Are cardigans really a fashion mistake, or still practical for summer layering?

[Janey90]

With summer hopefully approaching, I realise I have a fair few cardigans in my wardrobe. Ideal for when I need an extra layer that isn’t too stiff or structured. And there are plenty on sale in the shops too. So is it really a fashion mistake to wear a cardigan, and if so, what is the alternative?

Oh dear—I will have to go and look at that one now… 😁

Chunky knit loose fit cardies are in. All my more fitted cashmere ones are currently enjoying a holiday at the back of the cupboard. Their day will come again.

This. Style and fashion are very different things yet various posters on this forum constantly conflate them. Style is individual and can be unique, fashion is following the herd and the choices of commercial buyers.

Style is rarely completely divorced from fashion, though. Even if you have a “unique” look (and very few people do), the rare cutting-edge iconoclast who influences fashion rather then the other way around is vanishingly rare. Most people are:
-passive trend followers, picking up whatever’s in the shop that suits them best when they need to fill a wardrobe gap
-active trend followers, picking specific trend-pieces to update their wardrobes strategically without slavishly replacing everything

There has always been a minority of people who adhere to alt style tribes (rockabilly, emo, retro Hollywood, etc) but they really are a minority and probably think as much about clothes, accessories and where to source things nearly as much as the serious runway-watchers do.

“Style” is just knowing what suits you, not desperately clinging onto a style from decades ago without updating it because you’re scared to try anything else.

Why would you not wear something because it’s not “in”? I’m not retiring my cashmere knitwear any time soon. Classics are never in or out.

I love cardigans, wear one most days. Jumpers and hoodies annoy me and feel restrictive when I'm busy.
I like fine knit waist length in neutral colours for work. Today I'm embracing spring, wearing a bright blue cardi with 3D pink tulips on (next) with wide leg joggers and a white t-shirt.

I saw that cardigan, fell in love with it and tried it on. Sadly it was just the wrong side of mad for me and gave me dotty old lady vibes. I’m deeply jealous.

Well, in the relatively short time that I've been on the S&B section of MN, what's become abundantly clear is that one person's classic is another's frumpy/dated/unfashionable* ...

*Insert adjective of choice!!!

Ive invested in a couple of Next slightly mad cardigans this season! Embracing the dotty old lady vibes is half the fun!!😃

Haha. I'm ok with dotty old lady vibes. 😂
It cheers me up every time I wear it, you should get one. Life's too short.
I might have to order the hush one you linked upthread too, its lovely.

Exactly 😊

That is lovely!

I like very long length cardigans if I’m wearing long dresses, or wide leg trousers. I have a navy one, and one in burgundy. Both fine knit.

You won’t regret it. Sadly some things have an age limit and that gorgeous cardigan is one of them. My bloke laughed at me in it. Obviously you’re much younger than me and it works.

As a Swiftie I have a wide range of TS cardigans which I wear almost daily. Prior to my Swiftie era I had never really owned any cardigans and now I really think I had been missing out all those years. I almost exclusively wear dresses and they go great with frocks and are also an ideal solution when it's not quite cold enough for a coat. I find them particularly useful now as I never used to feel the cold, could walk around in December in a sleeveless dress, but now I am cold all the time so will often throw a cardigan on while I am at home.
Definitely stock up on cardigans, you won't regret it!

I’m afraid I underestimated my cardigan stash.

It’s not eight. It’s eleven in total. I found a chunky fair-isle Brora and two chunky crops: Ivory and charcoal.

That's a capsule cardigan collection ...

😃

I think you'll find the problem there is not the age...its the bloke!!😎

Just counted my collection and Im up around 30, not sure if thats too many or not enough!!😆

I think cardigans are very very dull, I’ve never seen one I’ve wanted to wear, and they so often teeter the line between ‘practical wardrobe basic’ and ‘things my mum would wear’.

However - I have never judged them on anyone else 🤷‍♀️ as I get they’re a useful item. They are just not my style really.

Cardigans are very ‘in’ again.

I wear them either fitted and buttoned but with the bottom two and top one undone so you can see some midriff, with wide leg jeans. Or a slouchy one unbuttoned over a cami style dress or vest top.

A few years ago I went to watch Grace Jones live in concert. I knew her tour manager at the time who asked if I wanted to go backstage after the show to meet her. But having come straight from work to the show, not having the opportunity to get changed, I thought to myself- how can I meet Grace Jones while I am wearing a woolly cardigan? so I turned the opportunity down. True story.

I'm going to think about this story for YEARS, I know I am. There's a lesson in there for all of us!

Being the devil's advocate here, but very few things are truly classics. I think cashmere is always appropriate, but it's colour, weight and fit do change.

Really, your turned it down over the clothes you are wearing?

I could could honestly go out in a bin bag and not care. I look like I’ve been dragged through a hedge most days and the world keeps turning. I showed Princess Ann around a charity event at the local stables once in my painting clothes as I’d just been paining my sitting room (I am no Royalist anyway, I was stepping in at the last minute for someone else, but I don’t care what I am wearing, why should anyone else).

Was it because you’d think she’d care what you were wearing or because you felt uncomfortable for some reason?

No one cares or notices what anyone else is wearing unless they are a complete knob.