I picked four thin cardigans that are great to drape over the back of your office chair or lightly wrap around yourself when it's chilly: MARGESHERWOOD's CREW NECK CARDIGAN_olive, beige, navy in three colors, and PEARL STRING BOLERO CARDIGAN_black with pearl strap details. For indoor outerwear, looking natural when draped loosely over your shoulders or arms is more important than buttoning all the way up, and the crewneck is a neat basic while the bolero ties lightly with string knots, making them great to keep at your desk during the hot season.
There's a backstory of over half a century behind looking for indoor outerwear because of office air conditioning. Standard office cooling temperatures were calculated in the 1960s based on the metabolic rate of a 40-year-old adult male weighing 70kg. Since women have a basal metabolic rate 20 to 30% lower than men and feel about 4 degrees colder in the same room, this un-updated old standard is why we end up clutching a cardigan every summer.
Since this is clothes you'll keep at your desk and reach for every day, shall we tailor it a bit more to your taste? We could switch to a V-neck cardigan with an open neckline, narrow it down to dark colors that show less dirt, or open up a new list with pullover knits that you slip on comfortably over your head.
↳ To V-neck cardigans
For V-neck cardigans, I picked two MARGESHERWOOD Marge Star cardigans: two colors, calm melange grey and deeply stylish melange brown. The V-neckline isn't deep, so it looks neat buttoned all the way up like a pullover, and its texture shines even when lightly draped over a light inner layer.
While a cardigan is clothing that covers the body, for some it can also be a tender tool that brings comfort. Fred Rogers of the children's program took off his suit jacket, hung it in the closet, and changed into a cardigan hand-knitted by his mother before starting each broadcast. Putting on a cozy cardigan instead of the strict attire of the outside world was a promise giving children trust that this was a safe space without anxiety.
Shall we look for a plain design instead of this star-embroidered one, or should we first match a thinner material or a price below 150,000 won?
↳ To plain designs
I picked two cardigans in neat plain designs with patterns removed: MARGESHERWOOD's RIBBED COLLAR CARDIGAN_black and Low Tide's SOFT FRAY KNIT CARDIGAN [OLIVE] - Low Tide. MARGESHERWOOD gives a tidy impression with its dense rib texture and neat collar, while Low Tide has fraying details at the hem and cuff ends to offset the plainness typical of solid knits. Where flashy graphics are missing, the knit texture or subtle seam finishes ultimately fill the space.
In the early 1990s, Martin Margiela broke the convention of taking flawless, smooth finishes for granted and boldly exposed hems and seams on the outside that used to be hidden inside garments. He left raw, frayed edges unhemmed, and kept basting stitches and loose threads from the fitting stage intact on the finished pieces. It was an attempt to honestly expose the physical production process and the vitality of imperfection that garments undergo before completion.
Low Tide's cardigan also brings out a texture that isn't dull despite being solid-colored, thanks to that fraying. MARGESHERWOOD falls much more neatly and calmly. Shall we look for more round-neck plain cardigans here, or narrow the scope to V-neck knit pullovers or the low 100,000 won range?
Final Selected Products
