Finest Knitwear available again – in navy and green

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Our Finest Knitwear, which we created earlier this year, is back in a second batch with a new colour.

Alongside the navy fine-merino knitwear - in crewneck and V-neck - there is now also a dark, muted green that I picked for its versatility.

Both are available on the Shop, separated into the two neck styles. 

For me, green sweaters have a tendency to be too strong in colour - which can look great online, but is harder to combine with a range of other colours in an outfit.

When I picked the second colour for our Finest Knitwear, therefore, I went for the most subdued merino from the Loro Piana range.

Those sample books are a riot of colour, from sugary pinks to rich, deep purples.

But most of them would dominate an outfit, and in my experience are bought with much excitement and then rarely worn.

This muted green works well with both country colours like brown and tan, and city ones like grey and navy.

It also avoids looking too rural and countrified - toning down rather than livening up.

I have pictured it with brown and navy pieces to illustrate this point - both of which themselves ride that borderline between cold, urban formal and warm, country casual.

The jacket from Rubinacci is a brown donegal cashmere but incorporates both black and grey. And the topcoat, from Ettore de Cesare, also has black in the weave.

For those unfamiliar with the Finest Knitwear and the philosophy behind it, please read the original post here.

For anyone that needs a quick reminder, here are the most salient points:

  • Designed as the perfect layer to wear under tailoring, such as a sports jacket or suit
  • Made not with cashmere - as most fine knitwear is - because it bobbles and doesn't wear well, but with the finest merino wool from Loro Piana
  • This feels amazing, but its long fibres (again, unlike cashmere) give it stretch and body
  • Made by Umbria Verde in Italy, to the highest possible standards - tiny details like flattened seams and hand-sewn points match fineness of make to the fineness of the wool
  • Designed with tailoring in mind:
    • A slightly longer V to accommodate a tie, or open-necked with two buttons of the shirt undone
    • A slightly wider crewneck to allow a button-down shirt to spread outwards
    • A slightly longer rib at cuff and bottom (7cm not 6cm) to mimic a shirt cuff and elongate the silhouette
  • Priced at below industry mark-ups, to reflect the online sale and relatively small run, and provide better value. Which is nice

 

One recommendation I would make to readers is to fold the knitwear carefully after use, and not pull it on too violently. It is not particularly delicate, but finer things necessarily require greater care, and folding also avoids any creases.

The knitwear costs £190, and is available now on the Permanent Style shop. They will be shipped out from the UK from Monday onwards. 

Readers on the waiting list were alerted this past Monday, and some stock has therefore already gone.

Details on other items pictured:

Photography: Jamie Ferguson @jkf_man

 

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Kristoffer

Hi Simon,
First of all I would like to thank you for your great work. Secondly I would like to ask you a question regarding the difference in fit between a Luca Avitabile polo and a Luca Faloni polo. Is there by your experience any noticeable difference or are they sized pretty equally? I’m asking because I find the Luca Faloni polo in medium sits a bit too tight across my shoulders/armpits.
Thank you once again.

Anonymous

Like the bottle green.

Are your trousers very low in the rise? Your coat seems buttoned very high up your torso.

Anonymous

agree with previous poster. looks like its on your sternum. too high by far.

Kev Fidler

Kristofer, I have a size Large in both the Faloni and Avitabile polos. The Faloni is slightly larger in the chest though not markedly so. Love both of them.

David

Hi. I own both and I size up one size on the LF. They are very fitted and tight by comparison in the same size.

Keith

Hi Simon, I was so impressed with the shirts that I bought 2 ! I’m a 44 inch chest – will an XL v neck in the finest knitwear fit ok ?

S

Simon,

Interesting that you are wearing Crispaire, a summer cloth, with tweed. What are your thoughts / reasoning for this? I’ve considered wear LL «fresco» cloth with tweed on occassion but had assumed it wouldn’t work.

Thanks,
S

BespokeNYC

I’m actually rather a fan of these kind of cloth combos, even if not strictly seasonally appropriate. I run hot, and most offices tend to be over-heated, so cashmere and flannel together are too toasty most of the time. It’s the reason I get so little use from my heavy flannel suit, even though I love it. Just imagine the reduction in carbon footprint if more people wore decent winter cloths, and corporations could be persuaded to turn the heating down a few degrees… 😀

BespokeNYC

So excited for this and have already put in an order for the v-neck. I currently have the navy one in a crew neck and the quality is spectacular. I’ve also found it’s particularly useful for travel; being so light, it fits easily in my carry-on to keep me warm on the flight, and can also be worn under a jacket, or on it’s own in the evening to make three variations on one outfit.

J

Simon,

Have you found these knits to also pair well with more casual wear (i.e. denim) or does the long ribbing make for an odd pairing?

