
Knit season is back. Every year when the air turns cold, I stand in front of my closet thinking, "This year I'm buying one really good knit." And every year the same problem shows up: I want a truly good knit, but I also want it cheap. ๐
This year, YOOX solved that for me. I ordered two Italian knits online, and both arrived looking exactly the way I had pictured them.
First, I tried the department stores
I didn't plan to shop online at first. I walked around a Korean department store, and the premium Korean lines with the fabric and hand-feel I wanted started at around ₩500,000 for a single knit. The cheaper ones? I flipped the labels, and either the fiber content disappointed me or the fabric just didn't feel right in my hands.
Not long before that, I had ordered from a Theory outlet and sent it back. The price was fine, but it wasn't the feeling I was looking for.
I'm someone who obsesses over fabric. If I compromise just for the price, I end up never wearing the piece. So I went back to my usual supplier. Yes, YOOX. ๐
Why YOOX is my go-to
Honestly, YOOX takes unflattering product photos. If you just scroll, a lot of things look average. But if you know how to dig, there are real gems.
I've seen the exact same item on Farfetch and on YOOX, with almost a 2x price difference. If you judge only by the photos, you walk right past them.
How I hunt on YOOX
- Narrow the category. This time I filtered for knitwear only. Browsing everything just tires your eyes.
- Sort by discount. I start from the biggest markdowns and pick what I actually like.
- Read the fiber content, not the photo. A bad photo can hide great fabric. Always open the composition section.
- Add your favorite designers and your size. Even after sorting, there were 9,308 knits. How much stock do they have?! Once I added designer and size filters, the list became actually browsable.
Wasn't I worried about returns?
I was. Returns from an overseas site can be a hassle, so while ordering I was quietly praying, "Please work out, no headaches." Luckily, I didn't need to return anything this time. The product page I saw said returns were accepted within 30 days, which is a generous window.
From order to delivery
I ordered on a Saturday night. It shipped on October 12, the estimated delivery was the 16th, and it arrived a day early, on the 15th.
What I paid
| Item | Original price | I paid |
|---|---|---|
| Dondup turtleneck (IT 40) | $320 | $107 (about 67% off) |
| P.A.R.O.S.H. pullover (S) | $277 | $70 (about 75% off) |
| Shipping | $0 | |
| Korean import duty and VAT | $42.48 | |
| Total | $219.48 |
The two knits were $597 together at full price, and I paid $177, so that's about 70% off on the items alone. Duty and VAT for Korea were calculated at checkout and came to about 24% of the item price, which isn't small. My card was charged around ₩300,000 in total. Still, that's less than one ₩500,000 knit I saw at the department store.
If you're ordering from another country, duties and taxes work differently, so check what YOOX shows at checkout for your country.
1. Dondup turtleneck: a camel with no red undertone
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| Dondup alpaca wool turtleneck in clean camel |
Dondup was founded in 1999 in Fossombrone, Italy. It's best known for denim, and according to the brand, its men's and women's ready-to-wear is 100% made in Italy. Many people think "jeans" when they hear the name, but their knits turned out to be lovely too.
- Fabric: 36% alpaca, 36% wool, 28% polyamide
- Size: IT 40
- Color: listed as beige on the site, but in person it's a clean camel with no red undertone
The color
With camel, even a hint of red can make your face look dull or the whole outfit look dated. This one is a clean camel. On the site it looked slightly orange to me, but in person there's none of that. It sits quietly next to white, ivory, gray and denim, so it layers with almost anything.
The feel: really soft
It's really soft. So soft that I worried the fabric might get damaged, so I didn't hang it. I folded it and put it away. Knits hung on hangers for a long time tend to stretch at the shoulders, so the softer the knit, the safer it is to fold.
Alpaca fiber comes from the South American alpaca and is loved for being light, warm and soft. Here it's blended with an equal amount of wool, and the polyamide helps the knit hold its shape.
Size: "runs small," but I went with 40
The product page said this style runs small. Only IT 40 and IT 44 were left. For a turtleneck like this, I think a closer fit looks better than a roomy one, so I took the 40, and it worked. I usually wear a Korean size 55 (roughly a small), and IT 40 fit me just right. With Italian brands, I usually buy a 40.
How I wear it
I tried it with jeans, and it looks clean on its own. It also works as a layer under a coat or under a jacket.
2. P.A.R.O.S.H. pullover: a softly sheer cream mohair
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P.A.R.O.S.H. cream mohair sweater texture |
- Fabric: 50% mohair, 32% polyamide, 18% wool
- Size: S
- Color: cream
Comparing three mohair knits
I really love airy mohair knits that let a little of what's underneath show through. Mohair comes from the Angora goat, and its charm is the soft sheen and the fuzzy halo. So I laid this one next to the mohair knits I already own.
- Compared with my AURALEE mohair, the knit is a bit looser. Honestly, AURALEE looks a step more luxurious.
- Compared with my Fabiana Filippi mohair, the texture is quite similar. But the Fabiana is a thin turtleneck I throw on like a cape in summer, while this one is for transitional weather and for wearing under a coat in winter, so they play different roles.
Itchiness
Unless your skin is extremely sensitive, it's fine. I'm the kind of person who cuts out every inside label if it scratches, and even I was okay with this one.
Size
I usually wear a Korean 55, and the S was just right: length, shoulder width and sleeve length all fit.
How I wear it: linking the browns
I put a dark chocolate silk slip under the knit and paired it with a dark brown LilySilk Tencel skirt. The slip shows softly through the cream mohair, so the top and bottom colors connect naturally. The sheerness isn't too much, which makes it fun to change the mood just by changing the color underneath.
In winter I plan to wear it under a heavy coat. When I take the coat off indoors and this knit appears, it gives that "she knows what she's doing" feeling. ๐
I also tried it with my Hermรจs shawl, and it worked well. I tried carrรฉ scarves too, but they mix many colors, so they didn't quite match this soft cream.
Honest downsides
- Dondup: I wish the color were just a little lighter. I'm happy with the clean camel, but one shade lighter might have brightened my face more.
- P.A.R.O.S.H.: It arrived wrinkled, so I couldn't wear it right away. I had to steam it first. Knits ordered from overseas are folded tightly in transit, so plan for that if you need to wear it the day it arrives.
Neither was a reason to return, so I'm counting this haul as a win.
Before you order from YOOX
- Size labels: Italian brands use IT sizes. Read the size notes too, like "runs small."
- Fiber content: the composition tells you more about the real piece than the photo does.
- Duties and taxes: in my case (shipping to Korea), they were charged at checkout, so I paid nothing on delivery. Check how it works for your country.
- Returns: check the return period and method on the product page before you order.
In one line
- Dondup turtleneck: a clean camel with no red, really soft, and it works alone, under a coat or under a jacket.
- P.A.R.O.S.H. mohair: softly sheer, gentle enough for sensitive skin, and the knit that shines when the coat comes off.
Wanting a really good knit but wanting it cheap: it's not just me, right? This time that greed actually paid off. Where do you buy your knits? If you have online shopping tips, please share them in the comments. ๐
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