Wardrobe Ledger

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ARKET

Buy ARKET by the exact cloth, and use the factory line it gives you. Every product page names composition, certification and the supplier's factory, city and headcount, which is more than most labels disclose at any price. The strongest buys are the weight-labelled 170, 220 and 270gsm cotton tees (€19–39), 100% wool and cashmere knits (€59–159), 100% cotton Oxfords and chinos (€59–69) and pure-wool tailoring (€139). Read the percentage before the name: the €89 alpaca-merino jumper is 35% polyester, and most shorts are blends or synthetics. Make varies by product and even by colour — tees from Türkiye and Bangladesh, Oxfords from India, most knitwear and outerwear from China, the house loafer from Portugal. ARKET is Stockholm-designed and Swedish-owned; the flag says nothing about where an item was sewn.

Scores

6.0C€€€ → €€ on sale

Quality
6/10
Design
6/10
Appeal
6/10

Usually €19–299

What to buy, and what to skip

  • StrongT-Shirts

    Usually €19–49Buy at or below €30

    The clearest entry point because ARKET labels weight instead of calling everything heavyweight. The 170gsm tee is €19 and the 220gsm €29, both 100% cotton made in Bangladesh; the 270gsm oversized cut is €39, part recycled and part organic cotton, from Deniz Tekstil in Türkiye. Interlock at €39–49 adds 4% elastane and comes from Vietnam. UNIQLO is cheaper for dependable basics; COS asks similar money for more authored proportion. Buy the 220gsm tee around €25–30 or the 270gsm cut around €30–35 when its shape works.

  • StrongKnitwear

    Usually €59–169Buy at or below €80

    The top and bottom of the ladder are clear: fine merino around €59, a 100% merino polo €69, a 100% RWS-wool heavy crew €79, a 100% wool zip cardigan €99 and a GCS-certified pure cashmere crew €159. The middle is where to read labels — the €89 alpaca-merino jumper is 35% polyester, 31% alpaca, 31% wool and 3% elastane, and a €99 wool-blend cardigan is 18% polyamide. Most knitwear is made in China; the dark-mole heavy crew and the cashmere crew name a factory in Myanmar, the light-grey heavy crew a Vietnamese one. UNIQLO is the cheaper fine gauge, COS the more sculptural knit and MAERZ the specialist. A pure-wool crew around €65–80 is the strongest buy.

  • DecentPolo

    Usually €39–89Buy at or below €55

    Piqué sits around €39–49 and a 100% merino polo at €69; a €169 pure-cashmere polo is a luxury outlier. Between them the rail is mostly blends: a knitted polo is 61% cotton and 33% polyamide, the lightweight polo 50% cotton and 50% lyocell from Türkiye, a cotton-silk version 95/5. Most of the knitted polos are made in China. Lacoste and Fred Perry have the garment history and COS the more directional proportion. Buy a high-cotton piqué around €40–50 or the merino polo near €55–65.

  • DecentShirts

    Usually €59–99Buy at or below €60

    The regular Oxford is 100% cotton at €59, made by Laguna India; a 100% cotton poplin from Türkiye is around €69, and twill and overshirts run €79–99, the overdyed twill from Bangladesh. A 60/40 cotton-lyocell shirt shares the rail, so check which one you are holding. The restrained cuts make a useful daily shirt. Mango sells clear 100% linen and cotton for less; COS earns its premium with more distinctive shape. Buy a cotton Oxford or twill around €50–65 after checking opacity, collar and sleeve fit.

  • DecentSweats & Hoodies

    Usually €39–99Buy at or below €55

    Better than the category usually is. Seven of eight current crews and hoodies are 100% cotton: a €39 mid-weight crew from Bangladesh, €69 heavyweight and relaxed crews and a €79 hood from Türkiye, and a €79 half-zip and €99 zip hoodie from Bangladesh. The exception is the €79 scuba zip hoodie, at 80% cotton, 14% polyester and 6% elastane. No GSM is printed, so compare the hand weight in store. UNIQLO is cheaper for basics and Carhartt WIP has the stronger workwear fleece identity. Buy an all-cotton heavyweight around €50–60.

  • DecentTrousers

    Usually €69–139Buy at or below €85

    The €69 straight chino is 100% cotton from Tusuka in Bangladesh; casual trousers run €79–99, and the €139 wide tailored trouser has a 100% RWS-wool shell with cotton lining, made in China. Similar-looking tailoring is not all pure — a relaxed tailored pair is 61% wool and 39% cotton, another wool-cotton trouser 69/31 — so the word “wool” in the name is not enough. COS has stronger silhouette authorship, Massimo Dutti more traditional finishing and Mango cheaper wool at the entry level. Buy the chino around €55–70 or the pure-wool trouser around €90–110 after testing rise, lining and hem.

  • DecentJeans

    Usually €69–99Buy at or below €70

    The PARK regular-straight jean is €79 and the OCEAN loose-straight €89. PARK is 100% cotton, mostly organic with some recycled, sewn by Tarasima Apparels in Bangladesh. The rail covers familiar clean fits without a named mill or fabric weight. UNIQLO's Kaihara selvedge has the stronger fabric argument for less, Levi's owns the archive and COS offers more shape. Buy a pair around €60–75 for its rise and leg, after checking whether the wash is rigid or stretch.