I know that the knits were originally conceived to be worn with tailoring but, given the small runs, I wasn’t able to find any shots of readers wearing these ‘in the wild’ and was curious of your experience.

Anonymous

A cashmere from Luca …………..instead of denim……………..tsk.!! Does he offer cashmere trousers? Who makes trousers from cashmere……..????

Of course it would be perfect with denim………..

Fred

Dear Simon,
Related but a little off topic. What do you think of Fair Isle pullovers (with sleeves and sleeveless)? Do the many colours make it harder or more difficult to wear with jackets?

Rups

Simon what do you mean by cashmere ‘doesn’t wear well’? Do you mean in terms of temperature or that it suffers a lot of wear and tear due to delicacy?

Chancellor

I very much appreciate that you’ve picked green as a new colour. A green sweater has been a gap in my wardrobe that I’ve struggled to fill. So getting something of this quality will hopefully be a fitting end to my search!

Josua

Dear Simon,

a question to another Topic. I looked through your page and I wasn’t able the find your Schiesser Report for the “Underwear Project”. Did I overlook something or is this still on your list?

Best regards,
Josua

Josua

Could you give me a short comment on their quality?

Best,
Josua

Pascal

Dear Simon,

I really enjoy following you and reading your articles. I was wondering if you have any advice on an article/book about wool fabrics. I would love to learn more about different versions (geelong, shetland, merino etc.) and their characteristics. Any suggestion is more than welcome. Mayen you already think about writing something.

Regards Pascal

J

Hi,
Have you ever reviewed these Solito trousers and are you planning to?
Would be good to have your views on them, as well as how they stack up again the likes of Cerrato, Ambrosi etc.
Best regards,
J

Arthur

Hi Simon, curious about the sizing. I wear a large in Luca Avitabile’s polos. Would that translate into a large here? The measurements a bit trim. For reference, I wear either a 40 or 42, depending on who makes the suit. Thanks

Arthur

Hi Simon,

I did measure a couple of my sweaters that are a bit of a chunkier cashmere and are more on the casual side. Their chest measurements are 55 and 56, even if they are a medium. A finer Merino V neck that I have that is closer to what you have has the chest measurement fall between medium and large.

May I ask, as a reference, what your suit size is and what size in the finest knitwear you wear?

Thanks.

Arthur

Arthur Agraviador

Thanks Simon. Appreciate the information. I’m about a 42 and not slim (not rotund but not slim) so an L, maybe, for a tailored fit.

Arthur

Hi Simon
I received the green v neck a few days ago, and am very pleased with it.

The large fit quite well. Fitted but not too snug. And the colour was just what I was looking for; it was a bit darker than in the photos, which was perfectly alright with me.

It is a very fine wool and I did notice how the subtle differences that you mentioned, the length of the V, the longer ribbing, made the sweater even more elegant.

I’m very happy with it.

Now, if you could also bring back the Friday polo in brown please, that would be fantastic!

Cheers,

Arthur

John

Hi Simon,
This is really a lovely knitwwear! Do you know what? I’ve read this post three times to make sure I’ve indeed read a real breakthrough in how the main features of such a key item in menswear should be depicted for style conscious guys!
Many thanks!
John

Meekal H

Hi Simon – I was napping and appear to have missed out on a Medium Green Crew. You mention a Waiting List in your piece. How does one get on to it?

Joel

Hi Simon,

Is Loro Piana worth all the money they charge?

Seeing their prices like £360 for a t-shirt and £415 for a pair of jeans makes me think they are totally overpriced.

Are they trading on their name?

I ask this because you’re using Loro Piana fabrics in your knitwear and charging pennies in comparison.

Best,

Joel

David

I have the crewneck from last run, and received my order of both v-necks in the mail yesterday.

The green is beautiful – and looks darker in real life (closest to the first picture, in my opinion), looks great on. Very rich, very wearable, and yet a little bit different from a classic navy.

Thank you like always – home run, yet again.

Matthias Su'uch

I’ve got the green one on now. It is nice. Proabably a bit like Escorial is to cashmere: almost as soft, but will wear better and is not as fragile. My kids have already tried their best to ruin it…….

BEN

Hi Simon,
I received my first knitwear last week (V-Neck, Navy) and I was so happy with it that I ordered the same in Green and the crewneck in both colours the next day !
Perfect cut, incredible quality, it really cannot be compared with John Smedley (although I have several Smedley and I am happy with them)
Just 3 additional questions if I may :
> I also need turtle neck knitwear, what would you recommend ? I already have Smedley that are fine, and I saw Lardini was doing nice stuff, @ least on pictures, Any other brand you would recommaned (I read your recent article about knitwear but didn’t see any specific recommandation regarding Turtle Neck)
> I would like to purchase Anderson & Sheppard Navy Shawl Collar Cardigan that sported recently on your IG. I go for size Large for your PS Knitwear, should I also go Large with the A&S ? (are you using the same sizes for you ?)
> There is a Drake pop up store in Paris in the three coming days, which I am going to attend, I already have ties from them and was wondering about the quality of their Knitwear, especially their cable knit, any intell on the quality ?
Thank you in advance,
B

Anonymous

Any chance you will be producing these in a gray/charcoal?

