Men's Cardigan Sweaters - A Man's Guide To The Cardigan Sweater - How To Buy A Cardigan
Sweater
Hi!
I'm Antonio Centeno, the founder of Real Men Real Style.
Today, I'm going to be talking about the cardigan sweater.
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Okay, so the cardigan sweater.
I think over the last 30 to 40 years, it's gotten a bad rep.
What we've seen is it has, in a sense, been -- I think because it's a unisex garment,
something that you see both men and women wearing that it kind of lost a bit of its
masculinity, and that's too bad because it has a stored history.
So let's go back to the 7th Earl of Cardigan.
He was a prominent 19th Century British Military figure.
He mad the look popular.
And overall, I would have to say that it sends a very strong signal.
It's something that many of us associate with academics and we associate it with men who
are in a position of power, usually something that if you're looking to project that, if
you want to create a more stately image, if you're perhaps sitting on a panel and you're
a judge or you're going to be giving a presentation and you don't want to be mistaken for one
of the students and you're about the same age, which happens actually with a lot of
TAs and grad students, this may be exactly what you're looking for.
So let's talk about the style.
The style is we see an open front, so we have these buttons that go all the way down.
You do occasionally see zippers.
Zippers are going to be much more informal and I don't recommend it for a first cardigan,
so usually, the buttons.
And by the way, it has the same rules as the jackets, so you leave the bottom button undone
and I like to leave the top button undone as well right there.
It's a very nice look, I think.
You're also going to see pockets on this, so I have some pockets.
There are those pockets right down there.
This one is a little bit more of a military design, so it has a breast pocket right here
as well, and that's about it.
You're not going to see epaulettes.
This is a good fit on me.
And so, let's quickly talk about the fit, very important when you're out there choosing
a cardigan.
I would look at different brands, perhaps even order them.
If you can, go into stores and try them on.
You want something that fits well on your body, not close because you're usually going
to be wearing a dress shirt, sometimes a tie, but close enough that you could actually put
a sports jacket over this or another type of jacket, so this isn't your final layer,
although you can go out and you can wear it by itself with a pair of dress slacks, some
nice dress shoes, or you can even dress this down.
I could wear this with a nice pair of jeans and a casual pair of leather shoes.
Okay, so we've talked about the fit.
We've talked about some of the style.
Let's go ahead and talk about the fabric.
You're going to see this is usually made either from cotton or wool or a blend in between,
as well as you're going to see some cotton synthetic blends.
Synthetic has come a long way, so unless this is a vintage cardigan that was made perhaps
in the '60s or '70s, you're going to be okay looking at some synthetics.
The great thing about that is they help save you a bit on price, but if you want this for
warmth, let's say you're in Wisconsin or Canada, or a part of the US that gets really cold,
or the world that gets really cold, you're going to want to look for something that's
wool that gives a bit more insulation.
Okay, so I've talked about what to wear this with.
Now, let's get into that in a bit more detail.
You want it close enough.
Again, you can wear it under a sports jacket.
You can actually wear this with a suit if it's a dark, conservative color, or if you're
looking for a bit of clash, but make sure that it's of the more formal style.
Once you start going to the zipper realm, it really dresses down the outfits that you're
with.
In addition, let's talk about with the pants.
Again, it works with jeans, works with dress slacks, and anything in between, so you can
wear it with cords.
You can wear it with chinos.
I wouldn't wear it with shorts.
Don't go that route.
The last thing I would say guys is many guys, they don't know the history of this.
They don't know the image and the power that it projects, so wear it and be confident,
especially if you're a younger man and you want something to in a sense set you apart
from the crowd.
You need to know the history, I think, to really fully appreciate this piece, but I
believe it's a classic piece that should be in many men's wardrobes, not all men, but
if you find yourself in a position that you can use this, go for it.
Okay guys, that's about it.
If you want more information about men's style, I've got an awesome, awesome e-book, over
600 pages, 14-hour audio.
And by the way, this thing is going to be getting even better.
Look for the update here in 2013 and I will see you guys in the next video.
Bye-bye.