What are your sweater essentials? - YouLookFab Forum

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What are your sweater essentials?

Peri

Veteran

I'm not finding sweaters that interest me so far, and I've realized that I'm expecting everything to be a very exciting statement item. I wonder if there are a few essentials that would make my closet work better. For instance, I just bought a red "kimono" style sweater from JJill and now I realize I don't have anything to wear under it, and that may be the thing it needs to work.

For example, my black pullover is a fluid asymmetric EF tunic...statement shape if not color. Not something that could easily go under other things to help them work. I don't need to layer a lot where I live, but maybe I need a few essentials.

What are yours and why do they work for you? Bonus points for Finds or links cause I'm lazy and you all know how much I loooooove shopping!

General

33 replies

Latest reply was from J.J.

Laura (rhubarbgirl)

(website)

Veteran

In general I prefer v-neck tops but with sweaters I make an exception and have some crewnecks because they're warmer. I've got v-neck sweaters with different depths of neckline; some I have to layer under and some I can but don't have to. Those are my two basic silhouettes; I don't go crazy with weird shapes in sweaters because as you say it makes it harder to layer. That's not to say that you can't take that approach if you like it; Una lives in a cold place and wears funky tunics and ponchos all the time. (I also have a couple turtlenecks in case of super-cold weather or travel, and I generally wear them with something else because it's not my best shape.)

Then there's my cardigan collection but I think you're talking about stand-alone sweaters for the most part.

Joy

Veteran

I a small busted so look better in higher necklines than V necks... Crew and turtlenecks and some high scoop necks. My basics are tanks or sleeveless shells...cotton from Target and silk from Eileen Fisher (when on sale), some turtlenecks, and basic crew neck cashmere pullovers (Halogen and other basics). I use these mostly in neutrals like black and white, chocolate brown, blush/nude, and greys. Metallic is one I want but haven't found yet. Today it is nearly 60F degrees. I am wearing a cotton black tank under a light grey long-sleeved tee with a low neck.

kkards

Veteran

My essentials are really pretty basic. I always have a cream sweater-- a light weight one for spring/fall and a wool one for winter. Because I know in a pinch, I can wear it with almost anything. This year, I update the silhouette to a more fluid fit (1st find, it's more fluid on me then the model). I also like to have basic navy and black pullovers, similar to the 2nd and 3rd finds, I personally like both crew necks and vnecks. Few of my sweaters are "statement" piece, but the most important thing I've learned since joining YLF, is to make sure that I'm updating my basics periodically to keep the cut/fit current.

Vince Mini Cable Sweater

$285.00 $113.98

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V-neck raglan sweater

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Cambridge cable crewneck sweater

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Sal

Veteran

Not many!!

I have a black poloneck, a grey merino, grey long tunic and a charcoal merino/possum wrap cardigan (mostly loungewear).

In an ideal world I would add in a cream cowl neck and a denim blue merino. I was a little short in this area in winter as I had to retire a couple of pieces during the season as they wore out.

I do have about three statement pieces to add into this area (orange cardigan, cream open knit, black sequin sweater).

Suz

(website)

Veteran

My essentials are turtlenecks. I have them in navy, light grey, charcoal, ivory, black. They work really well under jackets, and I love jackets. But I also wear them under cardigans and as pullovers (over shirts). As well as on their own as simple tops with a more statement pant or skirt.

I also find my LL Bean breton stripe sweater an essential. It's more of a spring/ fall/ summer evening item for me, but I even pull it out from time to time in winter.

Speaking of the breton stripe, I find it useful to have at least one patterned sweater in my closet.

I also think a few cashmere crewnecks in happy colours are pretty near essential in my climate, as well as a merino sweater or two in a flattering style. But I might switch up the styles. I usually go for crew necks or boatnecks due to my own figure flattery issues.

Merino turtleneck sweater

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French Sailor's Shirt, Three-Quarter-Sleeve Boatneck

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shedev

Veteran

My essentials are the long sleeve tees I use under my sweaters or toppers. I do have two basic sweaters, a black and a cream. Most of my sweaters are statement pieces worn as a top layer.

Isabel

Veteran

For me, it changes every few years. The last two years, the following have been essentials :

V neck cashmere ( black and grey )
V neck merion t ( black and grey )

These are my version of the winter T. I love accessories and jackets so these really hold everything else together. And I can layer colorful camis underneath for some interest and warmth. I also wear vests over these sweaters. My wardrobe couldn't function without these.

