The check cardigan I am recommending to every woman over 60 this autumn
The check cardigan I am recommending to every woman over 60 this autumn
Why the Vienna is our Editor's Pick of the season, who it suits, and the three ways I would wear it.
By Helen Marsh, Style EditorTwenty years as a personal shopper · 4 min read
The Vienna in pumpkin orange, our Editor's Pick for autumn.
Each autumn I am asked the same question more than any other: what is the one new piece worth buying this season? Readers do not want a trend. They want something that looks good, feels good and earns its place in the wardrobe by being worn three times a week. This year my answer has been the same every time, and it is a check cardigan.
I know. Check can go wrong for us. Too small and it looks busy, too stiff and it looks boxy, and plenty of it seems designed to make us look like we are about to go and chop logs. The Vienna, from Nottingham Boutique, the boutique behind this journal, gets round all of that. It is a soft knitted cardigan with a large, calm windowpane check, a proper shirt collar and a button front. It reads as a smart shirt from across the room and feels like your favourite cardigan when you are in it.
It reads as a smart shirt from across the room, and feels like your favourite cardigan when you are in it.
The verdict
Editor's Pick, Autumn 2026
The easiest way I know to add warm colour to an autumn wardrobe without thinking about it.
What I like about it
The check is big and calm
A generous windowpane, a couple of bands across each front panel. From a distance it reads as warm colour rather than busy pattern, which is exactly what you want after 60.
One colour leads
A rich pumpkin orange ground, with brick red and slate blue kept to the lines. It goes with cream, denim and navy, which most of us already own.
A collar to frame the face
The knitted shirt collar and the line of six buttons give the face a frame. It is the difference between looking put together and looking like you have thrown something on.
The collar, the buttons and the soft brushed knit, up close.
Soft, not stiff
This is a brushed knit, not a woven flannel shirt. It drapes rather than standing away from you, sits gently over the middle, and has ribbed cuffs and a ribbed hem.
A size range that is honest
UK 8/10 up to UK 22/24, in eight colourways. The relaxed cut means most readers tell us their usual size is right.
Three ways I would wear it
One piece, three outfits, and nothing to buy to go with it.
Way oneOpen, over plain cream
Worn open over a plain cream top with dark straight jeans. The outfit I would wear to the garden centre and then on to lunch.
Way twoButtoned, as a jumper
Do every button up and wear it on its own with cream trousers. The collar does all the work, so you need no necklace and no scarf.
Way threeLaid out the night before
Put it on the bed with your plainest pieces: a cream top, dark jeans, a flat tan shoe. Swap the jeans for navy trousers and it is ready for lunch out.
Helen's styling notes
Three small things that make it look styled
- Undo the top button. The collar falls open into a soft V, which lengthens the neck and looks far more relaxed than buttoned right up.
- Push the sleeves to just below the elbow. Showing the wrist is the quickest way to make any knit look lighter and less like it is wearing you. The ribbed cuffs stay put.
- Keep jewellery near the face, and keep it simple. A pair of pearl or gold studs is all it needs. The collar is already doing the framing, so skip the scarf and the long necklace.
What readers say
Just over three hundred reviews, averaging 4.2 stars. I trust that more than a perfect five. These are typical of them.
The orange is gorgeous in real life. Rich, not loud. I get stopped about it.
Pauline R., NewarkIt is the collar. It makes it look smart, not like something I have thrown on.
Margaret D., BinghamSo soft. I was expecting it to be scratchy like a wool shirt and it is nothing of the sort.
Sue T., HucknallThe price
The Vienna is £39.95 in the autumn sale, down from £80.00. Delivery is free, and there are thirty days to return it if it is not right, which takes the risk out of trying a colour you have not worn in years. The middle sizes always go first, so if you are a 14 or a 16, I would not leave it long.
You asked
Readers' questions, answered
Which colour should I choose?
There are eight, and the right one depends on your colouring more than your age. If your hair is silver or white, or your skin has a cool, pinkish tone, the blue, purple and pink sit beautifully near the face. If your hair or skin has warmth in it, think gold, auburn or a sun-kissed complexion, go for the orange, red, khaki or green. If you are not sure, the blue-orange has a little of both and suits almost everyone.
Will it be itchy?
No. It is a soft brushed knit, not a stiff woven wool shirt, and softness is the thing readers mention most. If you are sensitive at the neck, the collar sits on top of whatever you wear underneath, so a fine cotton top keeps it away from the skin altogether.
What size should I order?
Your usual size. The fit is relaxed and falls just past the hip, so there is no need to size up to wear a fine top underneath. Sizes run from UK 8/10 to UK 22/24, and with thirty days to return it, there is no risk in trying.
The Editor's Pick
VIENNA | Elegant Button-Up Cardigan
- A large, calm check on a soft brushed knit
- Knitted shirt collar to frame the face
- Button front: wear it open or buttoned up
- Ribbed cuffs and hem, relaxed fit past the hip
- Eight colourways, shown here in orange
- UK 8/10 (S) to UK 22/24 (5XL)
- Free UK delivery and 30 day returns
In the autumn sale now. The middle sizes go first.
About the writer. Helen Marsh is the Style Editor of the Ageless Style Journal. She spent twenty years as a personal shopper, dressing women in fitting rooms from a size 8 to a 24, before starting the Journal to share what she learned there with women over 55. Her golden rule: the best clothes are the ones you can put on without a second thought, and still feel like yourself in.
The Ageless Style Journal is published by Nottingham Boutique. This page is an advertisement for Nottingham Boutique.
Nottingham Boutique · free UK delivery · 30 day returns