Crewneck, V-neck, shawl collar: opinion on different knitwear collars and advice for wearing them well

The men's fashion market has evolved significantly in recent years: it has diversified.

If we go back 10 years, there were only round-neck sweaters, V-neck sweaters, cardigans and a few turtlenecks. An offer that did the job but remained quite basic.

Today we are witnessing the emergence and democratization of a wider range of sweater shapes: funnel neck, trucker, polo, shawl, etc.… it's good to see all that.

In this article, I offer you a style opinion on each of these shapes and advice on how to best integrate them into your silhouettes.

1. Twist the unmistakable round neck

The round neck sweater is an essential.

It is sober and versatile. You will find them in all styles, all thicknesses, for all budgets.

You probably already have one or more round-neck sweaters, and you do well.

On the other hand, I find that over time, we can end up getting tired of this collar that we finally see everywhere.

To make her neckline more interesting, here is what I suggest:

Leave a white t-shirt collar sticking out

The little white (or cream) t-shirt that sticks out from under the neckline of a round-neck sweater is a sure bet for your style: it works every time and it visually enhances the appearance of the sweater while adding a little contrast.

Wear a bandana

As soon as I pick up a round neck sweater, my instinct is to pair it with a bandana.

You can leave the ends of the bandana over the collar, or tuck them inside.

The bandana dresses the neck and adds a nice touch of style. I tend to choose the bandana with a pattern, and in monochrome with the sweater, but you can also wear it in contrast.

The shirt under the sweater: yes or no?

Many men wear shirts under their round neck sweaters. This is not my favorite combination , especially when we are talking about a shirt with a smooth fabric (for example in cotton poplin) under a fine sweater, also smooth.

This is not fundamentally an error but the result is a little austere in my opinion.

To achieve this combination, I would recommend adding thickness and texture. For example, a chambray or denim shirt under a slightly thicker sweater. Visually, it's richer.

2. The thorny case of the V-neck sweater

Let's take the time to talk about the V-neck sweater.

My opinion: not all are equal . We recommend some and not others.

We don't necessarily recommend the V-neck sweater in its basic version that you find everywhere: thin, smooth, fitted, worn over a white t-shirt or a shirt.

The result is a little too bland: it doesn't have much stylistic value.

Even if it's not shocking, I don't find it very interesting either. Left: Missègle. Right: Orson Bay

In my opinion, the V neck is only of interest if it is well worked and assumed with a textured material, a well-studied depth of the V, a precise fit.

So, it is necessarily more divisive but at least we arrive at pieces with character, which have something to tell.

A typical example would be the “cricket sweater”, very Ivy in spirit, with its cables and its contrasting collar.

But you will also find other great suggestions for V-neck sweaters by digging:

With a beautiful V-neck sweater, the shirt is quite obvious. White or blue to keep it simple. Add an optional tie for added elegance.

Also try to wear it without visible clothing underneath, to let the V of the collar express itself fully:

3. The subtle elegance of the polo sweater

Quite discreet in recent years, the polo collar sweater is slowly taking its place in brand wardrobes. And maybe in yours too.

I think it's a good thing because it's different from the others while remaining very easy to wear.

The polo sweater is rather elegant, perfectly suited to a casual chic style .

You will sometimes find it buttoned for a more classic look, sometimes unbuttoned and with an open collar, for a slightly more majestic look.

Under a polo sweater, I see either a white t-shirt or an ecru turtleneck (or chimney) sweater. Or nothing at all, for people who like to wear their sweater next to their skin.

I sometimes see the shirt worn under a polo sweater, and I must admit that I have trouble. I find that the combination of the two passes doesn't really work.

4. Well in place: turtlenecks and chimney

I put funnel necks and turtlenecks in this same section because they are quite close.

The funnel neck goes up on the neck, but does not wrap around itself like a turtleneck.

These are two fairly elegant shapes that we recommend , for their thermal protection and their visual sobriety.

We have a complete guide to the turtleneck that you can find here.

Here are two personal tips to make them more interesting:

Take an ecru stand-up collar

The ecru or cream sweater with a high collar is a great piece.

It's your white t-shirt for winter.

Your traditional white t-shirt + shirt combo for sunny days becomes an ecru stand-up collar + overshirt in winter.

And it can be used in many other combinations: white t-shirt + light blazer becomes ecru stand-up collar + winter blazer for example.

Etc.

For our part, we have the Brest sweater which perfectly fulfills this function in ecru:

Test thick high-rise sweaters

If high-neck sweaters are often rather thin, it is of course also possible to find thicker ones.

The piece gains in warmth of course, but also in character, the extra thickness allowing for more texture.

More specifically, I find that the collars of turtlenecks and thick chimneys have a lot of charm.

5. The trucker sweater: the rising star

I wouldn't have predicted his return.

Even 4 or 5 years ago, I had a fairly ordinary image of the half-zip sweater, and I didn't see it coming out of this “meh, no more” room.

Then we started to see more elaborate ones appear, with beautiful thicknesses of mesh, beautiful fairly high collars, which gradually changed my view of the piece.

I think the main differentiating criterion for this type of sweater is the height of its collar.

First you will find the little zipped collars which I find a little shy :

Then you have the mid-height trucker collars that we can start to have a little more fun with. The greater height of the zip and the collar rising a little higher give a little more style to the piece:

Finally, you have the zipped sweaters with a long collar like on our Matera sweater.

The large collar allows you to really play with it: wear it completely zipped up like a large stand-up collar, or wear it open and let it fall to the sides, for a look like a polo collar.

My opinion is therefore that the funnel collar is an interesting garment as long as you play with it :

• Either because the collar is large enough to allow several possibilities of wearing it
• Either because we have interesting layering ideas to do with it

6. Yes, it still exists: the shawl collar sweater

The shawl collar sweater is not currently very common among brands.

They are mainly found in entry-level brands where they are generally not visually interesting.

By digging, you can find more elaborate models, but they are not legion:

My opinion is therefore that at the time of writing this article (2023), we do not really recommend the shawl collar sweater , due to a somewhat low supply.

On the other hand, it is not excluded that it will return in a few years: if enough designer brands work with it, it could then move down to more accessible brands, this time with interesting designs!

7. One key word with the cardigan: have fun

We finish with the cardigan.

I have always found it interesting even if it retains an outdated image among some.

This is a piece that has two major advantages for me.

First of all, its open neckline naturally encourages layering, as long as it is not chosen too thin or fitted. It's not for nothing that 6 of Michel's 15 suggestions in his article on knit layering include a cardigan.

And it is with this in mind that we designed the Lovere and Plockton cardigans: with just the right amount of thickness and fullness.

Then, today we find some really fun ones . I like the idea of ​​choosing an original cardigan, colorful or patterned for example, which you pair with more sober clothes.

I'm thinking of the Universal Works “fleece” cardigan, which the British brand offers each season with quite punchy patterns, which can really enhance winter outfits including green, gray and blue.

You also have Beams+ which regularly offers cardigans with a strong but wearable style: