Post Punk Kitchen Forum

Now that the weather is finally cooling down, I'm wondering where you guys get cute women's or unisex winter-weight sweaters and cardigans? A lot of the ones I see (with cardigans in particular) are the sort of thin "fashion" type, which are cute but not very warm. Obviously I'm trying to avoid wool. Other than thrift stores (which are great but can be a crapshoot) do you have any suggestions?

Urban Outfitters has some rad warmish non-wool sweaters. They're kind of pricey though.

I usually find random acrylic sweaters at places like TJ Maxx or Marshalls, and sometimes dept. stores like Macy's or JC Penney or Kohl's. They are there, you just have to sift through a bunch, the last few years I noticed way more wool creeping into stuff in general which is annoying though.

I think I've gotten a few good ones at Kohl's.

A lot of the sweaters I saw online at Forever 21 were acrylic, but I can't speak to how nice they are/how warm they are. The prices were reasonable though.

Also I find H&M to be really hit-or-miss generally but their sweaters tend to be good if you can find acrylic and cotton. I have a couple v necks and cardigans of theirs that have lasted a few years, but I haven't checked there this year yet.

The ones at Forever 21 are cute but tend to be of the thin variety. Also, the quality there sucks sometimes. It almost seems random, because I have a couple things from Forever 21 that have lasted for a few years and others that fell apart within a month. I did find a decent-weight cotton sweater at an H&M a few years back, so that's worth a look this season I guess!

Lands' End sells cotton sweaters, and you can narrow a product search by material. Very helpful. Their cotton sweaters are available in thin and heavy weights.

I've been having such a hard time finding nice sweaters too. I'm always cold so I need warm ones that I can wear to work. They always seem to be too long, or 3/4 sleeves. Who the hell wants a 3/4 sleeve sweater??? Doesn't that defeat the purpose?

3/4 length is one of the things I mean when I say "fashion" sweaters. They look cute, but the material is thin and/or they have short sleeves and/or strange necklines that don't actually keep you warm. I just want to be toasty! Land's End is a good suggestion, thanks for that karichelle!

You're welcome :) I love their sweaters and have for many years. The cotton drifter is SOOO warm, and perfect with a turtleneck or mock for extra warmth.

i wear a lot of fleece. but the search for a good cardigan is never ending.

I don't really do 'cute' :)

I recently happened upon a Coldwater creek sale and had to filter through all their wool and silk (they seem to like adding silk to things) to find a decent cardigan. I also bought things at Eddie Bauer during a recent sale. I like Eddie Bauer because their clothes are comfortable, last a long time and they have awesome sales. More often though their stuff is plain which is ok for lots of things.

I also bought something at Old Navy but its thinner than I'd like and only would really work inside an office building.

Surprisingly, sometimes Costco has some cute cardigans/sweaters but obviously their selection is limited and seasonal.

I think I'm going to check out H&M today or this weekend sometime (there's one in the building where I work--dangerous!). I was looking on line, and it seems there might be some good options, but there's also a lot of 10% angora/wool/alpaca nonsense. Seriously? 90% acrylic and 10% wool. Why is that necessary?

that's one of my pet peeves, I see it more and more often. I think they put a tiny bit of wool in to make their crappy clothes seem more upscale or something.

In defense of thin cardigans, viscose is surprisingly warm. I have one that is 80% viscose 20% polyamide and I use all the time. I don't think cotton is very helpful when it's cold, instead I go for polar fleece for real warmth. Not fashiony, but my main goal tend to be not to freeze to death rather than be on trend.

That is true, in the wintertime I prefer acrylic because i think it does keep me warm, cotton sweaters sometimes seem to almost absorb the cold air.

I hate finding 10% wool in sweaters or coats. It seems to always happen...:/

I wear a lot of sweaters and cardigans and I've had great luck at Target and Kohl's.

I've been pinning a lot of things I've found here if you're interested: http://pinterest.com/ndpittman/wishlist-fall-2012/. It's more ankle boots than anything, but there are some sweaters near the top.

i know this doesn't help you much since it's to knit (unless maybe you have someone to knit it for you?) but i am making this for myself- just maybe two inches longer than the pattern calls for.
http://www.purlbee.com/autumn-equinox-vest/

That's totally cute! I don't know how to knit but maybe I should learn...

I tried on some stuff at H&M this afternoon, and most of the sweaters were "fashion." Like, cropped or something. I was having fun trying on random stuff though.

I cannot find warm vegan sweaters to save my life. Every once in a blue moon I'll find a very thick cotton, but it happens like once every six years. I've taken to knitting my own and investing in lulu lemon sweatshirts, which wile $150 are super thick and warm.

xo
kittee

Wait so is acrylic a good thing in a sweater? I tried on a sweater at Forever 21 the other day that was really cute and 100% acrylic, but I figured it was too good to be true because it was $10.80.