Wool Sweaters for Winter: An Old Classic, A New Obsession ...

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Until recently I have been very resistant to the wool sweater, especially the fitted wool sweater. Mainly because they make me itch, but also because there’s something about the idea of a classic wool sweater that makes me feel like I just jumped out of a 1950s Coca-Cola ad or worse, a J. Crew catalog – both things I seek to avoid like death itself. But maybe it’s the knitter in me and the fact that wool is nearly unavoidable, and maybe it’s my recently discovered appreciation for this fabulous fiber via The Knitter’s Book of Wool, and maybe it’s simply the fact that saying no to wool dramatically limits my fashion options in general, but I have recently developed an insatiable obsession with wool sweaters. Maybe it’s the fact that I was at Benetton DESPERATELY seeking lipstick red items (I one day had the epiphany that I look better in lipstick red than any other color, have practically none of it in my wardrobe, and Benetton is pretty much the only store this season carrying it in any practical quantity) and I discovered THIS in the men’s section: I had to have it. Normally a men’s medium is perfect on me, giving me a bit of wiggle room but never baggy. On me this is incredibly fitted, particularly in the shoulders and upper arms (and, heh heh, bust) in true traditional 50s style. But the skulls make this sweater the perfect synthesis of everything I want out of a fashion item. It’s a much more conservative piece than I used to wear in my goth-envy, punker, Urban Outfitters college days, but it still has that edgy twist to it. People look at it from far and think it’s a conservative fair isle but then they get up close and…wait, what? So many compliments just in my first day of wearing it. I love it. AS for my lipstick red adventures, I ended up buying three different lipstick red items from Benetton and one electric blue. My complexion really does call for it. Two were softer synthetic blends because they’re pieces I will be wearing next to my skin, but I also picked up a phenoms wool-angora blend loose fitting sweater dress with a giant oversized cowl (mmmm…cowl): You can’t really get the OMG RED from these photos; they came out a little pinkish in the natural light… But trust me; We’re talking BLINDINGLY, SHOCKINGLY red. Interestingly, it’s a warmer, orangier red than I would have expected myself going for. My palette really calls for a true, blood, blue red. But whatever – I love it. And it pops on me. And it looks good with BOTH my red Chanel lipsticks AND my YSL. That’s right. I match my clothing to my lipstick, not the other way around. It’s a method I highly recommend. Meanwhile, being able to wear jeans and a t-shirt to my lawya job is both a blessing and a curse. It’s way too easy to just slap on whatever I left lying on my bedroom floor and crawl out of bed 10 minutes before I need to be on the train. I don’t know what it is about my current project – maybe the concerting lack of men I care to impress – but up until now I’ve always retained my position as head fashion plate, even on stupid temp projects where nobody cares. And the thing is, this work pays well, and I spend pretty much all of it on either crafts or beautiful clothes that I never end up wearing because I go to work in a t-shirt and jeans. Ugh. Slightly disgusted with myself, but also kind of loving it. It’s like a guilty pleasure. ANYWAY, one day when I decided I would give slightly more of a crap, I decided to layer two Ann Taylor knits like so: I was fairly pleased with the result. Along with lipstick red and electric blue, vivid violet and chartreuse are also power colors for me. I popped on a slate-gray graphic scarf and damn, I was dressed. This with jeans was just dandy. A little funky, but it retained the conservative quality of a tailored fit, simple knits, and a cardi. Perfecto. Speaking of chartreuse and electric blue, I’ve been sitting on several skeins of delectably fluffy Malabrigo marino for months now… I was planning to knit these up into a funky, striped, subtly cabled/wavy sweater for myself but then <a href="http://www.monclersoldes2011.com"><strong>Moncler Soldes</strong></a> my friend had a baby, and then it came time to start my holiday knitting (which only by the grace of God will I get finished in time) and then it appears I’m going to be in a fashion show in St. Louis in March which I have to knit and produce jewelry for. I’m doing some contemporary, deconstructed, avant garde stuff…all new designs. I have the ideas but haven’t started ANY of the knitting yet. A little overwhelming, I must say, since they want 10 items from each genre. And then, as though I don’t have that and my gorgeous winter coat that I had to stop working on and several other sweaters planned for the never-come one-day in my mind, I put in an order for about 1900 yards of this gorgeous Vintage Lace in a colorway titled Whitewash from