The Cashmere Shirt Cardigan
Our cashmere shirt cardigan is designed to be a versatile piece. It can be worn as a substitute to a dress shirt, if you wanted to look less formal but still refined, or as the name suggests, as a cardigan over a shirt.
It is knitted in Scotland on traditional frame machines using an abundance of the world’s finest cashmere yarn from Todd & Duncan’s prestigious cashmere collection. It is made with decades of wear in mind, making this piece not only versatile, but long lasting. It is a piece that can be dressed up or down, and works with a multitude of outfits, as we will show below.
Outfit 1.
Cashmere shirt cardigan in oatmeal
Light wash jeans
Brown check double breasted sport coat
Dark brown shawl coat
The oatmeal colour of the cashmere shirt cardigan goes well with light wash jeans and we’ve shown it here tucked in as a shirt substitute.
We then completed the look with a light brown check double breasted sport coat - the light brown complementing the oatmeal colour and sits well with the lighter wash blue jeans. Given that the collar is knitted in a milano stitch, it gives it more structure, and so we find it sits nicely under a sport coat without being squashed.
The mixing of formal and informal elements we believe make the outfit less stuffy but still well put together. The cashmere shirt cardigan is the centrepiece, as it strikes that balance between formal and informal, while the sport coat is a formal piece, and the jeans are casual.
When you’re heading out, throw on our superfine lambswool shawl coat as opposed to a formal coat to add some interest to the outfit without standing out too much. The dark brown of the shawl coat works well together with the light brown check sport coat and the oatmeal cashmere shirt cardigan. The check on the sport coat contrasts the plain block colours of the shirt cardigan and shawl coat nicely.
Outfit 2.
Cashmere shirt cardigan in oatmeal
Grey flannel trousers
Superfine lambswool mock neck in dark brown
Tonic brown check overcoat
Cashmere scarf in cognac
We swapped the jeans out for a pair of flannels showing that the the shirt cardigan works with formal and casual bottoms alike.
When worn as outerwear, our shirt cardigan combines well with rollbacks and mock necks, as shown in this combination below. We’ve paired our oatmeal shirt cardigan with our dark brown mock neck here.
We then layered an unstructured tonic brown check coat over the top - the tonic brown providing a nice contrasting shade against the dark brown and oatmeal, all the while keeping within the same colour palette. The checks provide some interest and contrast the plain block colours of the shirt cardigan and mock neck.
Finally, our cashmere scarf in cognac provides a fourth shade of brown which pulls the outfit together. The scarf being a slightly more pronounced colour sits well with the other more muted colours in the outfit.
Outfit 3.
Cashmere shirt cardigan in oatmeal
Grey flannel trousers
Denim shirt
Superfine lambswool shawl collar cardigan in olive
We find that denim works really well with the shade of oatmeal that we have (see outfit 1 above with the light wash jeans). Going by the same principle, we’ve paired the cashmere shirt cardigan with a denim shirt this time, but with grey flannels - again, to incorporate both formal and casual elements, balancing the look so that it is neither too formal nor casual.
The double collar works nicely we find, as the shirt collar tends to stand up more whilst the cashmere shirt cardigan collar spreads to the side, allowing the cashmere shirt cardigan to look more like an outerwear piece, rather than you wearing two shirts.
The cashmere shirt cardigan makes the outfit look more casual, perfect for those casual Fridays and work from home days. It works as a substitute to a blazer or sport coat - had you worn one instead of the cashmere shirt cardigan, you may have found yourself too “put together” with the shirt and flannels.
We like the colour combination of olive, oatmeal and denim, and have finished off the look for this reason with our chunky olive shawl collar cardigan. The thick rib-stitch texture of the shawl collar cardigan provides a nice contrast against the smoother textures of the denim shirt and oatmeal cashmere shirt cardigan.
Even though several pieces in this outfit are casual, including both our pieces of knitwear and the denim shirt, the high waisted flannel trousers and having both the shirt and cashmere shirt cardigan tucked in makes the whole outfit look well put together and refined as a result.
Outfit 4.
Cashmere shirt cardigan in camel
White jeans
Cream and gold bandana
Superfine lambswool shawl collar cardigan in dark brown
Another example of the cashmere shirt cardigan being used as a shirt substitute this time, we’ve paired it with white jeans.
To keep with the beige/brown theme, we finished the look with our dark brown shawl collar cardigan and a cream/gold bandana to add interest. In colder weather you could substitute the bandana with a wool scarf in a similar colour palette.
The rib stitch of the shawl collar cardigan once again provides contrast against the plain, thinner fabric of the white jeans and cashmere shirt cardigan.
Outfit 5.
Cashmere shirt cardigan in camel
High-waisted olive trousers
Western denim shirt
The camel colour of our cashmere shirt cardigan has a 70s feel to it which we felt works really well paired with a western denim shirt.
We feel the two pieces complement each other - one is a more rugged and casual, the other soft and refined. The high-waisted pleated olive trousers help elevate the outfit, but also we think that colour complements camel and denim well.
Outfit 6.
Cashmere shirt cardigan in dark olive
Grey flannel trousers
Superfine lambswool mock neck in oatmeal
Navy double breasted blazer
Our dark olive cashmere is one of our favourite colours - it is a beautifully muted, earthy dark green that you will be hard pressed to find anywhere. This allows the colour to sit well with plenty of other pieces in a man’s wardrobe, and is a nice substitute to the ubiquitous navy and grey. As a mid-layer piece, it also helps that it is not in a navy or grey colour, as many of your other pieces are likely to be in those colours.
This is exemplified in the following outfit - the grey flannels sit well with the dark olive of the cashmere shirt cardigan, and we have put our oatmeal mock neck underneath as the base layer - lighter oatmeal colour provides a nice contrast against the darker colours from the rest of the outfit. We also find our oatmeal to go particularly well with our dark olive.
We then finished the look off with a double breasted navy blazer. The astute among you will have noticed this is essentially a subversion of the “classic menswear uniform” of the grey flannels and navy blazer combination. Instead of a plain white or blue shirt, we substituted it with our oatmeal mock neck and dark olive cashmere shirt cardigan to add interest, and for that extra dose of warmth on those cold days.
We think the colours work really well together, the navy and dark olive accompanying each other perfectly. The milano stitch of the collar on our cashmere shirt cardigan is holding up well even when worn underneath the blazer.
Outfit 7.
Cashmere shirt cardigan in dark olive
Light wash jeans
Navy corduroy shirt
Another navy / dark olive combination - this time instead of a navy blazer, we paired the cashmere shirt cardigan with a navy corduroy shirt. We like that the corduroy shirt has a similar fuzzy texture to the cashmere, and both pieces are quite casual which sit alongside each other well.
Light wash jeans and Chelsea boots to keep the outfit casual, and to contrast the much darker top half.
Outfit 8.
Cashmere shirt cardigan in dark olive
Dark denim jeans
Superfine lambswool shawl coat in navy
Substituting the light wash jeans for a pair of dark denim, we illustrate how the dark olive cashmere shirt cardigan can also be worn tucked in as a shirt substitute.
The dark olive also goes very well with raw dark denim - the woolly texture of the cashmere leans itself more towards a casual piece, making it easier to pair with other rugged pieces like denim.
Shawl coat in navy to finish off the look - can be worn wrapped and tied, or unwrapped.
Outfit 9.
Cashmere shirt cardigan in dark olive
Grey flannel trousers
Superfine lambswool mock neck in vintage camel
Swapping out the oatmeal mock neck and replacing it with our vintage camel mock neck to illustrate that the dark olive cashmere shirt cardigan works just as well with this other warmer colour.
