The Row Ophelia Sweater
The internet's favorite sweater finally gets a review
There are certain pieces that hold lore in my mind; and The Row Ophelia sweater is one of them. It is the piece that I see most often recommended and raved about in Substack chats or Instagram but I don’t know anyone who actually owns it. Well, friends, it’s our lucky day because has come to the rescue to provide us the full scoop on THE sweater heard round the internet.
I am currently sitting on an airplane using my sweater as a blanket to shield myself from the frigid blast of the A/C. The sweater is gray and nondescript; I am 99% sure that my seatmate has no idea that it retails full price for $1,550. This is quiet luxury, I think. I am neither Jennifer Lawrence nor a member of the Roy family, and I am extraordinarily discerning about what I believe is "worth it" when it comes to spending my hard-earned money. Yet here I am, casually wearing The Row Ophelia sweater that has at least three very good lower-priced "dupes" available on the market.
I moved to the East Coast from Northern California this past summer and spent the fall stocking upon a good puffer coat and several sweaters. For context, I am 5'4" with a petite frame, and I gravitate towards cropped, fitted clothing. Oversized everything tends to make me look like I am a child wearing a grown man's clothing, but the images of Kendall Jenner in her slouchy Ophelia sweater, probably insouciantly thrown on en route to Pilates, had me in a chokehold. I wanted to be that girl, even though I am a good 6 inches shorter than Kendall. Would a sweater from The Row help me capture that essence? I knew the fallacies of this logic, but one can always hope. I imagined styling it loosey-goosey, effortlessly untucked with straight leg jeans or a pair of silky pants or a sheer embellished skirt.
My diligence consisted of Substack reviews (including the One Star Review of La Ligne’s Marin) and TikTok try-ons. I narrowed my candidates to La Ligne's Marin and the Cos sweater as possible lookalikes, hoping they would scratch the itch at a lower price point, and ordered The Row Ophelia as a comparison. The resulting try-on I posted to TikTok was this:
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I asked for opinions on which to keep, but watching the video back, I realized: I didn't really like any of them on me. The Cos collar was restricting, and I didn't like the shoulders. I liked the Marin sweater better, but it lacked the dramatic sleeves. Both were thinner and drapey-er than The Row sweater. They were fine, but I knew that I wouldn't reach for them over any of my other sweaters.
The Row sweater, on the hand, had heft. Too much heft. Even in a size small, it gave the dreaded child-playing-dress-up vibe. It was wide in the body, and combined with the dramatic sleeves and mid-thigh length (it hit much closer to the hip on my favorite taller influencers), was much too oversized in every dimension on me. It was clearly a sweater of very high quality, but I knew it was not for me. I returned all three, disappointed that a look I wanted to work for me just didn't. I had to admire it from afar.
Months later, I popped into a Neiman Marcus where a single gray Ophelia sweater was on display in a size XS. I asked to try it on, just in case one size down would make a difference. Yet again, the sweater looked comically large on me.
"What if you tuck it in?" the sales associate asked me. Are we still doing that? Hesitating, I tucked the front of the sweater into my belt. Hmm. I pushed up my sleeves slightly so that the ballooning upper arm bunched slightly. I turned 360 in the mirror. The knit sloped off my upper back and cocooned behind me untucked. Sick.
I didn't buy it that day but kept tabs on it on resale sites. I found an XS in gray on Poshmark, substantially less than $1,550 after negotiation. When it finally arrived, I ripped open the package and tried it on, sleeves pushed up and half tucked using a belt around my waist. I wore it with my favorite flowy The Row Gala pants1 in white with a pair of white pointed toe flats from Steve Madden. I felt cool. Unbothered. Cosplaying rich-rich.
TL;DR
The Marin sweater is slimmer and more flattering (which, I admit, I still care about) untucked than the Ophelia sweater untucked if you are petite. But wearing the Ophelia with a millennial front tuck and a sliver of wrist showing, the magic unfolded for me. If I had to dissect out the elemental quality that made me re-buy it after I let it go, it would be this: the magic lies in its chunk. The wool-cashmere blend is incredibly thick and densely woven, which both keeps you warm on a refrigerated plane and helps preserve its intrinsic shape so that when you front tuck it, it falls just so away from you. It is also the perfect gray. At first glance, it is monochromatic, but on closer inspection, you see tiny variations of light and dark gray interlaced. Everything and nothing, all at once. It neither reveals evidence of my son's sticky fingers nor my dog's blond hairs. It is so soft, softer than my Khaite Scarlet Cardigan. Since buying it, I have worn it half tucked to walk with my son around the neighborhood with cropped jeans and lug sole boots, to travel paired with heather gray sweatpants, to a work dinner with my gala pants and a trench.
The Ophelia is not a need for anyone, and it may not even be right for you. It may even be less versatile than a thinner, less expensive sweater, depending on your proportions and how you want to wear it. But if you are even considering purchasing it, just try it. Tucked and untucked, with different bottoms, with a tee underneath and without. You may just find that it is indeed an anchor in your wardrobe, and worth the cost of buying either full-price or on resale2 (Canadian readers here!3)
Links for all items posted can be found here.
Editor’s Note: We need a review of these, no?!
Found an XS on TRR!!
Found a M on Grailed
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Obviously you do you, but if you have to stand a certain way, and fuss with a $1500 sweater to look good maybe it’s not a good sweater regardless of the label. And granted I’ve never touched this sweater. Maybe it feels like kittens. And that alone makes it worth it. I guess I’m just confused by the obsession.
The review we all needed!! Love your writing and transparency Arhana!
As someone who has tried these three on, I totally agree that The Row version just has a density to it whereas the others are a bit more soft and lofty and spongey. I love your perspective that none are necessarily better than the other, but it just depends on what you instinctually resonate with. I’m so glad you re-tried the Ophelia and played around with the styling to get you to that moment of “sick.” - it’s such a good wardrobe unlock feeling!!