Skein Yarn. I’m planning to knit this up into an airy, open, perhaps a little see-through or lacy nothing knit for myself. I should have enough left over for a lovely lace shawl or, dare I say, a MATCHING scarf to actually wear with the sweater? That could be quite striking. It’s a 70% alpaca, 20% silk, 10% cashmere blend so it’s going to be quite insulating, have plenty drape and halo to it and a fair amount of sheen that will all compensate for the open knit and thinness of the fabric. And just look at those muted tones. So lovely and delicate and ephemeral. The artist lives in Australia and she has the most gorgeous yarny offerings. She said it would probably be 3 to 4 weeks to get it to me because she actually has to go make it and seeing as how, at this rate, I won’t get to knit it for another FIVE YEARS I don’t think that’s going to be an issue. Told her to take her time. I also have a bunch of Liberty Wool. Neighborhood Fiber Co., Madeline Tosh DK, handspun, Tannis Fiber Arts, Abstract Fibers Hepburn, Noro, Zauberball, Eco Duo, Baby Bamboo, Lorna’s Laces Angora (in lipstick red!!!). Misty Mountain/Blue Ridge cotton candy pima in Poker Night, tons of Malabrigo, some locally sourced stuff in rough outerwear breeds, a bunch of scraps and leftovers, some Manos del Uruguay cotton, Rowan Rowan and Rowan…That’s just what I can think of off the top of my head. Did I mention I’m also knitting my parents a giant intarsia throw pillow to go with the <a href="http://www.monclersoldes2011.com"><strong>Doudoune Moncler</strong></a> comtemporary art in their family room complete with pillow insert? Yeah. That’s right after I finish the scarf I’m doing right now for a friend and the beret I promised I’d do for another friend. Beret friend and I are both in love with Anthropologie knits, but not Anthropologie prices. I explained to her I don’t think I can pull off an Anthropologie sweater with my current time constraints but offered an Anthropologie inspired beret. These are the two Anthropologie offerings that are compelling me right now – not for the beret, I have a few Ravelry patterns to choose from for that – but these caught my eye as potential inspiration for future projects. They contain some interesting design and construction ideas that I wouldn’t have thought of: Shrinking cables as they go up from the bottom? Interesting, indeed. Can’t stand the color combo but this gave me an idea that still exists solely in my head for a “horned gusset cape” where the “horns” are actually twisted cables that shrink as they crawl up the cape from the bottom edge, shaped on triangular gusset inserts that eventually disappear. This will give the cape a tapered shape. I see it in blue, possibly my MadTosh skeins which I got in varrying blue and purple shades. So it could be subtly striped in a similar way. But gah, not that awful mustard. Mustard. Nobody looks good in mustard. NOBODY. Then there’s this: I have to comment on this. They’re charging well over 200 for this. I poured over this piece. It’s simply done in a chunky yarn. It wouldn’t even take me that long to pull together were I so inclined to do it (NOT NOW) and while the cut and fit strike me as very precise – I’ll admit it’s a well done piece, hard to achieve such a crisp and fitted effect with such a chunky weight yarn – the price is just…ha. I buy sweaters despite my knitting acumen because it’s typically a lot cheaper to get a machine-made variety than to buy the yarn and put in the copious amounts of time necessary to do it by hand. It’s only worth hand knitting if it’s truly unique with all kinds of sumptuous elements or if you know what you want and simply can’t find it in a store. This item, I think, would actually be CHEAPER (accounting for the time it would take me to do it) than to buy it in the store. Apparently it’s all hand-knit, and that’s how they’re justifying the price. I just…no. So that’s that. In completely unrelated news which I will mention here because it is mildly crafty, my Mrs. Peacock costume was a big success at the Halloween party I co-hosted Saturday night: I put it together using a party dress I bought some time ago at Saks and a cardigan I bought about a year ago from Express. The feathered pillbox hat is from a vintage seller on Etsy and the noose and cateye glasses are from costume shops on Amazon.com. The peacock feather pin I put together myself using feathers purchased from an Etsy seller (tons left over; deciding what to do with them – think they’ll Modpodge?) which I wrapped in blue satin ribbon that I already owned with tons of E6000 glue and a safety pin on the back. Shoes from ye olde DSW. Makeup: Mac, with Guerlain lipstick and a little VS blue glitter eyeliner. Earrings, Kendra Scott from Nordstrom. Peacock necklace also from a vintage seller on Etsy. I thought it was an appropriate time to practice my Church Lady face: As always, Emily CoupCoup.Etsy.com Tags: apparel, crafts, fashion, knitting, materials, shopping, what to wear