Sweaters for the Cold

Alpaca, linen and cashmere make the best sweaters in my opinion. Alpaca and linen are great for temperate months, because they are warm when it's cool and cool when it's warm. Cashmere is what I want when the temperature goes down. I like the feel, though I have to admit that merino wool is most of the way there and only half the cost.

I wrote recently about the sleeveless v-neck vest for wear under a jacket. Three other styles of knitwear are the backbone of a cold weather knitwear wardrobe for less formal occasions: the crew neck (cabled or plain), the to-button cardigan, and the rollneck. The crewneck goes over a shirt, with odd trousers. The cardigan is worn informally in place of a jacket. And the rollneck can be worn under a jacket in place of a dress shirt, like the man in the illustration.

Before dyeing, cashmere comes naturally in tones of mid-grey, cafe au lait and a dirty cream. Add navy to that list and those are the colors I prefer.

All cashmere fibre comes from the underhair beneath the exterior coat of the cashmere goat living on the frigid plateaus of Mongolia and China - and it takes the underhair of at least three goats to create one sweater. The best feels soft and smooth, but never slippery or buttery which are signs of over processing.

The Scots, starting with Johnston's of Elgin, have been knitting cashmere the longest but the Italians have closed the quality gap. The best makers are the 16 members of the Scottish Cashmere Club such as Alex Begg and Murray Allen, and a couple independent Italians like Loro Piana and Colombo Cashmere.

I wasn't familiar with Colombo until Jonathan Fischer at Four in Hand lent me a box of their new knits. I was really impressed. The two ply sweaters look like worsted cashmere, smooth and tightly knit.

Unless he lives in an unheated castle in the Hebrides, two ply is all the sweater a man needs. A cabled cashmere crewneck over a chambray shirt, worn with moleskin trousers and moccasins is about as comfortable as it gets on the weekend. Paired perhaps with a polka dotted silk neckerchief and a bit of single malt.

Wearing a Scarf

How should a man wear a scarf? There are several ways, and most of them work whether the scarf is paired with an overcoat or just an odd jacket.

Which is a reason to point out that scarves look great without overcoats. Tied like an ascot around the neck (like the men in the illustration) and worn over a sweater or a shirt, a scarf fills the front of the jacket and keeps the wearer warm. I like them paired with tweed on weekends instead of a necktie.

Of course, some men don't go to the trouble of tieing their scarves when they're wearing an overcoat. Scarves can be worn without a knot, where the ends just frame the opening of the coat, exposing the necktie. It's a nice look so long as the overcoat holds the scarf in place, and so long as the winter wind isn't whistling into the wearer's shirt.


A step beyond the open scarf is the continental approach. Fold the scarf in half and place it around the neck. Pull the two ends through the open loop, like the rather ordinary looking Johnston's of Elgin (the oldest cashmere house) scarf in the photo.


Scarves can be silk or other materials but I like cashmere best when it's cold. The scarf in the photo is a tightly woven charcoal chalkstripe by Colombo Cashmere (Colombo and Loro Piana are the creme de la creme of the Italian makers). $225 at Four In Hand.

Little Bits

Four In Hand is having a necktie and cashmere sale that includes Begg's cashmere scarves like the chocolate one in the photo.


Cravate Royale is also having a sale, in this case on its superb bow ties. Pictured is the Royal Woven Kent mini-basketweave in navy silk with blue and purple paisleys. $45.95 each while they last.


And here is a photo of the pork pie hat that I wrote about last week, after a day's hard work.

Reader Questions

From Seth
"I'm a long-time fan of your blog, but this is my first time writing you. I am in Glasgow, Scotland for the next month, so I was wondering if you might suggest some good shopping spots while I'm here. I'd be interested in traditional things such as tweeds, sweaters, wellies, etc."

I'm not too knowledgeable about shopping in Glasgow itself but there's some great architecture. The photo is of Pollok House.

If you have access to a car, drive up to Golspie in the North (between Brora and Dornoch) and visit North Highland Tweed Co. which is selling what's left of the tweed stock of Hunters of Brora at great prices. No web site but the telephone was 01408 633294 or 01863 766908 last I knew. Highly recommended for cloth.

Also North is Johnston's of Elgin, the largest cashmere weaver. They have a factory store.

Finally, Begg Cashmere is in Ayr, not far southwest. I don't know if they have a factory store as I've not been there. If they do, it would be well worth a trip if only to see the paisley cashmere scarves. Expensive but gorgeous.

Finally, you can get respectable shetland prices direct from Spirit of Shetland without leaving your computer.

