No doubt about it, I’m all about cardigans. No pull-over sweaters for me! Here’s why:
2) I always find some way to get cold in the summer months, whether it’s entering an icy air-conditioned building, or just sitting in just the right amount of shade. Let me put it this way, I’ve worn sweaters in such humid, tropical locals as Costa Rica and Hawaii! Yes folks, I somehow managed to get cold. So a cardigan is much easier to layer on top of an outfit, or take off if I do eventually get too hot.
3) If you haven’t noticed by now, I have curly hair. Curly hair is a pain in the butt because once curly hair is styled…you can’t touch it! Touch it, and you risk turning into a frizz-monster. So any article of clothing that requires being pulled over my head, and thus, possibly unleashing my hair’s inner frizz-ball is my arch-nemesis.
So now you know why I heart cardigans, and why they’re one of my wardrobe essentials. For summer, I still wear cardigans, I just switch things up a little bit.
Colors - When the sun comes out, so do my bright colors! Turquoise, coral and other bright shades come out to play. Sure, I wore them a little bit in fall and winter, but it was usually as a colorful accent to another item, like a tweed jacket. Now it’s their time to shine all on their own. In fact, some cardigans, like the coral one to the left, just feels weird if I wear it in cold weather. For some reason, the color only feels right in spring and summer. Weird, huh?
Fabric weight - I love my cashmere, but that’s one type of cardigan that just won’t work in 90 degree weather (believe me, I tried…and almost gave myself heat stroke in the process). So I put away the cashmere and pull out the light, looser knits for summer. Cottons, silks, and thin wools come out to play instead. In fall and winter, I usually layer these thin knits under blazers and jackets, but during summer, they become the top layers of my outfits.
Sleeve length - My 3/4 sleeve length cardigans don’t get much wear during fall and winter, but get a lot of use during summer. Did you know we release a lot of heat near our wrists? That’s why if we get hot, one of the first things we usually do is push up our sleeves. That’s why 3/4 length cardigans are so great during warm weather. They keep your upper arms and shoulders warm, while still letting your wrists cool off.
Summer Cardigans:
LOFT always has great summer weight, 3/4 sleeve cardigans, like these:
Petite 3/4 Sleeve V-Neck Cardigan
Petite Shadow Stripe Cardigan
And, of course, J.Crew has wonderful summery colors, like these:
Jacki Cardigan
Jenna’s Cardigan
More Summer Wardrobe Essentials:
Summer Blazers
Summer Jewelry
Clinton and I say “Thanks for reading!”
Are you a warm-weather sweater wearer? What’s your go-to summer styles?
Disclosure - Clicking or purchasing through the links in this post may yield commissions for AlterationsNeeded.com. See the Alterations Needed Disclosure for more details.
