Is it possible to stay warm and stylish at the same time during winter? Of course, it is! Especially if you have a dream array of snuggly winter knit sweaters (and sweater dresses) always by your side! With the arrival of the colder temperatures, we are here to celebrate cozy fall sweaters and to treat you to a shopping list of 15 of the best winter knit sweaters of the moment.
Follow our tips to learn how to wear a sweater, and get ready to warm up your winter with a few new knit sweaters and a lot of hot chocolate (we highly recommend preparing one before reading this article)!
Winter Knit Sweaters: Contents
- 15 Best Knit Sweaters for 2021
- What Sweaters Should You Invest in?
- Precious Sweater Styling Tips and Ideas to Keep in Mind
15 Best Knit Sweaters for 2021
It is time for a little bit of shopping! Get inspired by our selection of the best knit sweaters for 2021, and have fun pairing them with unexpected patterns and items! This selection includes extra styling ideas to pamper yourself with something new.
1. Isabel Marant’s Snuggly Sweater
Warm, comfy yet extremely refined, Isabel Marant’s wool sweater is everything those who feel cold have been asking for. It is earth-toned, slightly on the nude side of the brown color palette, meaning that one could pair it with anything, indeed. You can find it at My Theresa!
2. A Vintage-Inspired Sweater
We all love those kinds of vintage sweaters that look like wonderfully warm reminiscences form the Seventies or the Eighties, and Lovers + Friends knows that. For this reason, the brand delivers a cheerful multicolored knit sweater for 2021 that will give you the needed amount of coolness to overcome winter. Pick yours up from Revolve!
3. A Warm Knit Sweater for Every Occasion
Available at Net-a-Porter, this two-tone wool sweater is a winter passe-partout, and could be worn either on a casual day out with friends, or during a formal meeting with your colleagues. It is also perfect for the “red and pink combination” craze that is taking over Instagram right now, so if you own an edgy red miniskirt (why not in vinyl?), it is time to fiercely use it!
4. Keep Yourself Warm and Elegant with Stories
& Other Stories just became the place to go, if what you are looking for is a casual-chic outfit à la Olivia Palermo. Combine this cute fringe-detail sweater with a classic pair of skinny blue jeans, and high boots in brown suede, and you’ll look beyond elegant.
5. Fringe-Style Sweater
Quirky in its embellishments and comfortably warm in its texture, Ulla Johnson’s fringed knit sweater delivers the right amount of style and coziness all at once. You could pair it with a standard pair of bell-bottom jeans, or dare with a catchy pair of skinny vinyl trousers. Either way, you’ll steal the spotlight. One of the best knit sweaters for 2021, get this one at Net-a-Porter!
6. A Pink Cropped Sweater
One of the best outfit options to wear this winter is the longuette skirt with a cropped sweater, the puffed-up shoulders and cropped lines of which could help anyone feel flattered and elegant. If you already have the skirt but still lack cropped sweaters, here we introduce this gorgeous Ganni pink knit sweater, available at My Theresa!
7. Pointelle Sweaters in Off White
Pointelle sweaters are all the rage right now and will keep on riding the fashion waves for a while. Our pick of the best pointelle sweater for 2021 comes from Revolve, and we specifically recommend it if you love wearing shirts underneath sweaters!
8. Printed Vintage Sweaters
For a more vintage-inspired kind of knit sweater, head over to Forward, and you won’t get disappointed! This Frame turtleneck is super cozy and warm, and features a relaxed silhouette that just goes along pretty well with any high-waisted skirt or trousers.
9. A Prairie Sweater
If by “I love vintage” you mean “medieval-inspired dresses fascinate me,” Acne Studios’ prairie-inspired sweater will quickly become your next favorite option! Perfect for both the autumnal/ springtime and wintery seasons (especially if the place you live in is not that cold), you can find it at My Theresa.
10. Cutout Back Details
Superdown strikes again with this modern cutout-back cropped knit sweater for winter 2021, which could be described as the best hybrid between a practical, warm sweater and a merely fashionable one. You can get it at Revolve, and have fun shopping for high-waisted shorts, too!
11. Daytime Purple Sweater
If you love royal tones but don’t know what to do with them in the daytime, this Isabel Marant easy sweater will give you something to add to your wish list right now. Figure-flattering and loose in its silhouette, it looks fun with casual wear. Get it at Forward!
12. Oversized Loose Sweaters? Yes, Please!
Available at Revolve, this V-neckline loose Tularosa sweater in the perfect camel coloring is the epitome of romanticism, and we particularly love its bon-ton texture. If you live in a relatively mild weather, this snuggly sweater for winter 2021 is all you can ask for!
13. High-End, Vintage-Style Sweater
GRLFRND treats us to another must-have vintage winter sweater for 2021 – this soft and elegant rust orange it-item, the vintage vibes and edgy loose silhouette of which will make heads turn, for sure. You can find it at Forward.
14. A Red Sweater for Your Black Outfits
Made in Italy from soft alpaca, this Stella McCartney bright red knit sweater is fine, soft and, most importantly, all eye-catching. Since we know many of you favour bright items to pair with black outfits during wintertime, we selected one of the cosiest knit sweaters for 2021 out there! Find it at My Theresa!
15. A Pink Sweater
Last but not least, Line & Dot just delivered one of its most feminine sweaters for winter 2021, which is all about patterns, balloon sleeves and soft pink shades. If you are going to attend an Eighties-inspired party, make sure to pair it with something sparkly and sequined! But first get it from Shopbop!
What Sweaters Should You Invest in?
There are turtlenecks, pullovers, acrylic sweaters, those blended with mohair, and even those embellished with metallic yarns. There are literally plenty of knit sweaters out there, and it is often hard to find the best ones to invest in.
