A great sweater is possibly your wardrobe’s most fraught purchase. Too lightweight and it appears as though you’ve given up. Too heavy and you feel like you can’t move your arms all day. Too trendy and it becomes totally outdated by next winter. Somewhere in the middle is a sweet spot—that seasonless, perfectly-calibrated sweater you’ll reach for day after day—but you have to put in some work to find it. That’s what we’ve done here.
You know us. We care about wearability over theory. We want the sweater that can work tucked into trousers on Monday for the office and blown over jeans on Saturday without you feeling like two different people got dressed. We want the crew neck that’ll layer under a blazer without creating dilemmas at your shoulders. We want the boyfriend knit that gives off effortlessly folded-over-at-the-bar casual without actually looking careless. That’s what we hold every sweater to before we allow it into this collection.
We’ve sorted our favorite picks into three categories: ones that hit that sweet spot. We’ve broken it down by weight, because a lightweight merino sweater is great in October but useless to you in January. Fit, because the difference between an oversized sweater that looks intentional and one that just looks sloppy is all in the cut. And finally, we’ve included some picks for the occasion—you’ll wear a cashmere sweater for cocktail night with friends differently than a super chunky knit you save for a weekend in the mountains.
There’s also the texture factor, which we think is more important than some might realize. A sweater you’ll actually want to grab and put on needs to feel good against your skin the second you wear it, not a sweater that needs a week of wear to soften up. Which is why we’ve been so thoughtful about the fabric quality on each of these pieces.
Some of these sweaters are, going to be serious investments. The kind that you’ll still be wearing years from now because it’s made to last and it never pops off your yearbook photo. Some of them are actually pretty affordable but still ride way above that price point in terms of quality. We love them both and want you to too because a good sweater isn’t worth considering based on price tag alone.
It’s worth considering based on whether you wear it every day once you bring it home. That’s the only test that matters and these sweaters all pass it with flying colors.
