People are unique beings and that is reflected by the clothes we wear. In this article I will give you a brief introduction between jacket vs cardigan.
When it is chilly but not freezing cardigans are perfect. Just wearing one makes you feel more comfortable. When I lived in the northern part of China right below Russia, I constantly had my cardigan on with an over jacket when I travelled. They are look well on men and woman if you choose the right design.
What Is A Cardigan?
Generally, cardigans are sweaters that cover your arms and fit well on your shoulders, with either a zipper or buttons in front. They have a wide V-neck shape and mould to your body shape.
The material for cardigans, usually consist of wool and are made by hand or machine. There are many types for instance longline, shawl collar, button up and chunky knit cardigan styles. Some are slim fitting while others are loose. Either way they mould to the shape of your body because of the material.
Versatility is what truly makes them great. As you will see in the sections I describe how to wear them and what to do with different body shapes you will be able to see why they are a must have in your closet for all seasons.
Should Men Wear Cardigans?
Absolutely, even though they are unisex, they are popular for men. Think about baseball, golf and casual autumn clothes. A cardigan is usually a V-neck and closes with buttons or a zipper. They are perfect for casual or even semi-formal situations. The V-neck allows you to adjust your style because sometimes the options for men can be limited.
How to wear a cardigan for men:
Most of the time it lets you look unique; you can wear a dark coloured cardigan over a formal shirt to give off a welcoming and relaxed feel. Always try to tailor it to the clothes that look the best on you. If you do this, you will not fall into a situation where you look OutKast chorus singer.
If you have seen the “Hey Ya” music video by OutKast, you will also have realised that you can go all out when you mix bright coloured cardigan’s or clothes. This might be relevant for younger men if you like the clubbing scene.
If someone a middle-aged man tries to dress like that it will come off as desperate and maybe even pathetic attempt to stay relevant. It is the same situation when you wear a jacket, which I will talk about later.
Also check some of the best mens cardigans.
Woman cardigans:
For woman, tight fit cardigans can be worn over a t-shirt with slim fitting jeans in the Autumn. Another situation where cardigans work well for young ladies is wearing one over a sensual silk blouse and jeans.
Types Of Cardigans For Women:
The first one is a belted cardigan; they are usually fairly long and unsurprisingly they have a belt at the waistline. They are perfect for indoor and casual use when it is chilly because they are made with knitted wool, linen cotton, cashmere and linen.
Jeans, high boots, a t-shirt work well with them when you want to dress casually. For a formal look high heels, dark stockings and a formal knee length skirt.
Because they have a belt at the waist it is not a good idea if you have a broader body shape. Unfortunately, they pronounce your stomach too much.
A second popular type is a vest cardigan; they do not have sleeves but can go over most clothes. The length ranges from your waistline to knee length. Luckily you do not have to worry about your figure when you wear a vest cardigan, because they can help hide you body when you leave the front open.
The third one is a cropped cardigan; in contrast to many other types they are more can be sensual because they are made with material like lace which is thin and they are usually fit to be just below your breasts or go down to your waist. Most are designed with buttons, hooks but are meant to be left open. They can be worn with nightgowns to add a bit of mystery.
Fourthly let’s look at long cardigans; this type of cardigan is usually knee length, if you are as short as I am, they will probably become ground length. Jokes aside, they are practical when it is cold as they can function as an overcoat, some have large buttons in front, and when you wear a feather down jacket underneath you will be fine of the Great Wall of China in winter.
They can be fun because you can leave the front open or just use one or two buttons if you have an interesting shirt or jacket underneath.
Dresses To Wear With Cardigans:
You can also wear summer dresses with a cropped or tunic cardigan especially when you want to give people a summer feeling. A longer cardigan can be worn when it is a little bit chilly, making it perfect for dating or just having a good feeling at home.
What are jackets?
It depends on what type of jackets you are looking at. In general, most types of jackets are open in front have buttons on the sleeves and are worn over other clothes. Subjectively a blazer or overcoat comes to my mind when I hear the word jacket.
For someone else they might immediately think about a hoodie or feather down jacket, for the sake of this article I refer to more formal clothing when speaking of jackets.
How to wear a jacket:
A common use for casual blazers is being mixed with a white t-shirt, jeans, and sneakers. It seems like the contradiction of styles have become a quite popular in all types of clothing.
When you dress for formal occasions, the budget you have matters because you can have a tailor make a blazer for you. On a tighter budget you can let someone modify a blazer you bought to suit you.
When you use jacket as an overcoat you have a few options. One would be to wear a vest that blends with the colour, another would be to wear a tight pattern cardigan if it is cold or if you would like to look more approachable.
Jackets are versatile and can be used in many situations. It is comfortable to wear one to a social gathering, depending on the type of date you can mix it with other clothes that can make you look casual, semi-formal or formal.
Best cardigan brands for woman:
- Topshop
- Olive Clothing
- Zara
- Mango
- Comme Des Garçons Girl
- Cos
- John Lewis & Partners
- Banana Republic
Best cardigan brands for men:
- Uniqlo
- Abercrombie & Fitch
- Brook’s Brothers
- Prada
- Marni
Conclusion:
In this article, I have described some of the differences between a cardigan and a jacket. Besides these points, there’s a long debate that can be done on jacket vs cardigan.