  • DecentJackets & Coats

    Usually €99–299Buy at or below €170

    City layers run from a €99 denim jacket through canvas, quilted and waxed styles around €129–179 to wool coats at €229–299. Read the exact product: the €159 short waxed jacket has a 100% cotton shell, the €179 waxed coat is 53% polyamide and 47% cotton, the €299 double-face coat is pure RWS wool, and the €259 down jacket uses 80% recycled down under a polyamide shell. All four are made in China, the waxed and down styles at the same Hubei factory, and none carries a waterproof rating. COS is the sharper silhouette reference; outdoor specialists give clearer weather data. Buy a waxed or wool city coat around €150–200.

  • DecentBags

    Usually €29–159Buy at or below €70

    A practical size ladder: a €29 canvas tote in 100% cotton from Bangladesh, a €49 ripstop messenger, a €59 waxed-canvas tote and 36-, 48- and 72-hour travel bags around €79–159, the nylon and waxed pieces made in China. That is more purposeful than a decorative logo pouch, though no load, abrasion or weather specification is published, and the same page sells Klättermusen, which is not ARKET's own. UNIQLO is the cheap light-bag comparison; Fjällräven and The North Face build stronger daily carrying systems. Buy a waxed-canvas or well-organised mid-size bag around €60–80 after inspecting straps and base.

  • AvoidShorts

    The €49–59 rail is mostly not what the names suggest. Only the €49 linen short is a single natural fibre — 100% linen, made in Bangladesh. Cotton towelling is 43% cotton, 39% modal and 18% polyamide; relaxed jersey shorts are 59% cotton and 39% polyester; the lightweight, sport and technical-seersucker styles are polyamide or polyester, all made in China. Mango sells plain linen for similar or less, COS has the more authored tailored cut and training brands make clearer sport shorts. Buy the linen pair on sale if it fits; skip the rest at full price.

  • AvoidFootwear

    ARKET's own leather loafers are about €199 and chukka or Chelsea boots around €229. The €199 loafer is made by an 81-person maker in Portugal, with cow-leather upper and lining and a thermoplastic-rubber sole — a respectable origin, but no stitched construction, resoling route or repeatable last is published, and specialist makers sell resoleable welted shoes for not much more. The shoe page also stocks Adidas, Keen and others; do not credit ARKET for those. Buy only after an exact fit and sole inspection.

  • AvoidPerformance & Sport

    ARKET ACTIVE extends the calm wardrobe into movement, mostly in polyamide and polyester made in China — the ACTIVE cargo trouser is 65% polyester, 35% cotton. The range publishes no activity testing, waterproof or breathability ratings. Treat these as casual or light-exercise clothes. UNIQLO supplies clearer everyday temperature layers; Nike, Adidas and outdoor specialists have more use-specific evidence.

On the design score

H&M Group opened ARKET on London's Regent Street in August 2017 as a “modern-day market”: its own clothing for men, women and children, homeware, a curated edit of other brands and New Nordic cafés, under a stated aim to “democratise quality”. The name is Swedish for “sheet of paper”. Lars Axelsson and Ulrika Bernhardtz led it at launch; Pernilla Wohlfahrt is managing director now and Ella Soccorsi heads design. Within the group it shares COS's price tier but makes a different argument: COS sells a cut, ARKET sells a cloth. Design is 6 for that reason. The Stockholm studio edits neutral colour, workwear, soft tailoring, simple knits and travel accessories into a calm, consistent wardrobe, and the ARKET Sans wordmark, homeware and cafés make the shop recognisable — but remove the label and a regular Oxford, straight chino or wool crew could belong to several peers. COS reaches 7 through distinctive volume; UNIQLO reaches 7 through HEATTECH, AIRism and its other fabric systems. ARKET sits with Mango's well-edited familiar forms, presented more consistently. Quality is 7. The EU range names a 270gsm 100% cotton tee, 100% RWS-wool and GCS-cashmere knits, cotton denim and chinos and pure-wool tailored trousers at prices below many premium labels, and each page names the factory: Deniz Tekstil in Denizli for the heavy tee, Laguna India for the Oxford, Tusuka and Tarasima in Bangladesh for chinos and PARK jeans, Chinese factories for tailoring and waxed outerwear, and an 81-person Portuguese maker for the loafer. That disclosure also shows the gaps. Three years after H&M Group told Reuters it would gradually leave Myanmar, the dark-mole heavy wool crew and the pure cashmere crew still name a Yangon factory, while the same wool crew in light grey comes from Vietnam. The middle of the knit rail leans on blends, there is no brand-wide repair service and no independent durability data, so seven describes the best of the range rather than all of it. Appeal is 6. Fifty-five stores in 22 physical markets in H&M Group's May 2026 table, design-press attention and collaborations with Barbour and Laila Gohar give ARKET a real European design audience; the quiet mark and smaller footprint keep it below COS at 7, and the parent's fame is not ARKET's.

Who owns it

H&M Group (Sweden, listed)

Also owned by H&M Group

Owned by

How this was judged

Researched. Confidence high, checked 2026-09.

Supporting sources

Sources reviewed: . Product pages support the stated specifications and catalogue price examples, not durability claims or our editorial scores. Prices and availability vary by country and date; buying targets are our recommendations.

Wardrobe Ledger is an independent clothing research project and is not affiliated with the brands listed.

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