I really love sweaters and should have just waited to post that instead of splitting it up into 2 parts. This will be of equal length I think. Knits (as a general term not specifically referring to the technical weaving of fabric) are so special and one of the areas I personally think you should invest a bit of money because they tend to be one-time buys that can be repaired year after year with relative ease. You can still buy affordable knits second-hand, especially given they way our (general) relationship to clothing has changed over the years. There are more and more sweaters and cardigans ending up in the thrift stores, and I highly recommend checking the men’s section (that’s where the gems typically hide)!
Sorry for the long pause between posts, I had midterms. Next week I’ll likely talk about finding things for steals! There will likely be a follow up to this one, because I really love sweaters and am always looking for the next great sweater (but truthfully, I think I already own it).
Annie Sews
A one woman shop in manchester, uk. She offers a few different designs, but I adore this peony top and think it would make a cute cardigan. This one is made to order but not absurdly expensive (at least compared to the rest of this list, sorry!), but you’re supporting a small creator who’s using natural materials so the price (around $200-230USD) is likely worth it (and will last). You can pick the base color and the fuzz color as well as the buttons for this top!
Aisling Camps
There are few sneaks in this list this is one of them. Aisling Camps is an interesting and newer company. They make a lot of pieces with blends of wools and arcylics which I personally hate those blends on principle. (Plastic in clothing so arcylic/polyester/nylon, wear out with the heat and friction [heat again] of your body which leads to holes and makes it difficult to repair/require more frequent repairs). This top, which I’m saying is baby bottega, is knit leather! Fun! Different! Edgy + soft, in short it’s pretty perfect. I will definitely try to buy one of these (second hand).
Yaga Shop
This is a tiny shop that makes their handmade knits in Peru. They mad/ke a cardigan and that looked very similar to a Sea NY one but without synthetic fibers. I wish I had seen it before I bought mine!
Ýrúrarí
These sweaters are really funky and fun! I have a few novelty sweaters and they’re great on days I don’t want to really get dressed up but still wear something eye catchy. These sweaters are a little (very) out of my price range (they’re close to 1k each), but I do love them. It might be cheating to include Ýrúrarí in this list because she doesn’t actually make the sweaters, the base sweaters are second hand and she adds the funky knit adornments. I like this one in particular because the mouths are actually pockets so you can tuck the tongues into them. She’s dropping a new collection of sweaters soon!
Lulu Kaalund
Okay this one is a bit of copout considering she makes artistic knits that I’m not sure she sells them but I think the designs are funky and fun. While I would love to buy one of her sweaters (I’ve tried she never responded!) I do think they serve as great color inspo.