You can tell the cardigan’s star is in the ascendant, because people have started shoulder-robing it. Well, at fashion week they have, anyway, which might not seem relevant except – mark my words – these things have a way of catching on. Shoulder-robing is the ultimate power move. Shoulder-robe your top layer, and take a look at your shadow: bam, you’re a superhero. Also, you instantly have the aura of someone who has a high-powered, fast-moving, Anna Wintour-type schedule. Shoulder-robing suggests dynamic standing-up meetings and brief journeys, possibly by helicopter. After all, nobody shoulder-robes on a 30 minute tube journey, it’s just not practical.
On the other hand, the cardigan is traditionally the polar opposite of power dressing. Wearing a cardigan is like prefacing your sentences with “Sorry to bother you, but…” or “This is probably a silly idea.” Even a brand new cardigan never has that shiny, boxfresh feeling that a crisp piece of tailoring or shirting has. Psychologically, choosing a cardigan puts you sort of fireside.
But what does a tailored jacket say? If you’re not careful to chic it up, it says meeting. And there’s a word to give you a thrill. Not. So if you can make a cardigan work in a fashion context – which is another way of saying make it look modern – it is a subversively ballsy move. Because who in their right mind wouldn’t take a good fireside chat over a meeting?
The cardigan has to be right, of course. Those dinky fitted numbers that were little more than pashminas with sleeves are not the thing at all. At the Christopher Kane spring/summer 2016 show, oversized cardigans were thrown over party dresses. Go for bulk and presence, not neatness, and a generous length: the hem should fall lower than the sleeves, and an unexpected colour is better than navy or black. You want an awesome cardigan, not a cardigan that wants to be a jacket. Your litmus test: could I shoulder-robe this? This will help you get into superhero character. And it’s that thought that counts.
• Jess wears cardigan, £39.99, mango.com. Dress, £42, topshop.com. Shoes, £250, lkbennett.com.
Styling: Melanie Wilkinson. Hair and makeup: Laurence Close at Carol Hayes Management
