I own 2-3 cardigans (which I define as a lightweight thin sweater with rounded neck and buttons down the front). My issue is what buttons to button and what to wear under them! I want to wear them to work, but buttoning only the top button seems ridiculous, but lays nicely. If I button the lower buttons the top opening flops around. Advice appreciated!
FYI, I’m petite with a long torso 5’4" 115#. Traveling to the Northeast this week for work and trying to pack :-). Here’s a similar one (mine are not this wildly colored).
I am a very similar size but don’t consider myself petite!
Beyond that…I wear cardigans over either button down shirts, long-sleeved tee shirts, or shells. I never button the top button but instead, button two or three in the middle so that both the top and bottom are unbuttoned.
If I wear a cardigan without anything underneath, I button all the way to the bottom (sometimes leaving bottom button unbuttoned) but leave the top few undone.
I sometimes wear them completely unbuttoned.
I am not sure what to say about the top opening flopping around. I have not had that problem. I have FAR too many cardigans in cashmere, cotton, and some blends in dressier styles.
For some reason, I hate the feel of NO buttons buttoned! I usually have a scooped tshirt type shirt under my cardigans. I leave the top button unbuttoned and button either the second or third button. Often the bottom button is unbuttoned.
Maybe it’s something to do with the petite cut then? I am 5’5" but most of my height is in my legs. Of course, that would imply that I would need a shorter top. Who knows! If you try the regular (non-petite size), is it just too large overall?
My rule is no more than 3 buttons. Sometimes I button the top button and let it “v out” to show what I’m wearing underneath. Other times I will button from the bottom up so it v’s the other way - but when I do so, I skip the bottom button and button the 3 above that. I probably should wear them unbuttoned but I somehow think it looks dumpier on my particular build (broad shoulders, straight up and down and somewhat busty) - which is no reflection on anyone else of course!
I wear cardigans all the time. I prefer v-neck cardigans, as I think they look nicer on me. I don’t button any buttons if the cardigan is longer. If it ends just a bit past my waist, I button a button or two just above the waist - sometimes I add a skinny belt. If I wear a rounded neck cardigan, I will sometimes button the top button - never with a blouse, but I will do it if I am wearing it over a tank or other slim-fitting top.
If one has a round face, those rounded neck sweaters will make the face even more round. For this reason, I opt out for v-neck cardigans, and I wear them fully buttoned. One or two lower buttons unbuttoned draws attention to the fact that the butt might be too big for the cardi (usually my issue with those stupid A4 waisted Burberry cardis! Argh).
I really like v neck cardigans better. I have a larger chest and they look/fall much better. Don’t mean to hijack the thread with a new question but I really need some new ones for spring/summer and want to buy nicer ones than the inexpensive ones I’ve bought at the gap and banana republic factory stores. Can anyone who prefers the v neck style share where they’ve had success (looking for cotton or cotton blends, for the most part)?.
OP, I do what others have said: I either button all but the bottom button and the top couple or I leave it open. On occasion I will button the middle three but that doesn’t generally look as good on me.
And, I know you already own the cardigans but, since you find the tops flop around when unbuttoned, next time you shop, try on a v neck style and see if you find them easier to wear.
Maybe shop for some that don’t button at all? Then there are no decisions to make and no question of how they should look.
Almost every outfit I wear to work includes a cardigan with no buttons. No thinking required (which is good because I’m insufficiently caffeinated at the time when I get dressed for work).
@collage1 – this won’t really help you but since you say that vee necks are a flattering look…have you considered blazers? I had been wearing cardigans almost daily for 10, maybe 15 years and shifted to blazers a few years ago. I feel considerably more dressed up, the price point is not that much higher and they are effortless. I buy them at J. Crew after the sale items are marked down another 30 or 40%, bringing the average cost down to $75-$80. (Sometimes $100, sometimes $60, but generally a lot in the high $70s.)
Since I haven’t been buying cardigans recently – I own a number too embarrassing to admit–I can only offer where I found good cashmere cardigans. Lord & Taylor’s own label. Again, have to wait for them to go on sale, but L&T seems to offer coupons continually. I don’t know if they have cotton vee necks, but worth a look.
I have bought a number of nice cardigans at Ann Taylor. They don’t always have them, though (their stock changes often).
I agree with Marian that open cardigans can look very nice. I bought a beautiful open cardigan on sale last fall - it’s a very lightweight black knit (Ann Taylor) - goes with so many outfits.
I like open cardigans personally and have several with no buttons or other fasteners. I rarely button the ones I have with buttons. Have gotten some at Ann Taylor, one at Costco, and one at Ross.
I’m an open cardigan person. I have been stocking up with longer, pocketed, non-button ones. Being horrendously pear-shaped, they soften that sudden widening at the hips.
Also, as an instructor going from classroom building to building, I often end the day with pens, dry markers, phone, etc, in the pockets. So they’re useful, too.
I’m horrendously apple-shaped, and they work for me, too. It’s true, as someone pointed out upthread, that blazers are more professional-looking. But they’re not flattering for all body types.
I am a rectangle who can present herself as an hourglass-shaped person (lol!), and open-front cardigans work for me, too! Eileen Fisher has a few styles I had to have. I wear my cardis with structured dresses or with trousers/shell or with pencil skirt/fitted tee. The outfits look like this:
I wear my cardis with structured dresses or with trousers/shell or with pencil skirt/fitted tee. The outfits look like this: