What do Mr. Rogers and the Crimean War have in common? Why, the cardigan sweater, of course.
Let us explain: the open-fronted sweater was first pioneered by James Brudenell, 7th Earl of Cardigan, a colorful British aristocrat of the Victorian age who earned infamy by ordering the disastrous Charge of the Light Brigade at the Battle of Balaclava in 1854. While his questionable generalship would be memorialized in a long poem by Alfred Tennyson, his other legacy is giving the world the sweater named after his title.
According to legend, he contrived the knitted garment after having burnt off the tails of his coat in a fireplace. Whatever the truth, the style was soon exported back to Britain, and was later taken up by American college students as part of their campus kit. By mid-century it had reached a point of cultural saturation, worn on TV by popular entertainers like Perry Como, and championed in its more rugged, shawl collar form by Steve McQueen on the big screen.
In 1968, Fred Rogers first slipped into a zipped cardigan while asking viewers if they’d like to be his neighbor; the garment would be worn by Rogers in every subsequent episode of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood through its conclusion in 2001. During this period, the sole cardigan capable of challenging the fame of Rogers’ own may have been the vintage mohair knit Kurt Cobain wore in his 1992 MTV Unplugged appearance, which was later sold at auction in 2019 for $334,000.
Buttoned or zipped, shawl collared or collarless, we’ve curated an assemblage of some of the season’s most worthy cardigans below.
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Rubato Standard Cardigan in Waves
Image Credit: Rubato -
Colhay’s Superfine Lambswool Shawl Collar Cardigan in Camel
Image Credit: Colhay's Made in Scotland from more than two-and-a-half pounds of superfine, 6-ply lambswool, Colhay’s shawl collar cardigan is beefy enough to qualify as a piece of outerwear. Further helping with that impression is the collar itself, which is so substantial that it can be flipped up to guard the neck from wind.
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Paul Stuart Wool & Cashmere Aran Cable Knit Cardigan
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Polo Ralph Lauren Fair Isle Cotton-Blend Cardigan
Image Credit: Polo Ralph Lauren -
Drake’s Grey Alpaca Lambswool Cable Knit Sleeveless Cardigan
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The Elder Statesmen Shawl-Collar Cashmere Cardigan
Image Credit: The Elder Statesmen -
Inis Meáin Lifeline Merino Wool and Cashmere-Blend Zip-Up Cardigan
Image Credit: Inis Meáin Made in the same-named island off of Ireland’s Galway Bay, Inis Meáin’s mission is to preserve local knitting techniques and patterns that may otherwise be lost to time. As part of that remit, it produces the Lifeline, a zipped cardigan made from a blending of Merino wool and cashmere and marked by crisscrossing horizontal and vertical seams.
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Anderson & Sheppard Merino Wool and Cashmere-Blend Cardigan
Image Credit: Anderson & Sheppard -
Brunello Cucinelli Shawl-Collar Wool, Silk and Cashmere-Blend Cardigan
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Connolly Navy City Cardigan
Image Credit: Connolly -
Begg & Co Aspen Cashmere Cardigan Bare Undyed
Image Credit: Begg & Co Aspen