Anonymous

Hi Simon,
Will you be restocking the green V-neck in size small and medium?

DKP

Simon – what are your thoughts on sleeve length when it comes to knitwear? I recently purchased a lovely V-neck from Luca Faloni. The fit is nearly perfect all around except for the sleeves which are a good 2-3 inches too long (essentially the length of the ribbed sleeve end). I could just fold them over but when spending this sort of money on knitwear it feels as though I’m perhaps compromising on fit. Do you worry about folding over, would you attempt to have the sleeves shortened (if such a thing were even possible)?

DKP

Thanks Simon. It’s odd because I’ve never encountered this issue with knitwear before. Wondered if perhaps Faloni were known for a generous sleeve length but clearly not. Wondered if perhaps the Cashmere Care Service you’ve mentioned before might be an option to shorten the sleeves and if that would even be worth it?

DKP

Thanks. I have sent them an email but also mentioned to Faloni as well. I thought I might add their response here in case it can be of help to others:

“We can request alterations are made to the sleeve length in our knitwear, but this can take a minimum of 4-5 weeks, as the adjustment would need to be made in Italy. For a one off alteration this would cost an estimated £40.

For future purchases , we do not charge extra for bespoke adjustments, but ask that you order 3 items or more as individual bespoke pieces can be time consuming and costly. It is normally a 4-5 week wait time if this is something you are interested in for future purchases.”

Anonymous

Hello Simon,
Do you think it’s inappropriate to wear a T-shirt underneath a V-neck sweater? And what do you usually wear underneath a turtleneck?

Anonymous

That’s because I heard that it was an absolute sin to wear a v-neck T-shirt underneath a V-neck sweater, and a crew-neck T-shirt does, I think, look a bit silly. I take you wear that combination sometimes? Thanks

Anonymous

Do you own any V-neck T-shirts at all?

Andreas

Dear Simon,
I am now the proud owner of a green crew neck sweater. I think it is one of the most beautiful things in my closet and I wear it constantly! I didn’t realise how cotton can flow (almost silk like). Now I want to invest in a navy v neck and I am considering sizing down from L to M. In this regard, does the sweater shrink when washed?
Thanks for your reply
Kind regards,

Andreas

Hi Simon
Thanks for your reply. Ahhh yes of course I ment merino 🙂
One note to the delivery process. I rarely have seen such a smooth and fast delivery process (2 days!!). Usually this is a hassle when ordering from abroad and delivering to Switzerland! So concratulations on that!
Kind regards,
Andreas

Thomas

Simon! This is an amazing product. Really quite easily the nicest knitwear I have seen and owned. Which just goes to say: We need more colors!

Best
Thomas

Jj

Hi Simon

I am looking for summer trousers, to be worn with a bespoke casual jacket in Cacciopoli fabric. It is a lovely one, with soft shoulders and patch pockets.
Would you recommend me fresco trousers or crispaire?
They will always be worn on weekends or holidays.
Thanks very much

Kristian

Will there be a restock in navy medium any time soon?

Regards Kristian

Daniel

Hi Simon,
Are you planning to restock the knitwear?

Joel C.

Simon,

How would you compare the fit of these to a Smedley Bobby? Also, if I wear a Large in your Everyday Denim, would I wear a large in these?

Joel C.

Thanks. Honestly a large in the Bobby is a little loose. The Luca Avitabile large shirt is right on.

Oskar

Any hints on when to expect a new batch (preferably a green crewneck)? My navy crewneck gets almost daily wear and could do with a green in the rotation. Thanks!

Oskar

That’s too bad. Such a fine product! If ever you plan to slim down your knitwear wardrobe and a medium of any model falls into your hands, let me know please.

John

Hi Simon, is it still the case that you don’t plan a further run of this?

If not, do you have any recommendations for a v-neck that: 1) is made of merino, 2) a deeper v than typical, and 3) isn’t cut short in length. Drakes have a very nice one in their latest season, but it is cut much shorter than your Finest Knitwear. And Smedley’s have quite a shallow v.

Many thanks.

Michael

Appreciate the V neck won’t be coming back into circulation Simon, but I was fortunate enough to pick up an unworn Navy one and it’s a piece of art! The detailing and features flagged in the article are so impressive in the flesh – it honestly feels and looks like the perfect smarter v neck and is something I’ve been hunting for a really long time.