The first good jumper I ever bought for myself was priced at exactly $47 dollars. At the time it felt ridiculous to spend that much on something that was essentially a slightly nicer t- shirt with sleeves. I think I was still living in the world where wearing those free conference hoodies everywhere was a normal thing to do, and spending more than $20 on any one article of clothing was probably indicative of some character flaw.
I wandered into the store wanting to find jeans ( my rotation of identical Levi’s was getting depressing), and ended up staring bewildered at their wall of merino wool jumpers in muted, perfect shades. The sales guy – perhaps recognising a customer who would question how much wool went into a sock – began launching into the differences between their cotton jumpers versus the merino option. I don’t remember most of what he said, but I was captivated enough by the material differences to buy one on the spot.
Mostly because he told me merino wool doesn’t stink like cotton does when you leave it unwashed. Software engineer problem there.
I ended up getting a charcoal grey crew neck because it seemed like it would hide sweat stains.
That purchase changed everything, and no I’m not being hyperbolic. That jumper was the Goldilocks of apparel – not too pricey, not trendy, just right. It was warm but not sweaty, sturdy but soft, and worked just as well for office meetings as it did running errands on the weekend.
I wore that jumper at least three days a week that winter. When it got warm out and I packed it away, I missed it like an old friend moving away. Come October of the following year, I’d ordered three more exactly like it.
Navy. Olive. Charcoal, because you can never have enough olive or charcoal.
That was weird enough that my girlfriend at the time called me out on it: “You own four exact same jumpers,” she said. To be fair, not exactly true, different colours. But I understood her point.
It was kind of ridiculous, even for me. But let me explain – having those four jumpers basically defined my autumn and winter wardrobe. Charcoal jeans, charcoal jumper for standard WF hoodie weather.
Navy jumper, chinos when we went out. Olive jumper, khakis when I wanted to look approachable but not cute (read: meeting clients for the first time). The backup charcoal was my “other” jumper for when the first one was in laundry, which was frequently.
I’ve since expanded my repertoire – picked up some nicer cashmere for fancier occasions, experimented with other brands and cuts – but I still reach for those Uniqlo jumpers first five years later. They’ve held up incredibly well considering how much I wear them. Stains, laptop bags rubbing pilling into fabric, that time I was caught in the rain and had to blot dry my olive jumper with paper towels in the bathroom at work.
They still look alright, and most importantly still feel good. What I learned from my experience is that sometimes the best purchases you’ll ever make are the ones that don’t seem that exciting at all. Nothing about those jumpers was fancy.
Mid-tier wool, basic cuts, neutral colours you could find at Target. But the fibres were high-quality and built to last, they didn’t try to be anything they weren’t, and the price meant I didn’t need to starve myself for a month to afford them. Practical, done well.
That’s my style. Turns out I kind of became an expert on affordable jumpers after that. Mostly from dumbing around and reading way too much about different fabric blends and where/how they were manufactured.
Friends would hit me up for recommendations when they wanted “something nice but didn’t want to spend a lot.” Which then snowballed into articles about capsule wardrobes and mindful shopping. The internet is weird. The lesson I’ll offer you here is that there are a lot of guys out there wondering how to dress well without breaking the bank, and spending hours trolling forums and shopping websites trying to figure it out.
Jumpers in particular are a frustrating market. $300 cashmere that pills after first wear? Sure. $150 whispletier that’ll look great for years? Also yes.
You can get really bad returns for a low price, but you can also spend three times as much and not get quality material in return. Money does not guarantee quality when it comes to knitwear. That said – there are things to look for.
Things that separate the good jumpers from the awesome jumpers. Things I look for when I’m testing out a brand I haven’t tried before. First: The material.
Everyone always jumps to cashmere first. Oh don’t you just love the feel of cashmere? I do!
But for dailywear? I’m much more of a fan of either merino wool or high quality lambswool. Cashmere feels amazing when it’s high quality, but low-end cashmere will often feel loose and fluffy for about five minutes, then start pilling and looking cheap.
I’d rather have really good wool than “nice” cashmere. Merino wool is the perfect combination of soft enough to wear next to your skin, warm enough for actual cold-weather use, but breathable enough that you don’t overdress yourself in modern office-heating conditions. It also tends to keep its shape well and won’t wrinkle as much, which is important when you’re stuffing things into a backpack to travel to work.
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Higher end stuff will feel silkier than your average wool blanket, but even mid-range merino wool is usually comfortable against your skin. Speaking of which… lambswool gets a bad rep because it sounds basic, but it’s actually amazing. My oldest jumper (not counting those stalwart Uniqlo ones) is a lambswool crew neck from J.