From Nicolaus

"I'm writing about arm holes in bespoke clothing. There's much ado about "high arm holes" on jackets in some of the forums I frequent. I wanted to know what is your opinion on the matter? Do high arm holes make wearing a jacket more comfortable and allow for more freedom of movement?"

Arm holes are a measure of precision tailoring. Larger armholes are easier on the tailor - Anderson & Sheppard famously went to larger armholes some years ago to make it easier to send jobs to the firm's outworkers - and it's hoped the customers won't notice.

High armholes are important however as they help the jacket ride the shoulders without the collar coming off the back of the neck.

"Wool" Neckties

Autumn begins the season for wool neckties, the best of which are cashmere or a mixture of cashmere and silk (I think of Irish poplin, a weave of silk and wool, as a spring and summer item so I'm not discussing them here). Of the pictured baker's dozen from my closet, eleven fall into the cashmere category, the red tie is pure wool and the light blue solid is camel hair.

The point of "wool" neckties is that they absorb light rather than reflect it, and that feature combined with the visible weave adds interest to combinations built around flannel or tweed jackets. They are particularly effective combined with a paisley or hunting pattern silk pocket square.

Like many men, I learned to appreciate the color of silk neckties first, for some reason that probably had something to do with the opinions of various young women. But I've since learned to be my own critic, and I like the look of wool for Autumn.

Cary Grant Did It

In one of his films, Cary Grant arrived at his office, removed his jacket and his oxfords and slipped into a cardigan sweater and tassel loafers for the day. Years later, author Bruce Boyer wrote that the scene was the beginning of business casual.

I admit that his cardigan looked lighter and more comfortable than any suit jacket and I tried to emulate Mr. Grant one winter. I bought a gray Scottish cashmere version and brought it into the office with a pair of Alden tassel moccasins. But I was back to wearing my jacket and regular shoes after just a couple of weeks.

For one thing, the office was often a bit too warm for a sweater. And, more importantly, I discovered that it just took too long to change my shoes and a jacket every time I was going to lunch or a meeting, and back again when I returned. It's one thing to wear clothes and quite another to be dressing and undressing several extra times each day.

But the sweater was a worthwhile purchase overall as it serves me still. I wear it instead of a jacket for casual daytime entertaining on the weekend, with a pair of patterned trousers, an ecru silk shirt with a button down collar, slip-on shoes and a scarf.

The pictured John Laing of Scotland's classic cardigan model is from San Francisco's Cable Car Clothiers. These are rather steep at $595 but similar models are available from many reputable men's stores and online. One source that I've never tried is Brora Scottish Cashmere which has cardigans for £239.00 (about $400 ex VAT) . And I've seen them on sale elsewhere for half of that price.

Just remember that a cardigan should button, not zip. How else can a man leave the bottom button unbuttoned?

Sources: Tuttle

Connecticut's Tuttle Sportswear started in 1990 as a golf clothing specialist and over time has expanded its offerings to include most types of ready to wear sportswear. The company's offerings reflect its original golf orientation, with lines such as Oscar Jacobson, Bobby Jones and Ben Hogan side by side with Dore Dore socks and Majer trousers.

I am not one for logos, or for someone else's name sewn conspicuously on my clothing, but I do like Tuttle's private labeled goods, such as their Alpaca V-Neck sweater vests ($125) in eleven colors and the single ply cashmere mock turtlenecks ($325). I wear the mock tees under odd jackets when I'm visiting a Silicon Valley business that may not have seen a man wearing a necktie since the previous millenium.

The company has been successful because it does things right. Shipments are sent next business day by Fedex at reasonable prices (the default is ground service) and there is a convenient order tracker screen built into the site.

There is also a reasonable refund and exchange policy. Refunds are issued in the original form of payment and there is no shipping charge on exchange orders. Original and return shipping, handling and insurance charges are not refundable.

Sources: Maus & Hoffman

A five store Florida chain that specializes in "classic sportswear," Maus & Hoffman also operates a useful web site offering good quality lines from makers such as Brioni and Oxxford. I am particularly fond of the company's Lemmermayer Links Alpaca Cardigan sweater.

The selection of online merchandise at first appears limited, however, much like Paul Stuart's set-up, customers can use an online form to order items from the M&H catalogs. A pdf version of the latest catalog is on the home page with an interesting selection of expensive but unique polos and other light-weight clothing for summer and resort wear. It's also worthwhile to periodically visit the Clearance section where quality Scottish cashmere items are currently 25% off.

The M&H terms of sale are more than fair. There is a thirty day exchange or refund policy for any item returned in good condition.