1. We wear it first
Nothing gets recommended on the strength of a product page. Where a piece is affordable enough to buy outright, we buy it, wear it for a minimum of three weeks, and wash it at least three times. Where it is not, we say so in the article and mark the entry as assessed from specification rather than tested. You will never have to guess which one you are reading.
2. We read the label, then ignore it
Fibre content is a starting point, not an answer. 100% cashmere can be a two-ply that pills in a month or a four-ply that lasts a decade, and the label will not tell you which. So we check the things the label omits: stitch density, seam allowance, whether the pattern is matched at the side seam, whether the buttons are sewn on by machine or hand, and whether the lining is attached at the hem.
3. We price it honestly
Every price quoted is the price we actually saw, with the date. Where something is permanently “on sale”, we say so — a garment that has never sold at full price is not a bargain at 40% off, it is a garment with a fictional original price. We do not quote recommended retail as though it were a real number.
4. We calculate cost per wear
A £200 coat worn 120 times a year for five years costs 33p per wear. A £40 jacket worn four times costs £10. Our buying guides show the working, because the cheaper garment is very often the more expensive decision, and the number is more persuasive than the adjective.
5. We say when the answer is nothing
This is the part that costs us money. Roughly one guide in four ends with the conclusion that the best purchase is the one you already own, or that the category is not worth buying into at this price. We publish those anyway. A recommendation you cannot trust is worth less than no recommendation at all.
What we will not do
- We do not accept payment for coverage. No sponsored posts, no paid placement inside a roundup, no brand approval of copy before publication.
- We do not rank by commission rate. Where two pieces are close, we say they are close and tell you which to buy for which reason. We do not quietly promote the higher-paying one.
- We do not recommend a category we have no business in. If we have not handled the product type, we do not write the guide.
- We do not use affiliate links inside editorial prose without marking them. Links to retailers go through a disclosed redirect.
How our links work
Retailer links route through our own redirect at /go, which shows you where you are going before it takes you there. It is not a tracker: it carries no analytics, and it shows the destination domain but not the path or parameters. Full details on the affiliate disclosure page.
Corrections
If a recommendation turns out to be wrong — a fabric that fails, a fit that runs unpredictably, a retailer that changes its sizing — we update the article and note the date. Email editors@chiceditorclub.com if we have missed one.