I picked three cardigans knitted from merino wool and wool from the list. There's Low Tide's Turtleneck Button Cardigan Black, AMOMENTO's Wool V-neck Crop Cardigan Charcoal, and AMOMENTO's Men's Wool Cardigan Charcoal. Cardigans are such dependable staples, called to the very front of the closet whenever the season turns.
In the 19th century, clipper ships raced for their lives to be the first to bring Australian merino wool to the London market. Among the ships called wool clippers, the Cutty Sark crossed the rough open seas, covering the distance from Australia to the UK in just 67 days. It was a fierce race of speed on the ocean to secure the highest prices at the January auctions.
Which way among the three on the list should we narrow down first? We could look at the 100% merino wool fabric first, or you could choose between the turtleneck style or cropped length.
↳ In 100% merino wool
I've narrowed down four cardigans from AMOMENTO in 100% merino wool. There's the women's Wool V-neck Crop Cardigan Charcoal and Brown, great for styling briskly with their short length, and the men's Wool Cardigan Charcoal and Brown with their roomy silhouette. Merino wool fibers are fine and dense, giving them a supple softness that feels gentle against the skin whether worn as outerwear or as a thin inner layer.
John Smedley, which has kept its factory running in Derbyshire, England for over 240 years, also took the lead from the 19th century in bringing in this ultra-fine merino wool to focus on producing next-to-skin underwear. The name 'Long Johns', synonymous with winter thermal underwear, also originated from the manager's name at the time, and developed into the iconic 30-gauge ultra-fine knit that arrays 30 needles within 1 inch. Behind the elegant silhouette that never feels bulky even layered inside a suit or jacket lies this long-standing craftsmanship of merino wool.
Shall we look at the briskly falling cropped length first, or should I pull up the relaxed men's line or the charcoal color first?
↳ I want to see the cropped length
Matching the cropped length, I chose AMOMENTO's Wool V-neck Crop Cardigan. There are two colors: charcoal and brown. With its deep V-neck and length that cuts off briskly above the waistline, its lines hold beautifully even when fully buttoned and worn like a neat pullover.
In the 18th century, when the Edo shogunate issued sumptuary edicts restricting commoners' clothing fabrics to just three colors—mouse gray, brown, and indigo—a trend called 'shijūhatcha hyakunezu' emerged. Unable to wear bright colors, people mobilized all kinds of delicate shades and dyeing techniques to create stylish gradations of over a hundred grays and forty-eight browns. That attitude of that era, defending style with delicate wit amidst restrictions, truly resembles the depth of these achromatic shades.
Just like back then, this list is divided between only calm charcoal and deep brown. Shall we look at the charcoal color that resembles a deep mouse gray, or start with the rich brown color? We can also search more broadly for regular wool crop cardigans.
Final Selected Products
