Jumper vs. Sweater....is there a difference?

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Jumper vs. Sweater....is there a difference?

deb

Veteran

I am seeing more and more, what I call sweaters, called jumpers. Will someone please clarify?

12 years ago

Dressing

19 replies

Latest reply was from anne

Inge

(website)

Moderator

I think both are pretty much interchangeable, Deb. Jumper (sometimes also pullover) is just the British/Australian equivalent for the American word sweater.

12 years ago

ElleH

Veteran

Jumper is Australian & English term for sweater. In Australia it would only apply to a knitted sweater. If it was cut & sewn from a knitted fabric though, such as fleece it would be called a windcheater in Victoria or a sloppy joe I think in NSW if my memory is correct.

They are called jerseys also in Britain I think & maybe NZ

12 years ago

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

A jumper is a PULLOVER, not a cardigan. A sweater means both a cardigan and pullover.

Knitwear = Sweaters

I use the word jumper, not sweater. A sweater to me is a sweatshirt. But! I have to use the word sweater from time to time so that my clients and readership in the US get what I am saying.

12 years ago

Inge

(website)

Moderator

Good point, Angie, I always forget that a sweater can also be a cardigan in the US:-)

12 years ago

biscuitsmom

Veteran

Thanks for the info! I remember a jumper being short for a one piece jumpsuit...lol

12 years ago

Caro in Oz

Veteran

Of course we have other jumpers in Australia - kangaroos & wallabies.......

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12 years ago

Nicole D

Veteran

What do British people call "Jumpers" then? I mean jumpers that are dress like, no sleeves and go over a blouse. Like so:
http://www.iheartthat.com/wp-c.....ss0001.jpg

12 years ago

deb

Veteran

Thank you all for the info. I wore 'jumpers' when I was a kid but they were sleeveless dresses with a button down shirt or a fine guage sweater under.

12 years ago

rachylou

Veteran

In my mind there is the category: Sweater (knitted yarn)

In this category there are: Jumpers and Cardigans

Sweatshirts go in their own category as made from "knit fabrics." Hoodies go in this category properly speaking, but are so important they can be mentioned on equal level (hehe).

And now that you mention it, I have no idea what a pullover is...

12 years ago

Mander

(website)

Veteran

I think that kind of dress is perhaps a pinafore in the UK? Or is a pinafore an apron?

To me, a pullover can be any kind of top that you pull over something else -- so a sweater or sweatshirt, but not a cardigan or hoodie. I've always thought of it as an old-fashioned or country term.

12 years ago

rachylou

Veteran

Well, before now, that dress would have been a pinafore to me. But I have wikipedia'd it, and a pinafore is truly an apron. There is no back.

12 years ago

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Pinafore. Exactly.

12 years ago

Carole

Veteran

I was confused by the term jumper as well, for me that means a sleeveless dress that you wear a blouse or turtleneck under. We learn so much hanging out here!

12 years ago

bj1111

Veteran

ok...am american (close enough). to me, sweater=pullover, not cardigan.

got used to jumper on this board, but wore a different kind of jumper for grade school. (needed a white blouse underneath.)

pinafore, i thought, was an old fashioned term for jumper, but am corrected.

12 years ago

Deborah

Veteran

Nicole D, I'm an Aussie and I have always called that style of dress a knit dress, which I realize is quite a broad term.

I didn't realize sweater covered jumpers and cardigans.

For the purposes of YLF I have tended to adopt a few "Americanisms" to avoid confusion:)

12 years ago

ElleH

Veteran

In America they call napolitana pasta sauce marinara & there is no seafood in it. No marine life whatsoever. And a bottom is a fanny.

12 years ago

Ingunn

(website)

Veteran

Thank you for clarifying! As a foreign language speaker (to you, that is). I find it very challenging to choose the correct terms, so this is very helpful.

12 years ago

Mander

(website)

Veteran

Ah yes. Many of my relatives have had a bit of a mis-step with the term "fanny" when visiting me in the UK. Back home it is an inoffensive and even cutesy term for one's rear end. My aunt attracted many stares and titters when shouting at my 4-year-old nephew who was trying to run off...

I'm learning new terms all the time the longer I live here. I really have the impression that the British have a lot more slang terms in common use than we Americans do. Maybe it's related to the diversity of regional accents and dialects.

12 years ago

anne

Veteran

I also use jumper in the Australian way (being australia). And though I don't routinely use it to refer to a cardigan I might say something like "I'll just grab a jumper" as I rush out the door and actually get a cardigan. I sometimes use "jacket" in the same catch all way.

As for what I'd call what is a jumper in the US, I might be tempted to say "tunic" - as in a school tunic - this was what we called our school uniforms that were wore with a shirt underneath.

12 years ago

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