I tried on five looks at Falconeri’s new Stockholm flagship. Now I need a bigger wardrobe

I am a magpie. I have always been more drawn to a sparkle or an interesting befeathered texture than to anything resembling a “timeless basic”, which made a store devoted to oatmeal and grey cashmere an unlikely place to find me. Least of all on one of the bleakest days Stockholm has seen in a long time, with freezing rain, grey skies, and not even the Christmas decorations that have cropped up along Biblioteksgatan (our main shopping street) able to cheer things up.

Falconeri is, after all, the sort of store you go to if you’re a material connoisseur, and its new-and-improved Stockholm home wastes no time proving it. Cashmere sweaters are folded high along the walls, the kind of come-touch-me soft (like a fluffy pet) that makes it impossible not to. I didn’t even try. The store runs in classic Falconeri colours – Italian, quiet luxury (even if quiet luxury has lost all meaning with its saturated overuse) – while the pale wood drawers housing the extra sizes are perhaps a polite nod to Scandinavia.

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But it was the light that won me over. We’ve all had a changing-room meltdown or two in our day, most often thanks to warping mirrors, poor fits, and harsh overhead lighting. Falconeri has fixed the last of those with an even, soft glow that is flattering even when you arrive looking like a drowned rat first thing in the morning.

For context, here is what the magpie usually brings home: character coats in a range of animal prints, a pair of rhinestone-adorned blue jeans I adore, and a dalmatian-printed pony hair skirt I’ve been dying to wear. During my store-visit, though, I saw the true power of a good basic, and how one cashmere sweater grounds my more zany pieces. So I went top-to-toe Falconeri for a luxe, layered feeling (when in Rome), with one eye on what might earn heavy rotation in my own arsenal.

I adored the hood. I craved the hood. I had to have the hood. And naturally, I had to complete the look: the funnel-neck jumper and wool palazzo trousers, and over the lot, the checked bomber, one of my favourite pieces in store. A note for the tall: the trousers in general ran long. At 170cm I still had length to spare, meaning the gazelles among us won’t have an issue finding the right fit.

Every Swede knows the phrase, usually shouted by a parent at a teenager heading out the door in November: lager på lager, layer upon layer. Falconeri has firmly fixed the same philosophy as part of its DNA, and it will keep even the most frozen person toasty through the coldest depths of winter. Here, that meant a silk collared shirt, its collar and cuffs peeking out from under the V-neck jumper in undyed cashmere, with a ribbed zip-up cape on top and flared trousers in cashmere cotton below.

This is where the magpie in me wavered. Would I willingly trade in my rhinestone jeans? I seriously considered it. Why wouldn’t I? Falconeri's cashmere denim flares were the closest I’ve ever felt to wearing the comfort of sweats in a pair of dressy denims. But my retort is: why trade them in at all? Maybe my wardrobe can fit both. And if not, I will be building new, bigger wardrobes.

As a size S with some junk in the trunk, I found an M hugged me in all of the right ways (although it was a little roomy in the waist), and I wore them tonal, with the brand' signature light-weight V-neck jumper and long belted cashmere coat, all in grey.

Picture a red-eye flight, perhaps a middle seat with a neighbour who has claimed both armrests, and the prospect of zero sleep. Now picture yourself in this grey cashmere set and I'm willing to bet flying coach suddenly seems almost comfortable. Better yet, the crew-neck jumper in a varied rib with slits slip under a reversible, sleeveless cable-knit cashmere down gilet. A two-for one that doubles as a pillow in a pinch.

Which leaves the magpie and her monochromatic baptism. For someone who seeks out interesting texture, the shine of the silk skirt, with its wrap-over detail and mother of pearl button, was a powerful proposition. Add an oatmeal turtleneck and you have the perfect look for all of upcoming Christmas parties where you have to go straight from the office to the afterparty. Size-wise, everything was what I’d call "Italian true to size". I find Italian sizing runs small and prefer a roomier fit, so I sized up in the sweaters, because I love how the heavier knit slouches.

I returned that evening, making my way through a still drowned Stockholm (by taxi this time, luckily), for our event, co-hosted by Falconeri and Vogue Scandinavia to celebrate the newly opened store. And I wasn't alone in traversing the gloomy streets: The city’s who’s-who showed up in their softest sweaters: Daniel Lindström, Fashion Director Café Magazine and King Magazine, dressed in all white layering multiple sweaters. The top-to-toe tonal was a look tapped by Swedish tastemaker Emilia De Poret as well. Lest we forget Andreas Wijk, Lisa Telbe, Angelica Blick, and many more.

Black caviar and poached oysters set the tone for the canapés, and set it high. They arrived alongside Champagne and elderflower cocktails with branded Falconeri ice. Not a bad ending for a day that began with being doused.