LaBalancia Short V-Neck Cardigan with Alpaca and Wool

A short V-neck cardigan with alpaca in the yarn

This short V-neck cardigan from LaBalancia stops at the waist and closes with four buttons. The knit is fuzzy and soft, and the label tells you why: 30% alpaca and 10% wool, blended with polyamide and acrylic.

It comes in one size, 52 cm long and 118 cm around the chest. Right now the maker has it in orange.

At a glance

The piece: model 209313 by LaBalancia

The maker calls it a short women's sweater with long sleeves and a V-neck, fastened with buttons. You can wear it closed as a jumper or open over a top or a shirt. That double use is the reason to own it.

The orange is a warm coral orange in the photos, closer to a ripe apricot than to a traffic cone.

Who it's for

For you if you wear high-waisted skirts and trousers and want a knit that ends where they begin. A long cardigan hides a waistband. This one sits on top of it.

It also suits you if you like colour near your face. Orange is not shy. With one size and a chest of 118 cm the cut is loose on a small frame and closer on a larger one, so read the fit notes before you order.

Closer look: what the maker's data and the photos show

• V-neck and long sleeves (maker's data)
• Button closure (maker's data); four light round buttons (photos)
• Soft knit, pleasant to the touch (maker's data); a fuzzy, brushed surface (photos)
• Dropped shoulders and roomy sleeves that narrow at the cuff (photos)
• Hem at the waistband of a high-waisted skirt on the model (photos); 52 cm long (size table)
• One size, 118 cm around the chest (size table)

The maker does not say what the buttons are made of or where the cardigan was produced, so we leave both out.

Fabric and feel: alpaca, wool and three synthetic fibres

The composition, exactly as the maker lists it: 31% polyamide, 30% alpaca, 28% acrylic, 10% wool and 1% spandex. So four tenths of the yarn comes from animals and the rest is synthetic.

Alpaca is a long, fine hair, and brushed knits made with it get the soft halo you see in the photos. The polyamide and acrylic keep the knit light. The maker describes the result as soft and pleasant to the touch. If you know that wool or alpaca itches on your skin, wear it over a top; the open, buttoned shape makes that easy.

Fit and silhouette: short and roomy, one size

There is one size. The maker's table gives a total length of 52 cm and a chest of 118 cm. That chest figure is wide for a short cardigan, which matches the photos: dropped shoulders, sleeves with room in them, a body that hangs loose and ends at the waist.

Measure a cardigan you like from the shoulder seam to the hem. If it is around 52 cm, this one will end in the same place on you. If you have a long torso it will sit higher, more cropped than on the model.

Size chart (cm)

Source: the maker's size table. The chest figure reads as the full width around the cardigan, so compare it with a cardigan you own.

Styling: closed as a jumper, open as a layer

In the photos the orange is worn buttoned up over a pink pleated mini skirt with white trainers. That is a bold mix and it works because both colours are warm.

For a calmer look, button it and tuck nothing in: high-waisted blue jeans, loafers, a small gold-tone earring. The maker suggests jeans and skirts and we agree. Worn open over a white shirt with the collar out, it turns office trousers into a Friday outfit.

Keep the bottom half plain. The colour and the fuzzy surface are enough going on.

Occasions

The maker calls it an option for any occasion, which is a little generous. We would wear it to work on a casual day, to lunch with friends and on a cool spring or autumn evening over a dress.

It is a cardigan for the months when a coat is too much and bare arms are too little. Take it along on a city trip; it weighs little and it brightens every photo.

Care: follow the label

The maker's data has no care instructions, so go by the label sewn into the cardigan. We would rather say that than guess.

Knits with alpaca and wool usually do well with a gentle approach: cool water, no wringing, drying flat on a towel. Check the label first, because it decides.

The wow detail: the halo

Look at the edge of the sleeve against the wall in the photos. The outline is soft, a little blurred, because the fibres stand up from the knit. That halo is what alpaca does, and it makes a bright orange look gentle instead of loud.

Fashion that gives back

5% of each sale goes to a cause you choose. The causes are matched to 11 of the 17 SDGs, the global goals set by the United Nations, and you decide where your share goes.

Our promise

Ships from the maker's wholesale partner in Poland, inside the EU, with tracking. The wholesaler lists up to 3 days to prepare an order; within the EU delivery usually takes 2–7 business days after dispatch. Delivery is free within the EU on orders from €69; below that it costs €4.95 in the Netherlands and €6.95 elsewhere in the EU.

You have 30 days after delivery to ask for a return, as long as the cardigan is unworn and still has its tags. Our promise is plain: if what arrives does not match what this page says, send it back within 30 days and we refund you.

More short and long knits are in our cardigans collection.