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Cardigan (sweater)

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Cardigan in fashion photo from 1947.
A woman wearing a cardigan

A cardigan is a type of knitted garment that has an open front. Commonly cardigans have buttons: a garment that is tied is instead considered a robe. A more modern version of the garment has no buttons and hangs open by design. By contrast, a pullover does not open in front but must be "pulled over" the head to be worn. It may be machine- or hand-knitted.

The cardigan was named after James Brudenell, 7th Earl of Cardigan, a British Army Major General who led the Charge of the Light Brigade at the Battle of Balaclava during the Crimean War. It is modelled after the knitted wool waistcoat that British officers supposedly wore during the war. The legend of the event and the fame that Lord Cardigan achieved after the war led to the rise of the garment's popularity.[1][2] The term originally referred only to a knitted sleeveless vest, but expanded to other types of garment over time. The sweater is mostly associated with the college culture of the Roaring Twenties and early 1930s, being also popular throughout the 1950s, the 1970s and the 1990s. Cardigans have also regained popularity during the present decade.

Plain cardigans are often worn over shirts and inside suit jackets as a less formal version of the waistcoat or vest that restrains the necktie when the jacket has been removed. Its versatility means it can be worn in casual or formal settings and in any season, but it is most popular during cool weather.

Monochromatic cardigans, in sleeved or vest form, may be viewed as a conservative fashion staple. However, due to youth clothing ideology,[clarification needed] striped cardigans sporting vivid colors are also seen on skateboarders. As an item of formal clothing for any gender, it is worn over a button-down dress shirt. A less formal style is a T-shirt underneath.

  • Singer Perry Como wore cardigans on his TV musical-variety show, The Perry Como Show, which ran from 1955-59 on the NBC-TV network. The sweaters complemented his easy-going style of singing, and became a trademark.[3][4][5]
  • Fred Rogers, star of the long-running children's television program Mister Rogers' Neighborhood (1963-2001), would, at the beginning of each episode, come in through the front door, remove his jacket and hang it up in a closet, take out a cardigan and put it on. The sweater became a trademark for him as well.
  • Paul Michael Glaser often wore a cardigan sweater as "David Michael Starsky", one half of Starsky & Hutch in the 1975-79 TV series.
  • Kurt Cobain, the singer, guitar player, and primary song writer for the grunge rock band Nirvana, was known to wear vintage "grandpa style" cardigans. The cardigan he wore during MTV's 1993 Nirvana Unplugged concert sold at auction in Los Angeles for $137,500 in November, 2015. The sweater was reported to have a burn hole, a button missing, and discoloration around the pockets. [6][7]
  • Grandpa's Cardigan is a 1993 children's book by Joy Watson.[8]
  • Another example of cardigans being mentioned in pop culture can be found in the 1994 film Dumb and Dumber. A police officer commands "Harry" – played by Jeff Daniels – to pull over his car. Thinking that the officer said "pullover" Harry replies, "No, it's a cardigan - but thanks for noticing."
  • In the 1998 Coen Brothers' film The Big Lebowski, the character played by Jeff Bridges habitually wears a cream-colored cardigan from 1972.
  • Miley Cyrus mentions a cardigan in her 2009 single "Party in the U.S.A.".

See also

References

  1. ^ The Cardigan Sweater website, accessed 10 March 2010
  2. ^ David, Saul (1997) The Homicidal Earl: The Life of Lord Cardigan. London: Little, Brown. pp. 431-436. ISBN 0316641650
  3. ^ Brooks, Tim; Marsh, Earle F., eds. (1987), The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, Ballantine Books, pp. 1071–1072, ISBN 0-345-49773-2, retrieved 14 April 2010
  4. ^ Denisova, Maria. "Como, Perry". Pennsylvania Center for the Book, Pennsylvania State University. Retrieved April 4, 2010.
  5. ^ Philbin, Regis (October 18, 1991). "DVD: The Best of Perry Como: Volume One (review)". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved April 30, 2010.
  6. ^ Grossman, Samantha (November 5, 2015) "Kurt Cobain';s Unplugged Sweater Sells for $137,500" Time
  7. ^ Garcia, Patricia (November 9, 2015) "Kurt Cobain’s MTV Unplugged Cardigan Sold for $137,500" Vogue
  8. ^ Watson, Joy - bookcouncil
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