This year I added color :

Navy and cranberry from J Crew, merino wool V neck https://www.jcrew.com/womens_c...../B2802.jsp

Navy and rich courant from Macy's, v neck cashmerehttp://www1.macys.com/shop/pro.....#038;Categ

Again, I wear them like t shirts. They are super easy to throw on, easy to layer over and under for warmth, and look good no matter what I am running around doing.

Laura (rhubarbgirl)

(website)

Veteran

BTW, I recently bought the below sequined top, which is more of a sweatshirt than a sweater per se, but I am seeing a lot of these embellished sweaters or sweatshirts with sequins or silk fabric or lace again this year. They might be a good option for statement sweaters that are nonetheless in a traditional silhouette that you can layer.

Halogen Embellished Sweatshirt

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Style Fan

Veteran

I am trying to change my tried and true style of dressing for winter. I wore a long sleeved T shirt or cuddle duds and a cashmere cardigan for years. This worked for me until the cardigans grew into a shape that I could not wear. I tried on many long cardigans and felt like Maude or like I was wearing a bathrobe.

Then I changed gears and decided to try sweaters that were boxy and cropped. Underneath I wear a long sleeved T shirt (J Crew) or cuddle duds. If it works I wear a cami. I could wear a button down shirt but I don't like that look on me.

Over the boxy sweaters I might wear a light weight down vest. I have seen this look on some FAB women in Montreal and I like it.

My essentials are now cashmere cardigans (short), pullover boxy sweaters, long sleeved T shirts and cuddle duds. I have one pullover statement sweater.

Staysfit

Veteran

I just wrote a long post detailing exactly what sweaters I still have after purging more than half of them. My pullovers are pretty much basics, long sleeve turtle necks and crews with a couple of boat necks and hoodies for good measure. My statements are the toppers, and I only have 4, well maybe 5. I have a lot of sweaters, 53 to be exact, but I live in a place where it's cold from October until May. I also tend to wear thin cotton or silk long sleeve tees under my sweaters for added warmth. I get super cold. I mean really cold, very easily.

Here are some examples of sweaters similar to what I own. The three turtle necks are to show how you can have variety within a category using color, length, texture, shape, etc. Most of my long sleeve cashmere crews are the J Crew long sleeve cashmere tee. It's simple, and they come in fun colors. I have 13 of them at the moment. I had more in the past.

Almost all my sweaters are solids. I add variety and fun using scarves, statement necklaces, shoes, boots, etc. that way I don't get tired of the sweater.

Quinn 'Teresa' Cashmere Cable Knit Turtleneck Tunic

$368.00 $183.98

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White + Warren Curved Hem Cashmere Scrunch Neck Sweater

$333.00 $199.80

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Rag & Bone 'Bianca' Rib Knit Sweater

$255.00 $152.97

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Merino turtleneck sweater

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catgirl

Veteran

Mine are the Joie Tambrel asymmetric tunics - you have that too, yes?

ma342

Here are some of mine. I also really like the merino/cashmere cardigans from Woolovers.

Vintage Cable Turtleneck

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Women's Double L Cotton Sweater, Splitneck Pullover

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Chunky Cable Pullover Sweater - Merona

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Women Lambswool Blend V Neck Sweater

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1

Women Extra Fine Merino V Neck Sweater

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1

Marley

Veteran

My sweater essentials are fine gauge v-neck or crew-neck fluid sweaters. The tanks, camis, or t-shirts that I wear underneath them are the basics. My sweater statements are my DVF animal print, my Equipment plaid print, and several assymetrical styles.

Ms. Loathsome

I just realized the other week I barely have any sweaters! Skew toward jackets and coats. Good to read others' replies. I have a black cashmere v-neck pullover, a black cotton cardigan, and just recently bought a camel/grey colorblocked tunic sweater from Loft.

thimblelina

(website)

Veteran

I've felt completely repulsed by those little round neck cardigans that have been everywhere for the past ten years in stacks of 'fun' colors & prints. Ugh!! So all I've had is a v-neck black cashmere cardigan. And while I was doing active menopause pullovers scared me, but now they're okay again. I love the slouchy oversized cardigans and drapey pullovers that are all around now, so I'm stocking up. I got a dark red merino cardigan from JCtew and a colorblocked Vince pullover this fall.

