A Long Review of the Merino Crewneck Cardigan!

Yet another review by me pretending it is summer...when (as all of you here on the east coast know) we are in the midst of quite some snow storm. (I really should be grading quizzes, but you know, priorities.) ;)

Here is the merino crewneck cardigan as it appears on the jcrew.com website. I really loved the image in the February 2009 catalog of the model wearing this with the silk tunic (see the review from earlier today), but in real life...these two really shouldn't go anywhere near each other (even if they were different colors--which they really aren't). The shapes of the two are all wrong for each other. So rather than fight it, I just let them be their own lovely selves.

You can get this cardigan in many different colors, including a pretty key lime color, and a nice, rich brown. I chose dusty rose because I have very little pink/peach in this hue and figured I should enrich my closet a bit more with these hues.

You can find this cardigan here (and on somewhat of a sale): http://www.jcrew.com/AST/Browse/WomenBrowse/Women_Shop_By_Category/sweaters/merino/PRDOVR~12436/12436.jsp


Here it is on my bed all laid out. The color is very similar to what the website presents...a deep, saturated, medium pink color. YAY! Not too light or pale, thank goodness...


It is a LONG cardigan. I am glad I am 5'8" or else this would swamp me. I don't know that I can recommend it for ladies that are petite (and I don't believe this comes in a petite version). The sleeves were long enough, too. I didn't have to pretend the cardigan was made that way (look at my pretty bracelet sleeves...right, Lexieloo?).


I did a close-up of the buttons because they are AWESOME. They are this enamel material and very unusual. I have never seen buttons like this. The color also is a perfect match to the very soft, supple, and medium-weight merino wool.

Here it is on me...ready for summer nights next to the campfire. I am wearing a sequin-crested tee from Winter 2007 as well. You can find more info on the shorts and flip-flops in the review of the silk tunic I did earlier today.

This is a perfect, slouchy, "let's wear this around the house" kind of cardigan. But it can be refined...wait for it!

I thought buttoning it up would make it more refined. Oh, no. OH, NO! Oh, *expletive*, no. I will never, I mean it, wear this buttoned-up. It looks stupid this way. So let's just move on...(PLEASE!)

Ah, much better. I will most likely wear this open more often than not. However, with a pencil skirt, I love the idea of doing this cardigan buttoned-up and with a belt. It breaks up that LOOOOOONG line and makes it a refined (almost sophisticated) sweater. I can see wearing this with a black or grey pencil skirt and some fierce black heels. Definitely the definition of "sexy secretary." Maybe I won't be doing this look, on second thought. I teach middle-school, for crying out loud! ;)