My take on the Jenni Kayne Cashmere Cocoon Cardigan

If you caught my fall wardrobe planning post, you might have seen that cozy, oversized cardigans are a pillar of my wardrobe this year.

Near the end of summer, Jenni Kayne sent me their cashmere cocoon cardigan and it quickly become the favorite sweater in my wardrobe. I’ve been so excited to share my thoughts on it, but wanted to get a few months of wear in before posting a review.

Well, today is the day!

So read on — in this post I’m sharing:

• what makes this cardigan special
• how I settled on a size and color
• my favorite ways to style it
• if it pills or itches
• how maintenance/care has looked so far

If you see something you like, you can shop it and support my blog at the same time by using the affiliate links throughout this post.

Cardigan | Bra Top | Jeans (wearing size 27) | Boots (similar) | Necklace | Earrings | Sunnies

What makes it special

There are so many things that make the cashmere cocoon cardigan special:

• the light, yet warm and cozy cashmere
• the classic design that transcends trends
• the impeccable quality and construction

But here’s the one thing that excites me most:

The drape.

It’s everything.

A lot of cardigans have a band of ribbing at the bottom that fits a bit tighter than the rest of the cardigan, creating this balloon effect at the hip when buttoned up. I don’t love this.

But this cardigan doesn’t do that balloon effect thing at all. Instead, it flows and drapes away from the body at the hip even when buttoned.

In my experience, this is a rare find and it’s absolutely lovely.

Sizing

When it came to choosing a size, my most important factor was the hip measurement. I wanted to be able to wear this cardigan buttoned up, as a true sweater, so it needed to fit loosely over my hips.

My measurements are: 30″ bust, 27″ waist, 37″ hip and I’m 5’5″. My size according to their sizing chart would be a S which is what I ended up getting, and it fits exactly like I wanted. Oversized, but not too much. Flowy over the hips, a touch of extra room in the body, and the sleeves hit somewhere between my wrist and knuckles.

(I often pull my sweater sleeves down over my hands, and I did that in a lot of these photos without realizing it — the best photo showing accurate sleeve length is the photo at the very beginning of the post.)

Cardigan | Bra Top | Jeans (wearing size 27) | Sunnies | Clogs | Bag | Cap

Color

Choosing a color might have been the hardest part. There are so many beautiful shades to choose from! I nearly chose ivory at one point, taupe at another point.

But ultimately, I decided on black. I’m so happy with this decision.

I know that I love wearing black, so it wasn’t a style risk to choose black — which is important because I don’t want to take style risks on investment pieces.

Plus! With it being such an investment piece, I didn’t want to worry about accidentally staining it with just one spill. And I wanted to ensure that it would be a piece I would wear without a second thought — I didn’t want to do that save-it-for-special-occasions-and-never-end-up-wearing-it thing.

Some of my favorite ways to style it

These days, I’m very into baggy jeans with baggy sweaters — but I like to contrast it with a bit of skin showing or a fierce heel. The Jenni Kayne cardigan has the loveliest deep V that offsets all the bagginess and gives the whole look an effortlessly sensual vibe. 

I’m wearing this plunge bra top underneath in this post — I love how it stays hidden, yet keeps me covered.

Here are a few other ways I wear it:

• Buttoned up over black skinny jeans with black combat boots or Docs
• Open over a white tee tucked into classic straight leg jeans with minimal black flip flops.
• Buttoned up over bike shorts with white sneakers and socks
• Open over a short dress with tall boots

Cardigan | Bra Top | Jeans (wearing size 27) | Boots (similar) | Necklace | Earrings | Sunnies

Does it pill?

There’s a pill here and there, but overall it’s very minimal. I haven’t felt the need to pull out my sweater comb to de-pill it, even after several months of regular wear.

I think the black color also makes any pilling much less noticeable, which is bonus.

It’s important to note that any sweater, no matter how high or low the quality, will pill over time. That’s just the nature of knits. (If you’re interested, I go in-depth on pills and sweater care in my post here.)

Is it itchy?

In my experience, it’s not itchy and is incredibly soft. In fact, I regularly wear it without a layer underneath it.

Keep in mind that I don’t have any allergies to natural fibers like cashmere or wool. If you do, your experience may be different than mine.

Cardigan | Bra Top | Jeans (wearing size 27) | Sunnies | Clogs | Earrings

Care

This is a dry clean only sweater. But there are ways to significantly reduce the need for dry cleaning. Here are my best tips:

• Wear a layer underneath it. Moths are attracted to skin cells, so the less it touches your skin, the less it needs dry cleaning.
• Be mindful around food. Food particles attract moths, so be a little extra mindful when you’re eating. If you find little crumblies on it, you might consider dry cleaning it soon-ish. At the very least, make sure to give it a good shake and spritz it with sweater spray.

I plan to give mine a good mid-season dry clean. Then, I’ll keep it fresh by steaming it, lint rolling it, and spritzing it with a sweater freshening spray.

Hopefully that will get me through to the end of the season, when I’ll dry clean it one last time before it goes into storage.

So all in all, that’s just two dry cleans over the course of one whole season. Not too bad.

• • •

And there you have it!

Jenni Kayne is currently having their annual 25% off sale, so now is a good time to get the cashmere cocoon cardigan at a pretty hefty discount.

Of course, if it’s not something you need right now, don’t feel any sale pressure to buy it. Jenni Kayne has carried this cardigan for several years, and I’m assuming they’ll continue to carry it in the future. It’ll be there when it’s the right time for you.

I hope you’re having a wonderful November! Stay warm and cozy!