Summary:

I bought three vicuña coats worth $47K because, as a personal shopper, I need to experience products before recommending them. Exploring Kiton and Loro Piana with blends from 10% to 100% vicuña revealed warmth, softness, and refinement. The journey wasn’t without lessons on travel challenges and durability.

In this series:

Part 1: Vicuna Introduction

Part 2: Personal Experience

Part 3: Fabric Details and Research Links - Coming Soon

Read in 6 minutes.

I purchased three vicuña coats, brand new, worth a total value of ~$47,000. There are basically no reviews or first-hand information online, and before I start recommending these to my clients, I wanted to fully understand the product. And no (even though I'm going to mention Loro Piana a lot) this post is not sponsored. I paid for these. 

So because vicuña is fairly pricey, I did this over the course of a year and with blends running from 10% vicuña to 100% pure, full Peruvian vicuña. 

Sportcoat: Kiton @ 10% Vicuña

My first purchase was a $10,900 sportcoat from Kiton with a 90/10 blend of cashmere/vicuña and took that jacket to Pitti Uomo in January of 2024. Now as anyone who knows me can tell you, I own far too many coats for an Atlanta address, and that's because I get cold very easily. And also, I like clothes. But when I’m in Italy in the winter, I always feel like my coats aren't heavy enough—I layer and drape, but it doesn't help. Wearing that vicuña blazer was the first time I didn't feel like I really needed a huge overcoat. There was an immediate weight and bulk savings without sacrificing warmth.

My second and third purchases were last month in NYC, where I picked up a $15,100 baby cashmere/vicuña knit bomber and a $20,900 pure vicuña coat called the Firenze with a shape very reminiscent of a classic Barbour Bedale.

Sweater: Loro Piana @ 20% Vicuña

The bomber is constructed in what Loro Piana calls The Blend: part baby cashmere, part vicuña with an extra thick chest panel akin to double faced. Because the bomber is knit and unlined, it is definitely the most wearable of the three on a daily basis. The level of softness is hard to overstate—and since vicuña is such a responsive fiber, I can easily wear this in the car or on a plane without feeling like I need to immediately peel it off once the interior temperature normalizes. It also is the easiest to roll up in my tote for quick access and the right thickness to act as a midlayer in case of extreme cold.

People also tend to double take when I wear the bomber because, although it is a simple, baseball-collared, banded-waist, zippered sweater, something is different. It catches light in a unique way and the color is rich without being overly vibrant. It's one of those things I assume people don’t comment on because they don’t have the words to describe exactly what makes it look special, despite its very normal appearance.

The only downside I’ve found to this particular sweater is that it makes the baby cashmere girocollo I picked up last year from LP feel like sandpaper. Not really, but the hedonic treadmill is on full speed with anything vicuña. 

Coat: Loro Piana @ 100% Vicuña

The pure vicuña Firenze is a completely different story. I decided to bring it with me on a recent trip to DC and immediately noticed the difficulty of traveling with 100% vicuña in the pre-check line. I was burning up—and I was only wearing a short sleeved cotton polo under it. To be fair to the Firenze, it is both pure vicuña and lightly padded, so I was experiencing almost all of the heat retention Loro Piana can muster. Despite the security line being in relatively close proximity to the entrance, I found myself preferring the chill of the lobby to the sweltering heat of the coat. And so I spent the remainder of my trip with the vicuña essentially becoming an extra piece of hand luggage or a cape when I could bear it. On the plane, I asked the flight attendant to place it in the coat check, only to find myself unusually conscious about a coat as expensive as my first car out of eyesight. Since I firmly believe you shouldn't own something you're not going to use, this coat clearly requires an adjustment to my level of risk tolerance.

There are obviously secondary costs that come with wearing relatively expensive items (watches, jewelry), like opting for car service instead of the Metro or Subway. If you’re considering vicuña, this is probably already a lifestyle choice, but it’s something that did occur to me in a particular Uber ride when the Metro would have been more convenient.

Once I arrived in DC with a temperature in the high 40s, my utilization of the jacket still didn't change. I removed it every chance I got—while waiting for bags, in every Uber, at every hostess stand. That was, until night fell. I decided to walk the National Mall after sunset and suddenly gained a new appreciation for the coat.

My companion, who was wrapped in a long sleeved shirt, sweater, and wool overcoat, was still visibly cold. I, in my short sleeved cotton polo and unzipped vicuña, felt fine. Comfortable and light, even. As the night progressed and the wind picked up, especially wind off the reflecting pool, I did feel the need to zip up and found, 30 minutes into my walk from the Lincoln Memorial to the Washington Monument, that though my core was exceedingly warm, the rest of my outfit hadn't prepared me for the drop in temperature. Which left me contemplating vicuña’s place in the wardrobe and how one should layer it. Here's my best estimation:

Conclusions & Recommendations:

If you live in a city that primarily uses cars or you employ a car service, the shorter length vicuña I purchased would be the ideal coat to keep in your office and toss on over a suit in the middle of winter to get to the car or dash to a taxi. In these circumstances, you’re never really outside long enough to need something longer in length, and the vicuña will certainly keep you comfortable while waiting for the car, in a taxi with a drafty window, or waiting for your reservation to be called.

However, if you live a pedestrian life, the coat I purchased is one you should avoid. I would recommend spending the extra $10k to buy the full length version. The scenario in which you consider wearing vicuña is one where you will either need to heavily layer the rest of your outfit (negating the weight savings of vicuña) or you simply need more vicuña coverage to balance out across your body. 

You should also be conscious about the finishing of the coat you choose. An unlined piece like my bomber is far more flexible than the padded lining version that is truly meant for very cold weather. There are also mink lined options (boutique only, $65k+) that take this to another level. However, outside of LP’s annual Villa event, I’ve only seen those in mid-length varieties, so I have to guess that's only for a convertible in St. Moritz in the winter.

Lastly, my coat left my hands freezing. The absence of windcuffs makes it very usable over tailoring, but I would have loved a cashmere- or vicuña-lined pocket, rather than the cotton it actually has.

Who vicuña is for: someone who has to have absolutely the very best—the softest items with the most warmth in the lightest package.

Who should avoid vicuña: someone who is considering vicuña purely for the warmth as their only coat but who otherwise might be upset about a stain, spill, or tear on a $20,000-$60,000 coat. The partial medullation of the vicuña fiber that makes it so warm also makes it somewhat delicate, so this is not a BIFL item. Also, vicuña is not for anyone who takes even a passing interest in cost.

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Joshua Davis is the creative director for Monogram Styling, a luxury acquisition and image consulting firm with regular service to Atlanta, New York, Washington, D.C. and by appointment to clients worldwide. We manage the details of luxury.