An Ode to the Jumper

The Ode:

Winter is closing, this is it,

The daylight is strengthening and the heat rising,

But don't yet hide away your cable knit.

The joy in slipping on a jumper can be found,

Certainly in Britain, 

All year round.

Whilst dreams of sandals and summer dresses,

Begin to form,

Remember the comforting jumper that slips away your stresses.

Woefully dreaded but comforting all the same,

when the cold ice breezes arrive,

No jumper is to blame.

For comfort, for style,

For then and for now,

In the winters dream of standing by the fire for a while,

And smell of melting 'mallows,

Think not of summer yet for how,

Would your comforting old jumper feel if it knew the very thought of it created wallows?

Embrace it!

The wool, the cosiness and the cable knit! 

For we live in Britain, my friends, 

and for us, often, the winter never ends!

Sitting here, on this very cold, snowy beginning of February day it seems almost ludicrous to be talking about jumpers seeing as Spring is supposed to be just around the corner. However, it is the beginning of February in Britain which means that summer is roughly 8 months away and will last for all of one glorious jumper free afternoon. I skipped mentioning Spring for one reason and one reason only: it is perfectly acceptable, and often necessary, to wear jumpers in British Spring (even if it is only in the evening's to fight the chill).

I love jumpers. Especially cable knit ones. It's a deep routed obsession that has developed over time living in the soggy East Midlands with nothing but grey clouds and strong wind for company. I love how effortlessly chic a jumper can be, and how insanely versatile too - there are very few garments out there that are socially acceptable to wear with just pants and socks (perhaps not in public....), jeans, skirts, over dresses, and with shorts (Yes, I am a Jumper and shorts person. No, I don't care). Paired with ripped skinny jeans for a effortless cool look, or tucked into a vintage skater skirt with coloured tights, it is impossible for a jumper - especially a cable knit one - not to look good.

In celebration of my love of jumpers and the fact that we are likely to be wearing them until the end of July I stocked up on them a month or so ago to survive the next few winters. As you are probably more than aware (if not you need to take a look here) I am infatuated with T K Maxx. So, naturally this is where all of these lovelies came from (and at an absolute steal for £120 total - *singsong voice* Sale!)

Just check out the cable knit on that:

Oooof, close up cable knit!

Don't deny you love it.

Now, I'm going through "that" time of life where I am all about quality over quantity. After dragging Mr M through T K Maxx for roughly 3 hours of foraging, delving, face rubbing and "that's not bloody wool"-ing, I settled on about 15 different jumpers (which was quickly whittled down as my purse told me no.....).

Whilst I'm at "that" stage of paying a bit more for better quality, I'm certainly not at the "oh, it was only £473 and it will last me forever" stage, so T K Maxx settles nicely in the middle. The broad range of things there means there's a good mix of cheap and cheerful mixed in with less cheap but worth the extra.

These have all come from the T to the K to the Maxx so, naturally, there are no links to any of these actual clothes, however, I have gone and found some pretty close alternatives for anyone interested:

 // Boyfriend grey Jumper, Similar // 

// Aztec Cardigans, these are everywhere at the moment but here are a few of my favourite alternatives: 1, 2, 3, 4 // 

// Blue jumper, I really struggle with this one and could only find this. //

// White Jumper Dress: Similar, (on sale and an absolute bargain!) // 

// Grey cable knit, Similar // 

// Colour Block Glitter jumper, I couldn't find similar but I have found some alternatives that are just as good! For the Glitter element: see here, and for the Block Colour element: see here. //

This Cream beauty is one of my favourites and deserves a special mention, not because it is particularly warm (in fact I'd say it barely passes as a jumper frankly for the amount of warmth it brings you), but it is a beautifully delicate design. It's not often you can wear a jumper and feel feminine, yet somehow this jumper achieves just that. Plus, with it being light it will be great for the transition from winter to Spring. 

Cream with lace, I couldn't find a good alternative for this beauty anywhere, but if you put this under this you'll have something very similar! 

*No, T K Maxx did not pay me or give me clothes to write this post, I genuinely do love the place that much. I bought these jumpers all by myself and I love them so much I want to buried in them....all of them. But maybe not for another 70 years or so.........