AnnieMouse

Veteran

Like Suz, I am a turtleneck girl - I love interesting cardigans and jackets, high-impact shoes, and so on. So I tend towards a very plain ribbed, fitted turtleneck as a base layer, so the other bits can shine. I have a stack of probably 20 - black, cream, bark, raspberry, violet, white, charcoal, gold, ecru, and so on - that I reach for incessantly to wear under a more "punchy" pullover or cardigan, or to offset my leopard print skinnies or whatnot.

Something along these lines, or these are what I find myself reaching for nonstop. Good luck!

Lisie Symons

(website)

Coming from a tropical country, I didn't need sweaters till a few years ago, although I have had a couple for travel for absolutely ages. I love turtlenecks but most of them don't look great on me on account of me having no neck. So I stick with classic crewneck cashmere and wool sweaters, plus a couple of cosy chunky ones. I'm practical (or boring) that way.

Jodi_73

Member

I have fallen in love with these fitted sweaters from Express. They have
a very low v-neck line, perfect for layering a contrast or tone on tone
cami underneath.

Fitted V-neck Sweater

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Elizabeth P

Veteran

Peri, when I saw your post, I thought "this will be easy" because I think we have very similar body types, and seem to look good in the same shape sweaters. But when I started pondering my "basic" sweaters, I realized I actually have a ton of statement ones, and not a lot of basics. This should not be news to me, as I had that lightbulb moment when Angie posted her essential vs basic post, but I hadn't realized quite how much.

So I think I need to think more about this, and of course, follow this thread!

But what I do know is that some of my basics are:
- lightweight black sweater that can be worn alone. This would be for work. Need a version for every season.
- chunkier black sweater for layering over button ups, or tees. I need one of these.
- lightweight navy sweater to wear alone
- navy chunky sweater. Recently got the one below. A simple, throw on over jeans sweater.
- white sweater that can be worn alone. This gets worn a ton, so needs to be one that is easy to wash. I have versions of this for every season. My current winter version is a chunky turtleneck.

And that's all I can think of! Most of my sweaters are colourful, patterned, embellished, drapy, something.... no wonder I have so many!

Boyfriend cable knit sweater

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Alassë

Veteran

Cowl/loose turtleneck sweaters and scoop/v-neck cardigans in signature colours, a light neutral, and a dark neutral.

shiny

Veteran

Pics of some of my "go to" sweaters this season, organized the VF way: three neutrals (black, gray, cream) and then accents (blue, cranberry, green). Organizing it this way really helps me make purchase decisions: if I want another black sweater, for example, it can't be a basic shape. It needs something different, like the sweater cardigan with leather panels, or the cascading cardigan.

You can see I prefer V-necks although the rare boat neck or crew neck cut just so can work too. I currently have a handful of "modern" shaped sweaters that are loosely fitted except in the sleeves -- tighter fitting the sleeves, the more voluminous I can go in the body.

I like cardigans of all types for the layering ease, to toss on over blouses or dresses, and peel off easily if it gets too hot.

Because my business travel tends to take me to warmer regions, and also because I am getting hot flashes like you would not believe, I have been concentrating on sweaters that work for milder climates. I really love cashmere because I find it magically regulates my body temperature better than wool, and also because it's so light and packs up small. I have recently invested in some Vince cashmere sweaters for this reason. Last spring I added the ombre Vince sweater and it has held up amazingly well -- despite my frequently balling it up into my handbag and squishing it into my luggage. No pills, looks like new... worth every penny...

I also like fine-gauge merino wool -- nothing feels better against the skin and it also does not add bulk to the figure while keeping me warm. BR makes the best merino wool sweaters so I stock up each season.

I steer away from synthetic sweaters due to static cling issues.

Not shown - I do have a few bulky sweaters. Not too many. For the coldest days. These are sweaters that I've owned for eons. I run hot so it has to get really cold to reach for these.

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Anonymous

To be honest, I'm sick and tired of sweaters. I had to replace a few this year, but I'm down to a bare minimum. Instead, I'm trying to wear multiple layers and let my personal style go in a different direction. Seems like they charge a lot of $ for something that snags or pills and is not that exciting to look at.

