Cardigans

Women's cardigan sweaters

A cardigan is the most useful thing you own for one reason: it goes on last and comes off first. It's covering an outfit you already picked, so what actually matters is whether it holds its shape, whether it sits right hanging open, and how it feels on your arms at four in the afternoon. The easiest way to choose is by how it closes.

Open cardigans

No buttons, no zip, nothing to fasten — it drapes from the shoulder and stays there. It's the least fussy thing you can put over a tee or a dress, and it works in a warm room because you're never sealed into it. Some are knit long enough to fall past the hip, so the front bands run two clean lines the whole way down.

Button cardigans

A button cardigan gives you both versions in one garment: open when you want the layer, closed when you want the shape. Look for a full front placket, a V neckline that keeps it from reading prim, and patch pockets deep enough to actually use. Fasten the middle two and leave the rest — that's how it wants to be worn.

Fitted and zip-front cardigans

A fitted cardigan is cut close through the body with a set-in shoulder, so it holds a line instead of adding bulk. Zip fronts do the same job with a collar that stands, and a two-way zip lets you open it from the hem when you sit down. The longer zip styles run to mid-thigh and read closer to outerwear than knitwear.

Cashmere or cotton

Most of these are knit from 100% Grade A cashmere — warm without weight, and the reason a cardigan you bought years ago is still the one you reach for. The cotton and cotton-blend styles give you the same easy layer in a knit that breathes and washes, which is what you want for warm mornings and air-conditioned rooms. See the cashmere cardigans or the cotton cardigans on their own.

Why black does the most work

A black cardigan disappears into whatever it's over, which is the whole job of a layer — you notice the outfit, not the thing on top of it. Navy does the same a shade softer. Oatmeal, stone and driftwood sit forward instead: they catch the light and show you the knit, which is what you want when the cardigan is the point.

Nearby

For zip fronts with a hood, see hoodies. For the same knits without a front opening, see sweaters. For the longest shapes, see long cardigans.

Keeping them

For cashmere we recommend dry cleaning — it's the safest way to hold the shape and the hand. If you're experienced with washing cashmere, a gentle cool wash and a flat dry works too. Cotton and cotton-blend styles machine-wash cold on a gentle cycle, laid flat to dry. Store any of them folded rather than hung, so the shoulders keep their line. Exchanges and store credit are easy within 21 days — see the return policy.