Life's microscopic victories

After the previous navy sweater disintegrated, I gave myself grad-student permission to replace it. There's one store in town, more or less, and it's J.Crew, so I had my eye on this, for $79.50. Merino, made in China, completely ordinary.... it seemed steep. So I went to the Uniqlo near Penn Station, which was for the most part underwhelming, but which had this for $24.90. Also merino, by the looks of it quite possibly made in the same artisanal workshop as its more than three times as expensive equivalent.