Marley

Veteran

OK - just to make sure I've got this straight: basics are like underwear, tanks for layering underneath things, socks, etc., right? And, essentials are the wardrobe items that are like the glue that holds our "style" together - things that we cannot do without - they are essential to make out style our style. Right? So, an essential sweater might be turtlenecks (if you have a long enough neck!) Or, for short-necked people like me - v-necks. Or, for someone else it could be tunic style sweaters. Someone else it could be cardigans. I ask, because reading the responses in this thread I started getting confused when some people referred to some of their sweaters as basics. I don't want to get stuck on semantics - but would someone please confirm or correct me in my definitions of basics vs essentials? Thank you!

Aida

Veteran

Marley, yes that's right. Here is one of Angie's posts on the subject, with some good links to other posts. To quote the first paragraph:

Wardrobe essentials are indispensable staples without which your wardrobe would not function. They are not to be confused with wardrobe basics, which are items like underpants, bras, camisoles, shapewear, socks,
sleepwear, loungewear, hosiery and thermals. Wardrobe essentials are
usually very versatile, simple in design, and current.

Firecracker (Sharan)

Veteran

One of my essential sweater shapes continues to be the round-necked ones that thimbelina is repulsed by (and I totally get it, thimbelina, but sometimes I just gotta wear one). These are only warm-weather sweaters for me, though--late, late spring through very early fall at best.

I also still wear my long merino boyfriend cardigans, but I don't have a Find for them, because, well, maybe they're not really current anymore.

Halogen Three Quarter Sleeve Cardigan (Regular & Petite)

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Peri

Veteran

Wow, thanks for the all replies everyone!

And Marley, yeah, I know the whole thing is subjective and confusing, like everything else. When Angie first posted the essentials vs statements I didn't get why it mattered. Why not just "things I wear". But lately I've been noticing that in my quest to be sure everything has that little artistic difference that makes it appeal to me, maybe I'm missing a few items that would make others work. Like, I have some dramatics shapes in black tops, but now I see that the fit of my simple black pullover is sort of dated, and that if I had that element in a simple shape, maybe some other things that are orphans now would start working.

It seems like almost universal essentials are plain black, white or navy pullovers in whatever neck style suits each person best. I'm putting those on my wish list of items to look for.

annabelle

Veteran

I live in Seattle, and we could wear sweaters of one kind or another, 50 weeks of the year. I prefer tops that are not necessarily "statement" pieces, but stand alone pieces. I.e., I am not so creative with jewelry, scarves or layering, so I like a simple piece that speaks for itself and not need a lot of ornamentation beyond the sweater itself.

Seeing your lovely red sweater and how great you look in it, you might be looking more for a statement color than for the sweater itself to be all bells and whistles.

If I find a cotton, cashmere, or silk blend textured basic, I buy it. (And I'm a small wardrobe person.) I have a Vince textured two-tone knit in cream, a Vince lightweight big cashmere ivory colored pullover and a Rebecca Taylor crew neck cotton sweater in greys. I try to find a new collared cashmere cardigan each year for indoors warmth, assuming each one might last five years on rotation. A couple patterned sweatshirts, like ALC or Rebecca Taylor or T by Alexander Wang. A few cashmere pullover crew neck sweaters, including a grey with a skull print and a cropped dark grey raw edged from Shopbop. Tania has been inspirational lately, and I'm thinking of adding another cropped sweater to layer.

These finds are from my shopbop wishlist (SALE, Darlings!) And there's a cardigan from Barney's that I'm still figuring out how to wear.

Today I saw a young woman in a loose weave handknit sweater that inspired me. With the handknit and the loose, and the quality of the yarn, it was a standalone piece - not bulky - with skinny jeans and knee highs peeking above her boots.

Barneys New York

Skin High-Low Hem Cardigan

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Addison Pullover

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Brenda Crew Pullover

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Sloane Crew Neck Sweater

$278.00 $139.00

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Boatneck Raw Edge Sweater

$385.00 $154.00

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Barneys New York

Skin High-Low Hem Cardigan

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Deb

Veteran

Cashmere, cashmere and more cashmere. Crew neck, V neck, turtle necks, cables, ribs and plain. In a variety of neutrals plus navy and red. The better the quality the better..... they're unsurpassable for warmth and endurance. Absolutely love them!

Peri

Veteran

Wow, DEB...Share! How do brands rank as far as cashmere quality?

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