Jeremy Langmead declares the sleeveless knit top en vogue again
This winter, lose the sleeves.
There are a handful of menswear items that, like certain friends, you never see as often as you should. In fact, you can go for ages without giving them much thought at all, but then as soon as you bump into them again you’re not quite sure why you’d left it for so long. One of my clothes acquaintances is the sleeveless knit. These have so much to give, and yet I never wear them as often as I should, even though, like a good friend, they offer both emotional and practical support. Dig a sleeveless knit out from your wardrobe and it immediately conjures up feelings of comfort, nostalgia and safety. If you look at the ones usually available — all Fair Isle patterns or Donegal stripes — they bring back memories of Monty Python’s immortal “Gumby” sketches, Wallace and Gromit’s capers, or Paul McCartney’s Magical Mystery Tour Beatles era.
But that, alas, has also been their problem. The sleeveless knit has never been seen as sexy or powerful: it’s more Rich Tea biscuit than rich and famous. There aren’t many occasions when you think: “I want to look all cuddly today”; “this week, I’m going to pretend I’m much older”; “tomorrow I want to look utterly unthreatening”. We mostly dress up now to look fit for purpose, whether that’s being in an office, on a date, or on a football pitch. The lifestyle in which a sleeveless Fair Isle knit looks just right has traditionally been a hard one to nail. It has seemed to require either a full-look Ralph Lauren ad campaign or, at the other end of the scale, a lowbudget TV drama up North (the sleeveless knit has long been championed by Granville in Open All Hours, after all).
This winter, however, the sleeveless knit has come back with a whole new attitude: it’s as if it’s been pumped up with steroids. Like Bruce Banner in The Hulk, this mild-mannered piece of knitwear has been transformed into a strong statement piece. How did that happen? There are three reasons. One, if you ask a shrink, is that the allure of a pastoral lifestyle in these politically- and economically-ruffled times becomes far more attractive. Whether you want to sink into fleece-lined sweatpants on the sofa, or run to the hills in a pair of corduroys and a sweater, it’s all about escapism.
Two, if you don’t ask a shrink, it’s all about size and fit (a different kind of shrink). The new-generation sleeveless knits (or, if you really want to be unkind, tank tops) have been made to hang shorter and fit slimmer. The designers have taken this traditional piece of menswear — favoured by the errant Duke of Windsor — and added a dash of danger. It’s now more Peaky Blinders than Open All Hours. Look at the sleeveless knits on offer today from designers such as Gucci, Versace and Dries Van Noten and they’ve either ramped up the colourways, shredded the sleeves, or cut them to hang above your waistline. Gucci has replaced the Fair Isle with logo jacquard, Versace has added Technicolor stripes and faux-school badges, Acne Studios has swapped the neutral beiges for pastel pinks, while Marni appears to have put the lower halves of their sleeveless knits into a fire to give a chargrilled effect.
Finally, as always, it’s all in the mix. Whatever your inspiration, don’t turn your outfit into a costume. Best not to mix your sleeveless knit with a pair of jumbo cords, nor your tweed jacket with a flat cap — very David Beckham, a huge fan of Peaky Blinders — but pair them instead with something unexpected. A Fair Isle knit will look much sharper worn under a plain black suit over a slightly untucked shirt, or teamed with slim-fit trousers, denim jacket and trainers. Otherwise, if you want to adopt just a gentle nod to the trend then choose a sleeveless cardigan, which are also popular this winter: Drake’s, Canali and
John Smedley, for example, all have smart, slim-fitting styles in monochrome colours that look natty under a jacket.
So, I would advise you to get back in touch with some of your older wardrobe friends and introduce them to a few of your new ones. Remember to approach winter outfits as you would the guest list for your Dream Dinner Party — just be sure to get the seating plan right.