When investing in a sweater (or actually any other fashion item), there are three things to always keep in mind, i.e. the fabrics, the practicality/ versatility, and your personal taste. Let’s analyse all these aspects before letting the shopping spree begin.
Sweater Materials and Textures
There’s one thing one cannot live without during wintertime – a good wool or cashmere-blend sweater. It doesn’t matter if it is long, cropped, yellow, or patterned, as long as it is made of high-quality fabrics.
The first and all-time advice we can give is to invest in a high-quality knit sweater, and to favour it over two, four of five synthetic ones. We know that, if one looks around, buying three different knit sweaters for the price of one is the easiest thing to do, but not the most visionary.
Once winter comes, and we all know it comes (Games of Thrones fans, we salute you!), you will instantly regret not having invested in a (really) warm, snuggly knit sweater.
For this reason, unless your wardrobe is already packed with wool and cashmere-blend sweaters, we always suggest getting those first.
Must-Have Knit Sweaters
Now, before shopping for the patterned and crazily shaped sweaters, we suggest focusing on three specific must-have knit sweaters, which will look good on any day and any occasion.
• If you are looking for something to wear along with your favorite elegant dress, invest in a nude-toned (or black), solid-colored, wool-blend sweater. You won’t probably need it all day or night long, especially if you are going out dancing, but it will keep you warm on the way back from the disco to the taxi.
• Turtleneck sweaters are your friends, if not best friends during wintertime. Since this particular kind of sweater is one of this season’s must-have items, we advise to take advantage of the trend and stock up on turtlenecks, especially solid-colored ones.
• Last but not least, the dream array of timeless sweaters includes those with the classic, preppy-inspired V-neckline that you can pair with everything, from a turtleneck blouse to a bottom-down shirt.
Once your wardrobe is filled with two or three must-have fall sweaters, you can start daring more with metallic yarns, cropped lines, or off-the-shoulder necklines!
Sweaters and Body Types
As we all know, body types are just a matter of beauty standards, and we therefore always suggest flaunting whatever makes you feel flawless. However, if you are looking for some pieces of advice to minimize a few insecurities that you have regarding your body type, here you have a few tips and tricks to feel fiercely beautiful!
• If you would like to achieve a more hourglass-like figure, invest in a slightly loose-fitting sweater and pair it with a cute, thin belt cinched at the waist.
• If you feel your hips draw a lot of attention and would like to get a more balanced silhouette, pamper yourself with a romantic off-the-shoulder sweater or one with a rounded or a wider neckline. Prints are a great idea to experiment with in this case too, as in general you need sweaters with details that will draw the eye to the upper part of your body.
• If your body type is the so-called “inverted triangle,” where the shoulders are wider than the hips, you can balance your figure with a sweater with a plunging-V neckline, as well as overall minimalist, monochrome sweaters with little to no embellishments.
• If your legs are short compared to your whole silhouette, have fun travelling back in time with a pair of high-waisted jeans or skirt, a pair of pumps, and a cropped, vintage-inspired sweater. Avoid long sweaters that can make you look even shorter.
• On the other hand, if there’s a part of your body you particularly like and would love to celebrate, enhance it with printed sweaters! Stripes, polka dots, and other patterns on the neckline or the waist would make you look even more flawless and stylish, indeed.
• Always keep in mind that V-neck and wrap sweaters are the most universally flattering styles, regardless of your body shape and insecurities.
Precious Sweater Styling Tips and Ideas to Keep in Mind
Pairing a sweater with other clothing pieces sounds like the simplest thing one could do, and it is! One really needs a sweater, a pair of jeans, and sneakers, maybe a necklace, and le jeux sont fait! But what to do and how to style a sweater, if we would love to channel something different yet not too different?
Here you can find a few ideas on how to wear a sweater to keep in mind to try out new styles from September up to March!
• Do tuck (partially or entirely) your sweater into a miniskirt. It will elongate your silhouette and give you an edgy, vintage-inspired overall attitude.
• Experiment with colors. Unless you are specifically opting for a total black or ton-sur-ton outfit, dare to wear colored knit sweaters, even multi-colored ones. We tend to think wintertime is just about browns, reds, whites, and more generally speaking nude-toned hues, but that’s wrong! Get yourself a bright yellow sweater and rock it!
• Dare with the detailing. If you are looking for a sexy look, let a lace-embroidered shirt or even a lace bralette peek out!
• When in doubt, keep it simple. If that’s one of those “I don’t have nothing to wear and I look miserable” days, just opt for a high-quality sweater, a pair of jeans, and enjoy your day!
• Do pair your sweater with an overall. Overalls can (and should!) be worn all year round, and will give you a stylish look that’s ultra-quick to assemble.
• If you are wearing a sweater with a shirt underneath, don’t always tuck it inside your jeans or trousers – let it peek out! Everyone needs a preppy look every once in a while.
• On the extra-cold days, layer your turtleneck sweater with a vest or a knit cardigan. If needed, add one of those chunky scarfs that we all love as soon as the temperature gets low. It won’t end up looking “too much”, especially if done with ton-sur-ton colors or, alternatively, color-blocked hues.
• Long necklaces and knit sweaters are BFFs, especially if you opted for a loose-fitting sweater and would like to add a touch of edginess to your look.
• If you feel your sweaters are all pretty boring, revolutionize your style with one of your so-called boring sweaters, a tight miniskirt (preferably high-waisted), and a baseball cap.
Photos via @marinathemoss, @thriftsandthreads, @aylin_koenig, @wantgetrepeat, @huntforstyles, @collagevintage, @carmushka
