"Love me, love me"

I remember as a young child the way my grandfather dressed. Bathed in the intense smell of decades worth of Old Spice, he proudly held on to his post-war wardrobe until his death, his last years spent in his old chair wearing wool cardigans of three “distinct” designs: grey, blue and beige. A veteran of the invasion of Europe, I couldn’t even imagine his response if told he was, for the first time since the Depression, ahead of the fashion curve.

Abandoned during the radical turmoil of the 1960’s, the cardigan had long become a subject of mocking ridicule in men’s fashion, outdated and increasingly feminized to the point that, outside of stores catering to the senior demographic, the only place to find one was in the ladies section of your local designer (and more often than not, sold to mothers rather than daughters).

The cardigan has resurged though in recent years on the forefront of neo-Americana style from the fifties and early sixties, and continues to be a dominant factor in fall 2008 collections. Tim Hamilton’s use of classic designs with modern materials and outfit sense provides the artistic side of this movement…

Tim Hamilton 2008

While DKNY inspires a more workable, wearable, every day use of the cardigan, mixing with suits, jackets and jeans over the traditional slacks and collared shirt.

DKNY 2008