Crew I picked up maybe eight years ago. Still looks new enough to wear for interviews. Survived the time I thought you were able to machine dry wool and ruined one of my favourite shirts.
Got softer with every wear. Was around $60 on sale, which at the time seemed like a crazy price for “just another jumper.” But comes out to about $8 a year I’ve owned it. Don’t sleep on lambswool.
The construction is important too. How are the seams finished? Does the ribbing along the bottom hem and sleeves revert back to its original shape after stretching, or will it start sagging?
How tightly knit is the body of the jumper? All of these things will affect how your jumper wears over time. Cheap jumpers often have loose, rough seams that start to pull apart after six months.
The ribbing will lose elasticity and become baggy. If the knit is too loose, the entire jumper will start to stretch out of shape. You want sleek, tight seams that lay flat against your body so your jacket doesn’t look bunchy underneath.
The jumper ribbing should be snug when you tug on it – able to stretch, then return to its original shape. As for the knit of the jumper itself, you don’t want anything too loose and “floppy,” but you don’t want it tight enough that the material feels stiff either. There’s a happy medium.
You can sometimes tell this when you’re online shopping, but I generally recommend buying jumpers in person if you can. When it comes to cheap yet worthwhile options, I’m partial to Uniqlo. Yes, obviously their extra fine merino lineup.
But their basic offerings are usually good too. Target’s Goodfellow brand has passable basics under $30. Not heirloom level quality by any stretch, but perfectly serviceable for the price.
Costco has actually sold cashmere in the past that was about on-par with Nordstrom-level pricing but at half the cost. Timing and sizes are always an issue with those though. Everlane and Pact autumn into more mid-tier pricing, usually ranging from sixty to a hundred dollars.
Overtly preachy with their advertising (“everything is sustainable, ethically sourced, gonna save the world!”) but their quality is generally good. J Crew and Banana Republic on sale tend to autumn in this range too, though I prefer both their construction and quality control. For spending more money to actually get better quality, I recommend seeking out brands that specialise in knitwear as opposed to “clothing companies that also sell sweatpants.” If their entire livelihood is selling you jumpers, they’re gonna pay more attention to the details.
That being said – you don’t need to drop three hundreds on a jumper to own something that looks like it costs that much. A $100 jumper will only look $300 if you wear a $300 suit with it. Once you get into the thick-cat-hair-covered-in-pound candies realm of jumper prices, you’re getting into the range where things only look substantially better up close.
For every day wear, I just don’t notice a huge difference above a certain price point. But that’s me. Go into it understanding yourself first – what you’ll actually wear versus what you think you should wear.
My four nearly identical Uniqlo jumpers serve me far better than a diverse wardrobe would because I never stress about what shirt goes with what trousers. Everything I own matches grey, navy, and olive. If I grab a jumper at random, I can immediately tell whether or not it’s going to work with a certain pair of trousers.
Yes, that’s boring. But it also means I can mindlessly grab stuff knowing it’ll look acceptable together, and not worry about whether my outfit “matches.” That’s the beauty of basics. They’ll never go out of style, and everything will coordinate with everything else.
Sure, I have some mildly patterned jumpers and brighter colours I enjoy, but the bulk of my wardrobe is neutral. And that’s how I like it. For me, that consists of those four Uniqlo jumpers now, plus a few others I picked up along the way.
A charcoal cashmere crew neck for when I need something dressier. A navy lambswool cardigan that’s become my go-to because San Fran weather is inexplicable half the year. And a cream coloured cable knit because it gives me drowning millionaire vibes but is actually just great for staying warm when it’s foggy out in the summer.
They each have earned their spots in my wardrobe by proving themselves useful, not just being objectively nice.
I reach for the cashmere when I have fancy dinners or want to look crisp for client meetings. The cardigan is my standard for the office these days because they keep the AC and heat at max extremes.
The cable knit is my go-to for weekend stuff and low-key socializing. This probably isn’t the most sexy, exciting wardrobe overview you’ve ever read. But investing in a few good jumpers that won’t break the bank, then diligently caring for them to get maximum years out of them is honestly one of the best money I spend each month.
Start with one you really love in a colour that matches everything in your wardrobe. Wear it until you know EXACTLY what you want in a jumper. Then start branching out from there.
You’re not buying less, you’re buying what actually fits your life. Whether that’s four of the same jumper or spending extra on high quality pieces. Just be intentional about what you add to your closet.
