It’s not been an easy year to find great mens chunky knit cardigans, but we’ve trawled the high street and a few of the fashion houses to pick out a selection of our favourites. There were a lot of terrible options available that either hang badly, fit like tyres or have woeful elbow pads, but hopefully you can use the styles we’ve picked out to at least give you a good idea of what to go for yourself this winter. We’ve tried to include some cardies from both ends of the spectrum in terms of price and everything in between, so get yourself wrapped up for the onset of Chrimbix.
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Kicking things off is the trusty go-to fashion staple that is H&M and in all fairness they’ve done better than most when it comes to their selection of chunky knit cardigans for men. As well as getting the fitting and the shaping right for their knitwear they’ve also got a good amount of choice of knitting pattern, colour and style, but they’re also among the most reasonably priced.
The two grey cardies on the outside (both just £29.99) are thick and warm with dark and light tones to choose from, rib effect on the left (also available in rust red) and cable knit on the right, good sized pockets and classic shawl collars. The Jacquard-knit cardigan (£34.99) in the middle is a good one to go for if you’re looking to get into the festive spirit without looking like you’ve regressed to the age of five.
A new addition for this year is the added high button to give you an extra hatch to batten down if the chill really starts to kick in and the grey chunky textured cardigan above – £35 from Burton – is one of the better examples on the high street at the moment. It’s got a high shawl collar, and looks pretty cool, but sadly it’s got no pockets, which gets it a minor mark down in our books.
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We never thought we’d say this, but the navy cable knit cardigan above from Barbour (£129 from John Lewis) is easily one of the best looking cardies available. It’s got a good shape, a great pattern, some very cool buttons, the high shawl collar button and a really strong colour tone (also available in charcoal). However, there are no pockets again, which would have made it near perfect.
We’re not 100% sold on the navy twist shawl cardigan above from Topman (£42), but we kind of think that’s more to do with the size selection for the model than the cardie itself. The twist effect is an interesting concept that could look good if it wasn’t a size too big and it’s got a cool textured knitting pattern style to boost your layering capabilities.
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Ok, so apart from preparing yourself for the whopping price tag of the lest two cardigans, you’ve got to admit that they’re pretty stylish. The Slowear grey and navy mix wool and yak-blend cardigan above (£630) is as chunky as it comes with big welt pockets on the front a combination of cable and textured knitting patters and superfly exposed buttons, including the genius of the top batten. It’s definitely not going to be in everyone’s price range, but if you are looking to blow the budget on your cardie this winter, this is definitely one of the better options.
Finally, we’ve got the military style of the Ralph Lauren anthracite charcoal shawl collar woolen cardigan above, which will set you back an even more staggering £975. Despite its price tag, we do still love it for having managed to add in embellishments like the zip pockets, the double breasted buttons plus the textured effect and buttoned epaulette shoulders and making it work. If you’ve just won on the Pools, or you’ve just been handed the Mac daddy of Christmas bonuses then this is the one for you.
