Hard-working Knits

So back to basics this week and I’m carrying on looking at the wardrobe staples you need for the autumn/winter ahead. This time the spotlight is on knitwear.

It strikes me that there are a couple of overriding principles which will help your sweater shopping this season and help get you out of the skinny jeans and little sweater combo that you may find yourself reaching for on a more or less daily basis:

1. Play with proportions – so pair smaller top halves with more relaxed bottoms and vice versa go for a bit more volume on the top if you have a skinnier bottom half (btw just to be clear  I’m not talking about your actual bottom being relaxed, just what you put on it).
2. There are three different types of knitwear you need in your wardrobe to be able to create varied and interesting outfits: fitted/semi-fitted sweaters depending on your shape, short chunkier knits, longer/oversized sweaters.

And that is it. All you need to know.

So this week I am tackling the more fitted variety of sweaters in all their fine knit guises. This might not sound particularly interesting but don’t be fooled this is a hard working piece of knitwear that will see you through many an occasion.

The fitted sweater

For your basic, wardrobe staples there are several go-to places for these depending on what you want and whether you want a wool or a cashmere.

Whistles Annie Sparkle Knit £65. This is a style Whistles runs every season because it is such a winner – very soft and with a nice little bit of sparkle which is enough to lift your outfit for the evening but not too much that makes it unwearable for the day. These come in lots of colours including this gorgeous blue, green and navy. This also comes in a polo neck version in black and burgundy for £69.

Uniqlo Extra Fine Merino Wool £24.90. These are a total wardrobe staple so stock up on your basic neutrals like this grey, but they do come in loads of colours. And there is a turtle neck style too £24.90.

Mango Fine Knit Sweater £19.99. There are lots of good fine knits at Mango including some ribbed styles too but this one is a good drapey knit which comes in grey marl, dark green, light pink, lilac and others.

Zara Fine Knit Sweater with Buttons £19.99 This is a great value sweater with a nice bit of detailing on the cuffs.

J Crew Tippi Sweater £79.50. This comes in 13 colours so you will definitely find a colour to suit.

If all these are just a bit too form-fitting but you still need a thin sweater, just go for a slightly looser and drapier version of the styles above. You might get what you need by just sizing up slightly so there is more room for manoeuvre. If not, then Zara’s Basic Sweater £12.99 is just the ticket and it comes in all sorts of colours from navy and black to khaki, bright pink, yellow, blue and more.

The cashmere sweater

J Crew Cashmere Crew Neck £98. As with the Tippi, there are so many colours to choose from. I love this lilac for a fashion colour but there are lots of brights and neutrals too.

Boden Cashmere Crew Neck £98. They come in a whole host of colours and stripes but for a light neutral try this antique pink.

What do you wear these with? These are perfect for this season’s skirts – midi/shorter styles/tailored pencils, boyfriend jeans, culottes and wider legged trousers or more tapered leg styles. Either go for a full tuck or just a little front tuck, depending on what you are wearing and where the sweater finishes.

That’s not to say you can’t wear these with skinny jeans, but variety is the spice of life as they say.

The interest knit

So you’ve stocked up on your basic knitwear and now it’s time to go for something a bit more interesting that you can wear in the same way as the styles above but that is just a bit more exciting. With lots of animal around, a little printed sweater is an obvious choice but there are other slogans/logos/stripes and loads more. Here are a few I have loved on my travels around the shops.

Mint Velvet’s Leopard Print Knit £69

Hush Printed Celina Jumper £69

Warehouse Leopard Print Jumper £36

Mint Velvet Rainbow Sleeve Knit £69 This comes in a winter white as well as the grey marl.

Hush Zebra Lightning Crew £69.30.

Hush Striped Katie Crew £65

You may have noticed that all of these are round neck styles as I have a bit of an aversion to a v neck sweater – way too school jumper-y. But you might just prefer the less high necked crew styles if you are larger of chest.

Also it is no coincidence that all these sweaters have sleeves which sit on the body – it’s just way more flattering than a jumper where the sleeve sits somewhere down your arm. This will end up making you look wider up top and can give you the oddest shaped boobs ever. Not a good look.

And as for those relaxed bottoms, well I’ll be looking at those next week.