In this installment of our Is It Worth It? review series, we take a closer look at the iconic men’s scarf from Burberry in the trademark check made with 100% cashmere and find out whether it’s worth the hefty price tag.
A Brief History of Burberry
Burberry was established by namesake, Thomas Burberry, in 1856 with a simple mission, to protect people from British weather. A few years later in 1879, Burberry developed gabardine fabric which, at the time, was a breakthrough in terms of weatherproofing fabric. Gabardine in cotton is a traditional fabric used even in trench coats today, and Burberry is closely associated with the trench coat.
Thomas Burberry
In the 1920s, for the first time, Burberry trademarked their signature checked lining, many call it Nova Check. Burberry themselves, today, call it vintage check. Basically, it’s a traditional checked pattern with a beige or camel-colored background with white and black plaid on top, as well as a red windowpane. Today, Burberry calls it Archive Beige. Just like many other heritage brands, Burberry has developed a way from a functional item more towards a high-fashion brand. Because of that, Burberry uses trademark check for branding all over the place. They also have an interlock B branding but it’s far less iconic than the Nova Check.
In my opinion, most of Burberry’s fashion-forward clothing and accessory lines today are a far cry from their elegant past. Nevertheless, the Burberry check is still synonymous with Burberry as a brand. Today, you can find this check plastered all over sneakers, handbags, scarves, and even overcoats. In fact, you can even find shirts, wallets, and shorts in Nova Check plaid. While the Burberry check used to be a hidden detail on the inside that wasn’t visible to the wearer, it’s now on the outside and it’s screams to everyone “Look at me, I can afford this.” That being said, the classic Burberry scarf with a Nova Check is one of those items that could still be worth having in your wardrobe because it’s such an iconic design and a quality item that is so small that it’s not like plastered all over your outfit.
The Nova Check
The Burberry Check Scarf
As we always do, we wanted to buy the most iconic and traditional version of the scarf, that meant a classic pattern in their archive beige colorway. Turns out, what Burberry calls the classic check is, in fact, an oversized check that is very popular and comes in 33 different colorways including the archive beige. What we want, though, is something more appropriate for gentlemen, it is called the classic vintage check. Unfortunately, that one only comes in 9 colorways, not including the archive beige so we picked a scarf that was as close to that color as possible which is called antique yellow.
In my mind, both background colors are camel colors, with the antique yellow being a little more yellowish and the archive beige being a little more khaki tone-ish. Frankly, I was surprised I couldn’t find the original scale scarf in the original traditional color scheme but that just shows to me that Burberry doesn’t care all that much about their heritage anymore. Honestly, a glimpse through the men’s cashmere scarf section on the Burberry website confirms that, there are a lot of designs out there, not much classic stuff. Burberry offers a range of different scarf materials, we went with the king of scarf materials, cashmere. On the website, it retails for $470, we got ours at Bloomingdale’s which is an official retailer of Burberry scarves at $430. It’s still marked as a retail price on the tag so I think that must be an old stock and we still got it at that price.
Burberry antique yellow cashmere scarf
Details
These days, Burberry scarves are heavily faked because of that, you can find a lot of tags in the scarf. There’s one regular tag, there’s two care tags, as well as one hand tag. Fake Burberry products often have issues with the details, maybe the R on the tag is not quite like the one on the original or there’s no serial number. On this original Burberry scarf, you have the little hang tags and you can see that Burberry bears the Royal Warrant of Queen Elizabeth II, as well as Prince Charles.
While going through their product description on the website, unsurprisingly, Burberry provides very little detail about the scarf. We learned that it’s 168 centimeters by 30 centimeters which is 66.1 inches by 11.8 inches wide. Frankly, for men, that is quite short, especially if you want to wear it as a sling around your neck. In terms of weight, there’s no information but we weighed the scarf and it just comes in under 150 grams which is about 5.25 ounces. It says the scarf is made of 100% cashmere but as we learned in our Cashmere Explained guide, not all cashmere is alike.
Burberry FAQ section
Where It’s Made
If you dig through their FAQ, you’ll learn that they’re made in Scotland at two historic mills; one in Elgin and one in Ayr. Unfortunately, Burberry doesn’t tell you exactly what manufacturer makes those scarves but if you dig a little deeper, you’ll find that in Elgin, there is a manufacturer called Johnstons of Elgin. I watched one of Burberry’s videos which describes how their scarves are made. If you take a closer look, you’ll see that they show the factory. If you take a look at this photo from Johnstons of Elgin, you will know that the producer is most likely Johnstons of Elgin. Obviously, the chimney in the buildings is the same.
