Chunky knitwear is so chic, but only on other people. I am writing this from Paris fashion week, which is full of women wearing blanket-weight Aran knits, great cumulus clouds of fluffy mohair cardigans, double layers of tightly ribbed polo necks. They are wearing these jumpers half-tucked into high-waisted tailored trousers, or loose over thick stretch leggings, or belted over pleated skirts; with block heeled boots, or loafers, or with socks and sandals. They look excellent.
But it’s no good to me. I feel the heat, the way other people feel the cold – not in a good way. I get hot and itchy just looking at a jumper like that, let alone pulling it over my head. And I know from bitter experience that the nonchalant textured cool of a chunky knit under an open trenchcoat is completely spoilt when your face is shiny and your hair has gone damp at the temples and you are yanking the funnel neck away from your chin and fanning yourself because you can’t breathe. I know I am not alone – we, the great overheated – but it is somehow a little less socially acceptable than being a shivering, delicate flower endlessly in need of someone’s jacket around her shoulders.
So while the chunky knits with their Instagram-friendly weekend-break vibe get all the fashion love, I much prefer a lightweight knit. A round neck, fine-knit sweater is the most useful piece in my wardrobe. I reach for a sweater like this as a get-out-of-jail-free card, the way someone else might reach for a white cotton shirt, or a grey marl T-shirt – or, were they an aforementioned delicate, shivering flower, a chunky knit. Like a shirt or T-shirt – and unlike a chunky knit – a lightweight wool can be tucked into a waistband, which makes a top like this ideal with the high-waisted jeans you will be wearing soon, if you aren’t already.
The one I’m wearing is from my own wardrobe, from Marks & Spencer, in a toffee colour that doesn’t seem to be on offer at the moment, but in a fine merino knit fabric that almost always is. Density is everything, as the weave needs to be just solid enough that your bra isn’t on display. Ignore the high-shine, silk-knit sweaters, which are alluring on the hanger but tend to reflect light on to your face in a harsh way; look for a soft, matt finish instead. Add a blazer, or coat, as you wish. This sweater makes life easy, because you keep your cool.
• Jess wears her own knit. Skirt, £49.99, zara.com. Boots, £295, whistles.com. Styling: Melanie Wilkinson. Hair and makeup: Lucy Ridley
