How to choose the right sweater for you

This is another guide that deserved to be published early in the winter. The sweater is an essential part of the men’s wardrobe, it is a precious ally a good part of the year to help us fight against the cold. A piece is all the more essential that it is useful in autumn, spring and especially in winter.

Well choosing your sweatshirts: the different models you can find

As you know, the sweater comes in a multitude of models, not to mention the variants that each of these pieces includes! According to JustCoolSweaters.com, not all sweaters will look good on you and you have to select the one that fits your body shape. To get off to a good start, we start by going around the various models that can be found on the market, with their little stories and their specificities.

Round collars

Probably the most popular model on the market, the round neck is certainly the most essential model of sweatshirts. Its contemporary form comes from many different origins: Shaggy dogs and sea-passes. A small historical point is needed!

Img Source: ties.com

Guernsey pull

Located on the coast of Normandy, Guernsey is an island famous for hosting Victor Hugo, who sought to take refuge after Napoleon III got in power. The island is also known at the time for its knitting know-how, including the invention of Jersey points used for sweaters. This industry developed thanks to the opening of the market by the English crown: the inhabitants of the island could then import their wool from England and export manufactured products. These sweatshirts were basically knitted for sailors by their wives, with a technique passed on from mothers to daughters. Thanks to export, they were quickly found in Britain and, because of their qualities, they were used by the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic wars.

This is where their navy blue color comes from. In addition to the boat neck, the Guernsey pullover is symmetrical (it has no front or rear). It also includes the objects of the daily life of fishermen. There are for example a ladder at the top of the sleeves, or waves through the armpit point foam. Their construction has a small specificity: a rhomboidal seam that allows better movements. The Guernsey sweater, like the Breton sailor sweatshirt, is worn tight to the body, however, the specific shape of the sweater makes the seam joining the shoulders to the sleeves protruding far beyond the wearer’s arms.

The original sweaters are so solid that they can do without one generation to another!

Irish pullover

We do not really know if the concept of big sweatshirts comes from the Aran Islands, but it is certainly indisputable that they produced their local version of Guernsey sweaters made on the East coast of Britain. The work of texture and twists is in any case very comparable. The origin of Aran sweaters is in any case very controversial, some believe that the protagonists of the book of Kells (a religious manuscript of the year 800) wore it! This fact would make them about the oldest sweatshirt models in history. Others are more pragmatic and think that Aran sweater goes back to early 1900. From a feminine collective with entrepreneurial flair, who had the ingenious idea to adapt the Guernsey pullover using thicker wool to make it a real business.

It’s an Irish classic. Real Aran sweatshirts are true works of art with many myths. They were supposed to keep a seafarer warm at the same time and have enough precise twists to be able to identify them (or at least his clan) if they were found drowned. They are nowadays always handmade in Emerald Isle, and each sweater requires more than 100,000 seams.

Shaggy dogs

These are made from Shetland wool whose surface has been brushed to create a fluffy, cloud-like surface. These pullovers are extremely hot thanks to the warmth that this very particular texture can keep and be at one time rarely worn on the street, except for walking the dog. Shaggy dogs are very easy to wear with a button-down oxford shirt. One of the qualities of this type of sweater is the wide variety of colors in which they are available. Opt for sober colors, such as dark green or burgundy for early models.

Img Source: thetrad.blogspot.com

You can also find more modern and assertive colors, but they are less coherent with the universe of this type of clothing and out of sync with its traditional side. Quality models are supposed to age well. Only downside: they will eventually fluff. Some people find it embarrassing and others feel that it gives a certain charm to the garment.

 

Peter is a freelance writer with more than eight years of experience covering topics in politics. He was one of the guys that were here when the foreignspolicyi.org started.