THE JOURNAL
From left: Mr Evan Mock in New York, 6 September 2022. Photograph by Mr Madison McGaw/BFA.com. Mr Tremaine Emory in New York, 8 September 2022. Photograph by Mr Matteao Prandoni/BFA.com. Mr Ismael Cruz Córdova in Lucca, 30 October 2022. Photograph by Mr Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images
At first glance, sweater vests may seem like frivolous garments with no discernible use other than to bulk up your trunk. Sleeves feel like an important addition to anything knit – after all, if it’s cold enough to wear a knit, surely it’s cold enough to have your arms covered, too?
But sweater vests have their roots in fitness, believe it or not – hence the name sweat-er. They seem to have first appeared as part of the uniform for Michigan’s football team in 1907. They quickly became statement pieces with American presidents tossing one on to demonstrate a sense of outdoorsiness (proving, once and for all, that American politics has been cartoonish for more than a century).
By the end of the 20th century, sweater vests were the stuff of Chandler Bing and Cher Horowitz – peaking as a style device in the 1990s and then becoming dorkcore shortly thereafter.
In 2012, for example, Slate ran a piece entirely dedicated to the sweater vests of then-Republican candidate for president, Mr Rick Santorum. A slideshow of the conservative’s vesty looks is… grim. Think too-big button-down shirts covered by too-thin cotton V-necked sweater vests. It’s enough to turn one off the garment forever – after all, who wants to be associated with the man who was so anti-LGBTQIA+ rights, he prompted the sex columnist Mr Dan Savage to buy santorum.com and, well, establish a new meaning for the word “santorum” (google at your own risk)?
“Thickly knit and colourfully hued, the new sweater vests are a far cry from politico-fare”
But now, we are pleased to say that the sweater vest can safely be termed “back”, if Mr Tremaine Emory, creative director of Supreme, and actors Messrs Evan Mock and Ismael Cruz Cordova are to be believed. Thickly knit and colourfully hued, the new sweater vests are a far cry from politico-fare. They come from brands such as AMI PARIS and Massimo Alba, Acne Studios and Blue Blue Japan – not the golf section of the business-casual store in the mall. Today’s vests should be layered over T-shirts, or smart button-downs or even nothing at all if you’re brave.
If you’re reading this and thinking “are you kidding, another layer I have to figure out?” We get it. Adding directional pieces you’re not super comfortable with – or, worse, have bad memories of from style snafus of yore – can be challenging. To make things easier, we recommend starting with a boxy white T-shirt that has a weighty cotton heft to it and then pulling your vest on top. Simple blue jeans or corduroy trousers will give the whole thing a bit of a 1990s-nostalgia flair without conjuring the ill-fit of the era.