When I was ironing yesterday, I realized, again, that my black v-neck sweater is perhaps the most frequently worn item in my closet in the cold weather. While mine is cashmere, if I had to replace it, I'd probably opt for a very "flat" merino wool, or maybe Eileen Fisher's cotton/silk blend...
Mine is big enough to layer, but not so huge that it looks sloppy on it's own. The v is low enough that a tee shirt peeks out when it's underneath, but if I wear the sweater alone I'm not risking a career-limiting move.
At it's most simple, the sweater, alone with a pair of simple jeans or khakis, is perfect:
Sweater – J. Crew, scarf – Tory Burch,
jeans – Ralph Lauren, loafers – Stuart Weitzman, scarf – futabaya,
khakis – Vince, oxfords - Repetto
And with a plain white cotton shirt, or silk blouse,anyone can wear it to work:
Sweater – J. Crew, white cotton shirt –
Equipment, grey wool pants – Reiss, shoes – Salvatore Ferragamo,
white silk blouse – Chloe, tweed skirt – Paule Ka, black tights – Missoni,
pumps - Eickhoff
A tee shirt underneath is a great way to segue toward summer with white jeans:
Sweater – J. Crew, tee shirt – Proenza Schouler,
white jeans – J. Crew, loafers – Elizabeth & James, blue tee shirt – Iris & Ink, blue flats –
Kenneth Cole Reaction
With any other blouse, this sweater can give you a long monochromatic line with a dash of color or pattern near your face (and maybe some fun shoes...):
Sweater – J. Crew, dotted blouse – J. Crew, black pants – Stella
McCartney, striped flats – Marc Jacobs, pink cotton blouse – Hugo, black skirt
– Diane von Furstenberg, pumps – Jimmy Choo
This kind of sweater is very handy for toning down a busy patterned pant, or for serving as a backdrop for some amazing accessories:
Sweater – J. Crew, necklace – Kenneth Jay Lane, clutch – Talullah Tu, flowered pants – Paul Smith, pumps –
Christian Louboutin,
earrings – Yael & Tal, scarf – Yuh
Okano, tweed
pants – Dolce & Gabbana,
silver loafers – J. W. Anderson
This simplicity is particularly useful if you have a major statement skirt that is best balanced by something simple, but still gorgeous:
Sweater – J. Crew, necklace – Fossil,
geometric print skirt – Peter Pilotto,
pumps – Salvatore Ferragamo, lace bracelet – Aurelie Bidermann,
lace trim leather skirt – Jason Wu, slingbacks – Miu Miu