Prepidemic Promotes: The Shawl Collar Cardigan
As we plunge into sweater season with full force, we’ve been gravitating more and more to the shawl collar. While most guys are wearing v-necks and crewnecks, wearing a shawl collar will help distinguish yourself from the pack in a way that is classic and refined. But instead of wearing a classic shawl collar sweater that you would pop over your head, opt for a button cardigan as it’s a great way to toe the line between casual and dress. If you button a couple of the middle buttons, your cardigan will take on a shape very similar to a sport coat, with the shawl taking the place of the more formal lapels.
Because of this, you can pair the shawl cardigan with a shirt and tie, if you want to dress it up, or a simple t-shirt if you’re looking to pair it down. It’s a great versatile piece that you can wear all year round, which makes it a definite must-have for any advanced sartorialist’s closet. You can find pieces from a multitude of brands in different price ranges, but we’re going to looking at J. Crew and Ralph Lauren first. J. Crew has a really cool alpaca shawl cardigan for only $98 and on the higher end of things, Ralph Lauren Black Label has just about perfected the piece in its most classic form for this fall.
J. Crew Alpaca Shawl Cardigan, $98 at J. Crew
Ralph Lauren Black Label Cashmere Shawl Cardigan, $895 at Ralph Lauren
4 Responses “Prepidemic Promotes: The Shawl Collar Cardigan ”
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I know it’s not cashmere, but I like the J Crew one much better. The RL just looks so texturally plain…
Yeah, but does the J. Crew sweater come with the pins in the back that make it look slim-fitting here? J. Crew seemingly wants to have it both ways: the model pics make stuff look slim to appeal to guys who are in shape, care about fit and spend time researching their purchases before buying, while the actual garments fit like tents for the average fat slob who buys clothes once a year, or just wears whatever his wife buys.
It’s nice that they’re offering some slim-fit shirting options for the fall, but I don’t even consider J. Crew for knits or sport coats — even the Ludlow jacket fits nothing like the model pics. It’s too bad because J. Crew’s styling is head and shoulders above other mall brands at that price point, yet the only people who can take advantage are probably too fat to look good in anything anyways.
J. Crew is better than Gap or many others. Gap’s stuff fits like a burlap sack made for someone with a short torso. I’m 6’4″ and weigh between 168 and 175….so I’m used to having to have anything I buy tailored to fit anyway. I wouldn’t ever buy an off the rack sport coat or knit without intending to have it tailored anyway. With the knits, you just have to make sure there’s a particular sort of vertical seam, then it can be taken in.
Jim- not sure I agree with you on this point. Let me think about it and get back to you though…
The guy on the bottom with the beard looks really rugged!