Cooler weather is here and wearing sweaters is back in style once more. It’s easy to think of sweaters as accessories, but the truth is they are a pivotal piece of your wardrobe and wearing the right sweater can mean the difference between being seen as Old Man Parker of A Christmas Story and John Robie in To Catch A Thief. In order to help you keep looking sharp, we’ve compiled the ultimate guide to wearing sweaters.
Picking The Material
The first thing to do is choose the right material for you. There are many different types of wool. Here’s a list of the most popular types.
Sheep’s Wool
This is the traditional material made from sheep’s fleece. It’s the most common and inexpensive material to make a sweater.
Merino Wool
This is specialized wool from the Merino Sheep. The most defining characteristic to this type of material is its resistance to pilling. It’s quite expensive and rare.
Mohair Wool
This wool is taken from the Angora goat. It has a characteristic stiffness and when worn next to the skin can be itchy.
Angora Wool
Not to be confused with the above, Angora wool is from Angora rabbit hair. It tends to be fluffy and soft to the touch. Because it tends to be an unstable fabric, it’s often blended with Nylon.
Alpaca Wool
This fabric is usually made from the hair of Peruvian alpacas is a luxuriously soft material that is warmer than usual wool as well as being less prickly. It also doesn’t contain lanolin, which makes it hypoallergenic.
Cashmere Wool
This fabric is silky soft, easy to care for, and versatile. It comes from the Kashmir goat and is known for its comfortably lightweight and silky feel. Cashmere wool is like fine wine, it gets better with age.
Choosing The Style Of Sweater
Cardigan
A Cardigan sweater is an open front sweater with buttons and long sleeves. It’s best worn over another shirt, sometimes a t-shirt. It’s best for casual to semi-casual occasions.
Crew Neck
These are the typical sweaters most men wear during the colder weather. It is versatile and depending on the occasion, can be used under a dinner jacket or with a pair of jeans on the soccer field.
V Neck
Bill Gates made this a type of sweater a household name in the nineties. It’s still a staple for those occasions where you want to channel their inner tech geek.
Roll Neck
On the opposite side of this spectrum from V Neck is the Roll neck, made famous by the other tech mogul in the nineties, Apple’s Steve Jobs. His signature style conveyed high-end tech with edgy forward-thinking.
Polo Sweater
The Polo sweater is perfect for those days when you are teed up on the first hole of your favourite golf course. The five o’clock tee time can be chilly in the fall so be sure to wear this staple of high-class menswear.
Final Thoughts
Choose the most comfortable and affordable material for you. Finally, don’t forget to fill your closet with different styles to round out the season and you’ll be ready to tackle.
