Style Session: Long Cardigans
Some people call them dusters or longline cardigans, but essentially they’re any cardigan that reaches the knee or lower.
Now for someone like me, that’s most cardigans, ha ha. I’m a shorty short shorty…with short legs, to boot. So a long duster-length cardigan can overwhelm me, just like a too-long, too-full dress can. I have to keep an eye on that so I don’t feel like I’m playing dress-up in my mother’s clothes.
Always Keep Proportion in Mind
But if I keep to shorter lengths and thinner fabrics with a more fitted shape (I’m looking at you, shoulder seams), they’re a wonderful addition to my wardrobe.
And I think this might be true for most body types: when wearing a longline cardigan, keep whatever’s underneath trimmer…like, not bulky (I have neither think nor words today)…to keep a neat silhouette under the cardigan.
I especially like their versatility – they look good over both pants/shorts and dresses/skirts. I have a dress/skirt thing (#shocker). If it has/shows a fitted waist (as opposed to a shift or swing dress, or skirt with shirt worn outside the waistband), I prefer a crop-length cardigan that ends near the waist.
Am I speaking the English today? Why is everything “coming out of my mouth” (YKWIM) sounding so stilted? Too much haiku?
ANYWAY (focus, Bettye), yes. Longline cardigans. I started liking them a few years back because they helped give a smooth, seamless, lean look to whatever I was wearing, skimming over any and all (see? there it is! does that sound like something I would say? I swear I’m writing this myself) lumps and bumps. And I pretty much converted my entire cardigan catalog (ha ha who AM I?) into long, duster-length cardigans.
MISTAKE. Ha. Because while I do love them…and wear them LOADS (you know this)…I struggle with them in cold weather when I’m wearing winter coats…because they’re considerably longer than my coats…and it feels like an awkward length disparity to me. I don’t mind an inch, maybe two, of cardigan peeking out under a coat, but 6″? No.
Sometimes I’d say to myself stop being such a big picky baby and just wear the long cardigan under the short coat…and I’d do it…and MAN did I regret it every second of the day. It’s up there with Really Bad Hair Days. So. No more. I’ve started bringing hip- and crop-length cardigans back into my life. And it is good.
I like them over skinny jeans…I think this is a nice casual office look.
I like them over dresses…it just finishes off the look to me.
I like them over regular straight leg jeans. I think they take a casual look and elevate it slightly.
Re: this maybe reading awkwardly….I think I’ve been writing, uhm…”freestyle” ? so much lately that it is awkward to write…uhm…nonfiction (ha ha) if that makes sense. I have been writing A Lot. A LOT. Not just here. But like…just for myself, I guess. Some topic will pop into my mind and I have thoughts and I have to get them out so I start writing. And it might be a paragraph or it might be three pages. It might be on the concept of aging or it might be my thoughts on wooden shutters (#dustcatchersfromhell). But, especially over vacation, there’s been a lot of wild wild west writing and today I’m trying to be all cultured (ha) again. I think WWW is winning 🙂
Anyway, just wanted to explain in case this seemed weird to anyone else (overthinker right here). Okay, that is all.
words, like teenage boys,
– awkward ungraceful clumsy –
don’t always flow smooth
Okay, NOW that’s all 🙂
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Shirley Horst
Oh I can so relate to your cardigan longer than coat dilemma. I have the same problem. Oh well life goes on and so do we! I vow the next time I get a coat it will be longer, so my cardigan won’t show, we shall see.
bettyewp
Yeah, it was more of a problem the like 10 years when I had only one coat and it was a dog-walking coat and was just butt-covering length. I do have some longer coats now but still only one long enough to truly cover the longline cardigan. But I’m still on the lookout for coats…and shorter cardigans 🙂
jodie filogomo
You always know how to crack me up. The haiku thing especially.
I know what you mean about the long cardigans and coats. Which is why I have some long coats for those days. You would have thought I would have gotten rid of all of them when we moved to AZ, but NO!! And it’s a good thing, because it’s darn cold some days (and especially in the mornings)
XOOX
Jodie
http://www.jtouchofstyle.com
bettyewp
Yeah, I’m haiku addicted right now, for sure. Since we’re all working remotely this week, I had to email teachers to ask them to send me pictures of students doing their lessons online or whatever, we need endless amounts of pictures for daily social posts and when we’re not there to TAKE THEM things get a little dry…ANYWAY, I wrote just a short email asking for pictures and then realized…I COULD SAY THAT IN A HAIKU (ha ha), but I put it all on the same line so it wasn’t OBVIOUSLY a haiku. I thought one person might get it cuz she reads the blog and we’ve had some texting convos about haiku but…it’s a challenging week so she may not have caught it…anyway…”Virtual learning, please send pictures if you can. I thank you so much.” So, yeah, haiku EVERYWHERE.
Marceline Miller
Thanks for doing this cardigan post!!
Marceline Miller
I always admire blazers / jackets on other people, but cardigans work so much better for me
bettyewp
Same. I SO love the way they look on others and I put them on and they’re just never quite right. But I’m trying to get over that 🙂
Ever feel like all of life is spent trying to “get over” things? Are there people (oh gosh maybe there are) who DON’T feel that way?
Karen
I love cardigans also. The longer ones especially contribute to the “column dressing” we like. I get into the simplicity and long visual of that. I have many regular length cardigans too which are better for dresses. I like a sleeveless summer dress with a cardigan to remind me that summer will come back – someday. I hope. Coats are the worst. I’m always tempted to run out in the rain (yes, it’s always raining here these days) with just a shawl or woven poncho, provoking my husband no end… “are you really going to just wear that? You’re gonna freeze! ” I’m like you, doing a lot of stream of consciousness writing these days. I thought I might write a book (??? yes I have grandiose ideas) during this social isolation but what I’m actually doing is just letting my mind push my pen around page after page of who knows what. Anyway, I always relate to what you post. I love the sturm and drang side by side with the ever-intriguing question of what to wear to look good and feel pretty while I do it.
Haiku mania, it may never be my thing, but I still like it.
xo karen
bettyewp
Raincoats are chastening for me as well, I can so your shawl/poncho situation. I never have something that’s both waterproof SBD cold weather appropriate!
Ooh, a book! That’s exciting! I have a lot of “page after page of who knows what.” I think “who knows what” is my specialty 😊
bettyewp
Chastening? What the heck was I trying to say here…? I have no idea. AUTO-CORRECT, YOU WILY RASCAL!
Iris
I LOVE the long cardigans. Only have a couple and I hear you about coats. I do have one coat long enough to cover them, but it’s rarely cold enough here to actually wear it. But then, it’s too cold to just wear the cardigan by itself.
Now, if that’s the worse problem we have, we’re doing pretty good.
Grace & Peace, Iris
http://www.IrisOriginalsRamblings.com
bettyewp
Yep, the cardigan/coat dilemma is real.
xoxo