Chunky knitwear for winter - only real men need apply

Friday, 23 November 2012

With winter's grip tightening it's time to buy a warm, chunky, tough explorer/fisherman/sailor type of sweater - traditional in design and which shows that you mean business. No cashmere or bright colours here - the scratchier the better, these sweaters go with chapped hands, an ice-encrusted beard and extreme endeavour, as illustrated by the first image of Captain Oates of Antarctic fame.

Traditional knitwear seems to be taking off; Fair Isle, Norwegian, Guernsey, Faroese (as Sarah Lund), cable-knit, Aran, fisherman's style, and so on. Here's a selection that caught my eye (they're not really scratchy, but at least they look it).

The UK has a long knitwear heritage resulting from its maritime history and strong wool industry. Buy British if you can - but, if you're not from the UK, most countries have their own traditional patterns for you to explore. I'll be looking at more sweaters over the next week or two.