Winter is coming and it’s time we think about what we’re going to wear. What could be more stylish, I ask, than wearing knitwear to keep you warm? As you know, at MFM we’re all about style and combining necessity to want gets us very excited. From cardigans to jumpers, knitwear is a very defining choice. There’s a belief, however, that knitwear is only for winter, this is not the case. Knitwear can be worn in all of the four seasons – in summer, for example, you have the opportunity to roll up the sleeves and show off your watch or wristbands. With winter, knitwear is perfect to keep you warm and be a stand-in for a coat. Knitwear is not as big a commitment as buying a coat – jumpers and cardigans are cheaper and come in many more patterns and colours.

knitwear 001

Cardigans may seem to own the whole outfit not, however, if you choose to add some accessories and wear it properly. You’ll notice those little additions make all the difference to making a dominant cardigan fit your own style. Decorating a jumper with a scarf or hat can really change the way it looks as you wear it. In addition, adding smart shoes or boots to your knitwear outfit can allow you to venture into the smart-casual territory that jumpers and cardigans allow us to go in.

Of course a big factor in knitwear is what you wear with it but it’s also how you wear it. With a cardigan, you have the choice between buttoning it up or leave it open. When buttoned up, you leave only the edges of your shirt and perhaps a scarf to be seen, when open you can show off the whole shirt – perhaps adding a different, complementary, of course, colour to the outfit. When it comes to jumpers it’s whether you decide to wear something on top – a coat, perhaps for those chillier days – or to roll up the sleeves and make it more casual, almost less serious. It comes down to choice, how you choose to look on that particular day, what kind of image you want to portray.

Knitwear is not just one look. It doesn’t take away any sense of style or ownership. There are many things you can do with it, many accessories to add. Below are three looks you can have with knitwear.

Look One:

arlberg crew jumperstwist bobble hatsgold face watch

fleece lined glovescriminal fairisle scarfjeremy shoulder bags

This look shows that knitwear can be two things – casual and smart. Wearing the slim jumper you have the opportunity to roll up the sleeves and show off your watch, making the look casual and still keeping your own style for everyone to see. Wearing it with the sleeves rolled down you can make the look much smarter; it can even be an alternative coat – adding simple things like a scarf and hat to keep you warm and add to the patterned, winter affect.

Look Two:

cable navy cardigannick lace up bootstrack denim jeans

stitched leather beltsdouble pocket denimwine denim shirts

A simple blue cardigan offers so many opportunities. I, myself, am a huge lover of cardigans, wearing them all the time and adding a shirt or scarf as I wear one. A cardigan can be a jacket, a coat, something to throw on when you wear it around the house, you name it. Here you can see how you can build an entire outfit out of something simple, with no pattern, just the colour and the buttons. Adding a pair of jeans and shoes gives the look a sharper tone, balancing smart and casual and along the way adding style to winter.

Look Three:

cable todd snyder sweatercutler and grossleather strap brown watch

kurtland kurt geigerband of outsidersherschel america backpack

This look is all about looking smart and embracing winter. With the Mr Porter turtle-neck and simple black trousers, the colours complement each other so well that it gives off subtle colour tones. With the addition of the brown boots you look becomes something you would wear on an average day. The oaky brown goes well with the jumper and flows through the outfit, continues with the straps of the backpack.

Conclusion

There you have it, the simple truth: that winter doesn’t have to be dark and miserable where you wear large coats and hats, resembling a snow man more than a style icon. Here at MFM, we don’t get a case of the winter blues, we embrace winter as a way of showing off style and new, exciting looks. But we have to remember that knitwear isn’t just a winter thing, knitwear can be worn all year round. It’s versatile, useful, stylish, and at MFM, we love it.