Sweaters for Short Men: The Ultimate Guide
This is a guest post written by Style Crew ambassador, Ivan Martinez.
With the temperatures dropping, we start moving into the best season of the year — layering season. It’s important to layer up throughout these colder seasons, and not just because it’ll keep you warm. Layering is a great opportunity to put together some amazing outfits. You can layer shirts, sweaters, jackets, vests, etc. For this article, we’re going to talk about layering sweaters.
Sweaters are key items to have in your wardrobe. They are versatile and elevate any look. However, there are some common mistakes that can make or break an outfit, which we’ll cover below. Let’s jump in.
Common Sweater Fit Mistakes Short Men Make
Your sweater has too much fabric
This goes hand in hand with the overall fit of a sweater, but having too much fabric can make it seem as if you added on a few pounds. Too much fabric in either the body or the sleeve (or even both) of a sweater will make it look baggy. You don’t want that. A sweater should compliment your body and provide a slimming effect.
Your sweater is too long
Length is just as critical. The body length of the sweater overall should not be any more than a ½ an inch to an inch below your waist. The sleeve length on your sweater should naturally end at your wrist with minimal bunching.
Caring for your sweaters
The material of your sweater may not be a commonly thought of fit mistake, but it’s just as important. An example of high-quality material is merino wool. Merino wool is a very soft, fine wool that comes from merino sheep. To take care of merino wool, we suggest following the care instructions highlighted here: Merino Wool Sweaters.
How to Style a Sweater
There are lots of ways to style a sweater since you can wear it with just about anything, but for this article, we’re going to showcase two formalities, casual and formal, and two different styles, crew neck and quarter zip.
Styling a crew neck sweater: formal
The crew neck sweater is a staple and it's a great way to layer or just to wear on its own. Here I styled it with a full suit.
Layering a sweater under a suit is perhaps my favorite way to wear a crew neck sweater. This look is a great way to keep warm, but it also gives this suit a different, more casual appeal.
Styling a quarter zip sweater: formal
This style of sweater goes very well over a nice shirt and tie, since the quarter-zip opening giving the tie a subtle appearance. However, a tie is optional, and as you can see in the image to the left, I opted out. To complete this look, I styled it with a nice pair of dress pants and a suit jacket. This is a great way to effortlessly level up your outfit.
Styling a crew neck sweater: casual
For a more casual vibe, a crew neck sweater is also a great exterior layer to finish off a casual look. Worn over a crew neck t-shirt and some pants, this outfit is great for running errands or a casual coffee-shop date.
Styling a quarter zip sweater: casual
Just like the crew neck sweater, you can also style a quarter-zip dressed down for a casual look. Here, I decided to throw on a nice grey crew neck t-shirt and a pair of indigo jeans. This look is perfect to relax in, whether it’s in your house or out-and-about in town.
There you have it gents. Two ways you can dress Ash & Erie’s crew neck and quarter-zip sweaters. I highly recommend them. The fit is perfect, and above all, the fabric is high class. Check out their full sweater collection below.
Ivan Martinez is a men's lifestyle and style blogger based out of Minneapolis, MN. Ivan's personal style is focused on highlighting classic, timeless pieces and adding in a twist of modern fashion.
Check out his page here: @iammrmartinez