Vintage Cardigans
Vintage cardigans are a great addition to your wardrobe. Versatile, eye-catching, and charmingly retro, vintage cardigans can be worn at the office as an alternative to a jacket or on the weekend paired with jeans or casual slacks. They are also great for layering to adjust to central heating and cooling or to changing temperatures outside. In many cases, these cardigans are very high-quality materials. You can often find lambswool, mohair, or other natural fibers accessorized with real mother-of-pearl or bone buttons. Your garments may have patterns, appliqués and buttons that will set them apart from the generic products sold in department stores. There is a growing interest in mid-century fashion and design, and vintage cardigans are an easy way to incorporate fashions from another era into a modern wardrobe, one that accommodates a variety of figures and lifestyles.
Vintage cardigans can be found at vintage clothing or retail shops, but the owners usually know the value of what they have and price accordingly. You may find better prices at thrift shops or yard sales, or if you are very lucky, perhaps you may even find sweaters handed down from older friends or relatives. These sweaters need careful handling—hand-wash gently or dry clean and store folded. You may even want to use acid-free tissue paper to protect these vintage garments in your drawers. Never hang them up! You may find a wonderful sweater with minor damage. A good seamstress may be able to repair small holes, but avoid anything with major tears (unless you want to buy it for the buttons or other decorations which you can transfer to a different garment).
The sizing on vintage cardigans can be tricky, especially if they are hand-knit. These garments are impossible to alter, so be sure to try them on when you are shopping. You can wear them with sleeves pushed up or the front unbuttoned to adjust a gorgeous sweater with less-than-perfect fit. One thing that may surprise you is finding vintage cardigans that apparently never had buttonholes or buttons. This isn’t a mistake! In the mid-twentieth century, many cardigans didn’t have buttons. Instead, they were fastened at the collar with two clips connected by a short chain, called sweater clips, and allowed to hang open below. You may find sweater clips in Grandma’s jewelry box or at vintage jewelry shops to wear with these 1950s sweaters. With a little investment of time in finding and caring for vintage cardigans, you can have fun and unique wardrobe items that mesh well with a modern lifestyle.