Where to find the best sweaters
SWEATER GUIDE | How To Find Great Knits
one of my absolute favorite things about
this time of year is that we get to wear
sweaters so in today's video I want to
go over kind of a sweater guide 101 some
of the things that I've learned over the
years we're gonna cover some of the
silhouettes that I really like and some
that I think are really versatile for
your own wardrobe some of the materials
I like to look for in my sweaters some
of my favorite places to buy great
sweaters and then also just a really
top-line overview of how you can care
for your sweaters that they last as long
as possible and then in my next video
after this coming later in the week I'll
be sharing a lookbook featuring some of
my own personal sweaters and some of my
favorite ways to style them to help give
you maybe some inspiration because I
know as we get to the end of the season
it can really start to drag on and
sometimes the inspiration can be lacking
before the cold weather pieces because
we just wanted to be spring already so
let's hop right into the video when it
comes to the sweater silhouettes or
styles that you can choose from it seems
like they're being updated constantly
but today I'm gonna cover some of the
basic ones that I like for my own
personal wardrobe these are some of the
styles that I think are really easy to
work with they build pretty much with
everything so you don't really have to
worry about them potentially not jiving
with another piece in your wardrobe
because they're really easy to style
first on that list is going to be a
basic cardigan I like this to be
slightly veed in the front a little bit
of a dip because I'm a little bit on the
shorter side and smaller framed and I
like how it opens things up but I also
have some that are just a standard
crewneck I think a lot of times people
think of cardigans as being matronly or
a little bit outdated but I don't think
that's true I think they're really nice
and it's definitely something to
consider having in your wardrobe because
you can easily throw it on a lighter
piece for example during spring and
summer when it's really cold inside and
really hot outside it's an easy layering
piece you can take on and off and then
also they come in so many different
colors and
so you can really wear them year-round
I'm a huge fan and I have quite a few in
my wardrobe which I'll share in the
video that I mentioned earlier coming
later in the week and then for the non
cardigan sweater styles or silhouettes
there are three basic ones a v-neck a
crewneck and a turtleneck I really
really love all three I tend to
gravitate mostly towards crew necks as
you can see I'm wearing one today
because I think they layer really well
you don't really have to overthink it
you can throw them on top of most things
and they tend to be really flattering
now if you're someone that's maybe a
little bit on the shorter side you want
to really open things up or you tend to
be heavy chested you'll probably prefer
a moderate v-neck it tends to draw the
eye down making you look taller and
thinner and it's something that's really
nice to wear especially in the spring
because you want to be open and a little
bit lighter than you have been all
summer all winter long but you also
don't want to be freezing so it's a nice
happy medium for the two you're not
totally exposed but you're also kind of
embracing spring a little bit and then
of course you have turtlenecks I really
love turtlenecks I like them in a really
chunky knit I think it's super cozy and
it looks really nice layered underneath
the jackets during the winter and the
fall especially now when it comes to
sweater materials I really like natural
fibers I think that they are so
wonderful because they're really cozy
they're really comfortable to wear
unless you have an allergy definitely
double check you're not allergic to wool
or anything because that will be very
uncomfortable for you but they're very
warm but also breathable so I really
love cotton wool cashmere and then any
blend of those another one that I think
is really nice is to take one of those
warmer fibers and then throw in some
silk I think that it is so luxurious it
feels so soft and it's still warm and it
also often times give you it's you a
slightly
your weight material that you can wear
more easily into spring so if you want a
sweater that you can wear kind of
year-round I recommend either cotton or
a light wool a very very thin wool they
make really beautiful fine wool sweaters
nowadays and then find something with a
little bit of silk mixed in and you'll
be living in the lap of luxury and
you'll feel so cozy but also not
suffocating as it starts to get warmer
if you've been to this channel before
then you know that I can't have a
sweater guide without mentioning
everlean I have quite a few of their
cashmere sweaters and cotton sweaters
and I think they're fantastic they're
very reasonable they're very very
comfortable to wear and they've got a
really nice cut so the one that I'm
wearing right now is kind of a looser
fit and I personally really like this
style it's something that's oversized
but not too baggy so it complements my
personal preferences very well and then
also their standard crew necks are
wonderful in cashmere I think they're
they're so nice and if you're looking
for a basic sweater to segue into
cashmere potentially or just to have
something luxurious that you can wear
regular ly then I think they're a really
great place to look at similarly to ever
Lane I've had very good luck with Corona
they make very luxurious pieces at a
very reasonable price point and I have
one of their crew neck cashmere sweaters
it's so soft and really comfortable the
color is really nice and then also their
turtleneck which is really really nice
because it's not too tight around the
neck I find that grana does petites a
little bit better they don't market it
exactly as paquetes but I find that it
fits more like petite sizing so if
you're kind of in-between or if you've
tried ever laying in the
a little too big then consider looking
into grana because I really like them
and the newest affordable cashmere
retailer on the market is not them
they offer a $75 crew and v-neck
cashmere option that's really nice it's
a unisex size so it fits both men and
women and they have a couple to choose
from I have the smaller size and it fits
over size but not crazy baggy so I think
it's a flattering kind of a big look you
know it's kind of what you want your
sweaters to look like but you don't look
like you're drowning in them for
reference if you're new I'm 5 3 and 3/4
and I tend to favor 14 sizing because I
have shorter limbs and stuff but it fits
really well I've also had good luck with
the material it hasn't filled
excessively and then also it's mourned
really well it doesn't look tattered or
old but I will say that I've heard the
opposite from other people so be mindful
of that
definitely check not only my personal
opinion and reviews but also others
available on the internet because you
don't want to buy something that's
