A letter from a reader

At 62, the cardigan that finally is not frumpy

Six things that make these printed cardigans the loveliest layer for autumn, from a woman who is not a fashion writer.

Caroline Richards · Customer · Nottinghamshire · 5 min read

Let me be plain about who is talking. I am Caroline, I am 62, I live in Nottinghamshire, and I have never once sat down to write about a cardigan in my life. In fact I had rather come to dread the word. To me a cardigan meant the shapeless, sensible, beige thing my own mother wore, the very picture of a woman who had let herself go, warm but frumpy. So I shivered in jackets that would not do up rather than reach for one. So this is not a review. It is a woman who found a cardigan that is cosy and warm and still looks lovely, saying why.

What I found is from Nottingham Boutique, a small boutique that has been quietly dressing women our age for a few years now. It is a soft knitted cardigan, but printed with the most beautiful design, delicate blue flowers and little birds on a cream ground, like a piece of art you can wear, and it is one of a whole collection of them. When the boutique later asked if they could put my letter up for others to read, I said yes, on the condition I could be completely honest in it.

I threw it on over a plain top that first cold morning, caught sight of the print in the mirror, and looked, for once, as though I had made an effort rather than given up. That was the moment it won me over. Read on.

Here is the little defeat every autumn used to bring. When it turned cold, my choices were a stiff jacket that pinched and would not do up over a jumper, or a soft cardigan that kept me warm and made me look exactly like everyone's nan. So I chose cold over frumpy more often than I care to admit, standing about shivering because I would rather be chilly than look as though I had stopped trying.

A cardigan always meant warm but frumpy, my mother's beige comfort. This one is just as cosy and looks like a piece of art.

These cardigans are the first I have owned that are genuinely cosy and genuinely lovely at once, and having barely had mine off since, I can tell you it comes down to six things.

Just some of the collection. Blue florals like mine, autumn leaves, roses, polka dots and more.

1

IT IS LIKE WEARING A PIECE OF ART

This is the heart of it. Instead of a plain beige knit, mine has the loveliest print, delicate blue flowers and little birds scattered across a cream ground, so it is a proper little work of art to wear. It draws the eye and lifts the whole outfit, and it is why people stop to admire it. After years of dreading the word cardigan, having one this beautiful has quite changed my mind.

The print up close. Delicate blue flowers and little birds, like a painting on the knit.

★★★★★

Finally a cardigan that is not frumpy. The print is gorgeous, like wearing a painting, and it is so soft. I have ordered three.

Christine B., West Bridgford

2

IT INSTANTLY LIFTS A PLAIN OUTFIT

Thrown over a plain white top and my jeans, that lovely print does all the work, so a simple everyday outfit suddenly looks considered and rather artistic, as though I had planned it. I do not have to fuss or think, I just reach for it and I look pulled-together. One cardigan that quietly does the job of making me look as though I have made an effort.

Thrown over a plain top and jeans, the print does all the work.

★★★★★

Over a tee and jeans it makes me look like I have really thought about my outfit. So easy, and I get compliments every time.

Margaret E., Southwell

3

ELEGANT, NOT A FRUMPY GRANNY CARDIGAN

This is the part that won me over. It is nothing like the shapeless beige thing I dreaded. The print is elegant and grown-up, the cut is neat rather than baggy, and the wooden buttons look considered, so the whole effect is artistic and stylish rather than dowdy. It suits a woman my age beautifully without ageing me a day. Handsome, not homely.

Cosy by the window with a cup of tea. Elegant and arty, never frumpy.

★★★★★

I always avoided cardigans as frumpy, this is anything but. Elegant and arty, and so flattering. It has changed my mind entirely.

Dorothy S., Beeston

4

SOFT, COSY AND EASY TO WEAR

For all that it looks lovely, it is a proper cardigan underneath, soft knitted and genuinely cosy, so on a cold morning it keeps the chill off beautifully, buttoned right up or left open as I please. It is light enough to keep on indoors and warm enough for a chilly one, and the buttons are easy to do up, which my hands appreciate. Comfort and beauty, both at once.

Also in bold red vintage florals. Soft and cosy, buttoned up or worn open.

★★★★★

So soft and cosy, and the buttons are easy for my hands. Warm buttoned up, lovely left open. A proper comfy cardigan.

Pauline H., Arnold

5

A FLATTERING, EASY DRAPE OVER EVERYTHING

It is cut with a relaxed, easy shape that drapes softly and skims rather than clings, so it flatters through the middle and sits nicely whether I wear it open over a top or done up. It goes over everything I own, my jeans, my trousers, a dress, and always looks right. It has quietly become the first thing I reach for now the mornings have turned.

Or the autumn maple leaves, just the thing for the season. It drapes and flatters, open or done up.

★★★★★

It drapes so nicely and skims over my middle, open or buttoned. Goes with everything and always looks right. So flattering.

Eileen T., Newark

6

A WHOLE COLLECTION OF PRINTS, HONEST SIZES

Here is the joy of it. There is a whole collection to choose from, so there really is one for everyone. My blue flowers, bold red florals, soft autumn leaves, pretty roses, cheerful polka dots, all sorts. And the sizing runs honestly from a small right up to a 5XL, cut relaxed to flatter whatever your figure. I have the blue, and I am quietly tempted by the roses. They make lovely gifts too.

Pretty pink roses, another favourite. A whole collection of prints, and honest sizes for all.

★★★★★

So many lovely prints I could not choose. It goes up to my size and still looks elegant, not an afterthought. I bought two.

Maureen C., Bingham

These, against the frumpy beige cardigan you have been avoiding

You can spend years shivering in jackets that will not do up rather than wear a cardigan, because a cardigan means frumpy. I know, because I did. Here is the difference, laid out plainly.

About the price

Each cardigan in the collection is £34.95 at the moment. They were £70.00.

I will pass on what the boutique told me, which is that with so many different prints the popular ones are the first to go, and with the autumn sale on they are going quickly, so once a design has sold out it can be a wait for it to come back. Their words, not mine. What I can tell you from my side is that half price is usually where I start asking what is wrong with a thing, and for a cardigan this soft and this lovely, I have found nothing wrong with it.

And I do not trust perfect scores, so I read the reviews before I ordered. Just over three hundred of them across the collection, sitting at 4.2 stars, which sounded like real women rather than robots, so I read on. The same things I have just walked you through come up in them, over and over, in other women's words.

If the word cardigan makes you think frumpy, and you would rather wear something lovely and still be warm, this is the collection I would point you to myself, while your favourite print is still in stock. Go and have a look.

Caroline

ELEGANT & COLOURFUL CARDIGAN COLLECTION

★★★★☆ 4.2 out of 5 from 300+ reviews

£70.00 £34.95

• A beautiful art print, like wearing a painting
• Instantly lifts a plain top and jeans
• Elegant and grown-up, not a frumpy granny cardigan
• Soft, cosy knit with easy wooden buttons
• A flattering relaxed drape, open or done up
• A whole collection of prints, honest sizes S to 5XL
• Free UK delivery and 30 day returns

See the cardigan collection

The autumn sale is on now. With so many prints, the popular ones go first.