On the other hand, in the Scottish Ayr, there’s a company by the name of Begg & Co which also produces high quality cashmere scarves. My guess is Begg and Johnstons of Elgin are two producers for Burberry scarves. Both producers have been making and weaving cashmere for over 150 years and they’re known for their high quality. Because of the reputation, they’re likely also more concerned about the quality they put out. Frankly, I was a bit surprised to read in a Burberry website that the scarf was treated with teasels to create that soft finish known from a good cashmere scarf. You can see it utilized in their video and that’s certainly an added production step that is more expensive. That being said, both Johnstons of Elgin and Begg both use teasels in their finishing process. Unfortunately, what they don’t share in that Burberry video is the origin of the cashmere and the quality of it, the staple length, and the thickness.
Combed under hair cashmere fibers
Material
These days, all high quality raw cashmere materials origins in Mongolia and China. In the video, you can see how the raw cashmere is spun into yarns and both Johnstons of Elgin and Begg do that today. Begg claims to utilize cashmere that has a thickness of 15 to 6 and a half microns but doesn’t mention anything about the staple length. Johnstons of Elgin neither mentions the thickness of the material nor the staple length on their website. So what does good quality cashmere look like? In a nutshell, a quality woven cashmere scarf should not be stretchy and once you pull in another direction, it should spring back into its shape. Also, higher-quality cashmere usually come in a tighter weave. That being said, if we’re testing the Burberry scarf for those two things, it passes with honors. It’s a very densely woven cashmere, it springs back into its original shape.
Fort Belvedere VS Burberry
Burberry vs Fort Belvedere
Price Points
With a retail price of $470, how does it stack up compared to other cashmere scarves on the market? Let’s take a look at this Fort Belvedere cashmere scarf which retails for$195. It comes in a range of classic patterns or solids without any bold logos or branding. Just like the Burberry scarves, Fort Belvedere uses the finest Mongolian and Chinese cashmere. The cashmere runs anywhere from 15 to 16 and a half microns thick which is just as thin as what Begg uses. We also use long cashmere fibers that are between 35-50 millimeters long. The cashmere yarn is made in Germany, woven into scarves in Germany, as well, so it’s another high-cost country and not made in Asia.
The weight of a Fort Belvedere scarf is about 120 grams which is just about 4.25 ounces so it’s about 30 grams or an ounce less. It’s also finished with natural teasels to create that soft nap. In terms of dimensions, it’s also 30 centimeters wide or about 12 inches but it’s a full 6 inches longer, measuring in at 180 centimeters. For men, I find that length to be perfect and we tested many sizes and we finally settled on this length simply because it is fine if you wear it like I’m doing here right now but also, if you try to go with a sling.
Feel of the Scarves
Frankly, I think the Burberry scarf is woven a little more densely. At the same time, the Fort Belvedere scarf feels a lot softer to the touch. You can also see it has a more extended nap and I like the feeling of the Fort Belvedere scarf on my skin more. A Fort Belvedere scarf is obviously 20% lighter but the retail price is also 59% lower. If you compare weight to weight, the Fort Belvedere scarves cost about half of whatever great scarves cost.
The Burberry scarf can be a little too short for men
Is the Burberry Scarf Worth It?
First of all, I think scarves are fantastic products for cashmere because that’s where you need the warmth, that’s where you enjoy the softness and unlike a cashmere sweater, you don’t really have to worry about friction and pilling because you just don’t get that when you wear it around your neck. For $470, you get a high-quality cashmere product made in Scotland at a high level with lots of hand labor involved. It will likely last for years to come and if you consider the cost per wear, it’s not that big of a deal. If, for some reason, you don’t like it anymore, chances are you can resell your Burberry cashmere scarf for a much higher value than regular cashmere scarves in the market.
That being said, there are lots of fakes out there and people might think you’re selling them a fake unless you have the original purchase receipt and all the tags still on there but when you wear it, I don’t like having these big tags on my scarf. So if you want to take them off, maybe take a video of them, in case you ever want to sell the scarf. Even though the quality of the cashmere is extremely high, I really dislike the dimensions; 160 centimeters or just 66.1 inches are simply too short in my book.
I still find this classic vintage pattern attractive even though it has been so heavily utilized by Burberry. If you don’t like this colorway, Burberry has 8 different ones and you can even get your initials embroidered onto your scarf. Personally, I think a classic herringbone pattern is better suited for a classic man’s wardrobe than this Burberry check because it’s almost like a brand name like a big H from Hermes or a Gucci belt that just screams look at me I can afford this expensive product. However, chances are you like the pattern of a Burberry scarf and if that’s the case, I think the scarf can be worth it. You’re getting, after all, a high quality product. Also, if you don’t mind paying twice as much to comparable cashmere scarves and you really want that Burberry feeling, then it can be worth it for you.
These days, you can find many other cashmere scarf brands that imitated a pattern without the Burberry logo. In my personal opinion, the shortness of the scarf is a deal-breaker for me and therefore, not worth it for me. If you don’t care about that, you can live with that, I think it can be a viable option if you’re prepared to pay $470 for it.
What is your take on the Burberry scarf? Do you own one or consider buying one? Let us know in the comments!
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