affordable but not well made now if you
really like the look of a fisherman
sweater a traditional fisherman style
sweater in cotton then I definitely
recommend l.l.bean I have there their
classic fisherman sweater and I really
love it it's really cozy really
comfortable it's slim because I got it
in the smaller size I think I size down
but you've been very easily size up the
proportions stay very very nice and it
gets you that kind of relaxed by the
seaside Diane Keaton something's got to
give them kind of vibe and I think it's
very flattering it's a really nice heavy
cotton but it's still soft and very very
comfortable to wear and then of course
secondhand vintage thrift stores eBay
Etsy all of those are fantastic
retailers for sweaters I have some of my
absolute favorite sweaters from places
like that and they are beautiful they
are in luxurious fabrics but they were a
steal so if you are looking to
incorporate more of these materials into
your wardrobe maybe you want to start
purchasing things that you can have
around for many years but you don't have
upwards of 75 to $100 to spend on
something then definitely check their
stores vintage shops antique malls and
then eBay and Etsy you will be amazed
what you can find in incredible
construction in silhouettes at a
fraction of the price I've paid as
little as twenty dollars for her
cashmere sweater before so don't
hesitate to check there I have the guide
all about shopping secondhand vintage
I'll link it here for you but definitely
try to dip your toes in because you can
get some amazing pieces that are not
only beautiful but also oftentimes very
unique which helps really add something
nice to your personal style now I want
to share some of my top line tips for
caring for your sweaters and storing
them so they last a really long time I'm
not going to go into too much detail I
can definitely go into more detail in
another video let me know if that's
something you're interested in but these
are just some of the top pointers to
keep in mind so my first tip is to hand
wash them I know it sounds tedious if
you're not familiar with and washing
your clothing then it can be a bit of an
adjustment but once you get used to it
you're in a take pride in caring for
your clothing and really enjoy the
process of making sure that something
lasts a long time and I find that for me
hand washing is almost therapeutic in a
sense I know it sounds really weird but
it is because I'm sitting there kind of
reminding myself of all the time and
energy that I put into my wardrobe and
all the time and energy I put into
choosing that particular piece and I
really want it to last a long time so I
hand wash in a bowl of lukewarm water
with a very mild detergent I'll link the
one that I use down below it lasts a
very long time so I know the price can
seem a little high at first but it's a
fantastic product and then once it's
done all the dirts out and all the grime
is out
I won't wring it very very gently I
don't go crazy because you don't want to
shape the sweater and cause it
stretch out or anything and then I will
dry it on a towel draped across a
clothing rack and then also if you're
really really short on time with
cashmere and wool sweaters you can
actually fold them put them in a ziplock
bag and then put them in the freezer
leave them in there for about an hour
and they will be disinfected it's a
really really good tip and something
that I've done when I've been in a time
crunch before another very important
part of sweater maintenance is removing
the pills so oftentimes you'll have a
sweater in a material like cashmere or
wool and those fabrics do have a
tendency to pill
so those are those little balls of
fabric that you see and they can make
the sweater look very tattered and
really old when it's really not so just
taking those off can really revive it
and make it look brand new I like to use
a sweater comb for this it's something
that you can find pretty much anywhere
they're very inexpensive but if you
don't have one you don't want to buy one
and you really just want to kind of
handle it another way then you can use a
dull razor blade just a razor that you
used to shave your legs make sure that
you can run it against your hand without
causing any rips in your skin and as
long as you can do that you can use that
on your sweater run it very delicately
along any pills and they'll come off and
it'll be so simple you didn't just clean
the razor and the sweater will look
basically brand new it's also a really
good thing to keep in mind when buying a
sweater secondhand because sometimes
you'll find sweaters that are beautiful
they look basically brand new except
it's hidden beneath all of those pills
so if you are in a store for example
touching a secondhand sweater and you're
not positive if it's salvageable then go
through and try to remove some of them
with your fingertips if they come off
easily then it's something you can
probably handle and in my last two tips
first sweater care has to do with
storage so you never want to hang your
sweaters I know I've displayed my
sweaters on hangers and past videos but
that's just for the video and I really
should have clarified that in those
videos because if you store them like
that you
and cause permanent marks and the
shoulders so definitely take them off
the hangers and fold them nicely and put
them in a drawer or one of those nights
colander display things that you can get
for your closet and then if you're
worried about bugs or moths and you just
want to keep things feeling and smelling
fresh then you might want to consider
putting a lavender sachet in your drawer
I'd something that I do with all of my
clothes but I particularly like it for
my sweaters because my sweaters end up
smelling like lavender and I really like
lavender and then the last thing I want
to say before I close out this video is
that if you ever feel discouraged about
spending so much time on your sweaters
maybe you really I really don't want to
hand wash and hand dry and go through
all of that and deep hill and worry
about moths then maybe it'll help you to
think about investing in something that
you can have for many years to come and
then potentially hand down I have a
sweater in my collection that I don't
wear because it's far too precious to me
but it belonged to my grandmother and it
was passed down to me and it still looks
brand-new because it was looked after
with such love and affection and cared
for really well so if you like that type
of approach then that might be the
motivation you need to really take the
time to care for your sweaters spend
time finding those that are gonna be
perfect for your wardrobe and then
really look after them because it can be
a beautiful thing that you can look at
fondly for years to come and then even
potentially pass down to future
generations if you'd like to see more
videos like this along with some of my
top tips for doing more with less I
would love to have you subscribe thank
you so much for watching and I'll see
you in my next one
have a great day
you
