Want to look slimmer? Get a supersized knit
HERE in our doubleglazed, centrally heated world, you wouldn’t think there was a place for the chunky knit.
But you could say that about log burners, sheepskins, woolly throws and fake fur — and they’re all more popular than ever.
The truth is that chunky knits are the fashion equivalent of log burners. They have hygge appeal (the Danish word for life-affirming cosiness). They press the same nostalgia buttons as oilskins and corduroy jackets, and remind us of winters in log cabins, lolling about in your boyfriend’s Aran sweater — even if you never had a boyfriend with an Aran sweater, let alone a cabin.
But, most of all, the appeal is that they make us look smaller. Admittedly, there are a lot of fashion items that make you look slimmer than a giant sweater, but still, that’s what’s behind this fashion.
Women like the ‘drowning-in-it’ feel of chunky knits; the way they make your legs look like sticks coming out of a lampshade; and the fact that their bulkiness makes us seem comparatively waiflike. We feel like Marilyn Monroe on the beach in her chunky belted wool cardigan. Some people will just want one to keep warm walking the dog.
ANYWAY, these big knits are topping the fashion charts, specifically highnecked, big-sleeved (as in ballooning, with cuffs that graze your fingertips), long-line (bottomcovering), wide-fit, slouchy, swamping sweaters.
The idea is to look like you are peeking out at the world from behind your turtleneck (wear this grazing your chin), and you might be wrapped in a fat scarf, too.
The most fashion-forward designers, including Saint Laurent, are mad for polo-necks, but there’s also a limitless array of knits on the High Street, from long belted cardigans to cropped applique sweaters. Anything goes, as long as it’s unmistakeably oversized.
The knit is the main event. Wear with jeans or trousers, or a lean midi skirt and boots.
At one end of the spectrum are the serious swampies: Zara has a bright-red cable-knit turtleneck (€39.99, zara.com) that finishes half way down the thigh. Less of a statement, but still chunky, is H&M’s wool-blend jumper (€44.99,
hm.com), an Aran-ish knit, but crucially, only hip-grazing, so it’s easier to wear with a skirt.
For everyday wear, look to less extreme options. Kin by John Lewis’s oversize roll-neck jumper (€80.50, johnlewis.com) is soft, unstructured, and totally plain.
For something a bit smarter, French Connection does a blousonsleeved black-and-white jumper (€140, frenchconnection.com), and Winser London’s burgundy ruffle knit (€225, winserlondon.com) is equally office-friendly.
The secret to staying cool is with a thin stretch top. Me+Em has plenty of jersey layering pieces to wear under its slouchy box jumpers, including a chic Breton stripe (€168), and a roomy polo-neck with cable sleeves (€225, all meandem.
com). Cable all over adds inches, so detail is the answer.
If you are feeling hot just thinking about these sweaters, you can always cheat and get a Me+Em icon cable knit with detachable snood (€225). That way, you get the