Fair Isle sweaters

[MissQueenie]

I'm all about the male-frumpy look. Ask any of the people who attended the last Queen Mary event.

Cjampaigne is only from Champaigne and Fair Isle is only from Fair Isle... though they still make white wines.

Where are my frumpy male sweaters?

Male-frumpy look? I think you should just commit to it, as they say in theatre -- go for it! Call it Grandpa/Grandad Chic! We ladies have been gleefully enjoying "Granny Chic" for years, why not you?

Besides, I enjoy the look of a man in a sweater.

Oh and as for that nonsense about fair isle vs. sweater-in-a-cool-design -- it's about as ridiculous as the champagne/sparkling wine thing. It's more than a style, you know, it's a technique. And yes, it did originate in the Shetlands; why not continue to give credit where it's due and have a convenient and accurate way to label the technique and resulting style? Sure, a true fair isle sweater will come from the Shetlands and be knitted by an 85 year old Gran by her peat stove, but how many of us are going to be lucky enough to enjoy the fruits of her labor? lol

 

[Salv]

...
Oh and as for that nonsense about fair isle vs. sweater-in-a-cool-design -- it's about as ridiculous as the champagne/sparkling wine thing. It's more than a style, you know, it's a technique. And yes, it did originate in the Shetlands; why not continue to give credit where it's due and have a convenient and accurate way to label the technique and resulting style?

What's ridiculous about wanting to protect centuries of tradition? 'Fair Isle' has become a generic term, much like hoover or google, and is now used to describe patterned sweaters that owe little, if anything, to the original technique. And how many people realise how the term originated, and can "give credit where it's due?" Quick poll: before reading the various threads that mention it, how many Loungers were aware that Fair Isle was an actual island?

Sure, a true fair isle sweater will come from the Shetlands and be knitted by an 85 year old Gran by her peat stove, but how many of us are going to be lucky enough to enjoy the fruits of her labor?

As many as are capable of filling out an order form on a page on the internet. There's no luck involved.

 

[Matt Deckard]

So who here has true Argyle socks?

 

[jake_fink]

 

[Baron Kurtz]

lol lol lol lol

I've been thinking of gumby men since the start of this thread, too. you beat me to it, darn you (but hey, i'll let you off with it because i'm happy: Scotland just beat France at football; glory be the day. Sainted be Gary Caldwell).

I love fair Isle sweaters. I own none. They're just so damned expensive. I've had my mother knit me some sweaters from a vintage pattern book. I'd like to put some of my money towards the Fair Isle businesses. When i'm earning rather more i shall ...

bk

 

[nightandthecity]

The definition problem isn’t quite the same as the champagne/sparkling white thing. The problem is that “Fair Isle” hasn’t just become a generic term for any knitwear that copies Fair Isle patterns, it has become a generic term for (a) any woollen jumper with a vaguely similar pattern to Fair Isle (b) any woolly jumper without sleeves, even a solid coloured one.

Probably the most common usage today is to describe an item that is both (a) and (b), and I take it that is what Matt is interested in.

Anyone who wants to get further into genuine Fair Isle or Shetland knitwear, as well as the links Salv has posted, I recommend navigating round the Shetland Museum site.

http://www.shetland-museum.org.uk/collections/textiles/textiles.htm


I used to have a lovely Shetland ganzie I picked up in Cullivoe back in 1976, and wore it into the ground. I wish I had treated it with more care and respect, it would just about class as vintage nowadays! This thread is making me think its about time I got another

 

[Salv]

... I recommend navigating round the Shetland Museum site.

http://www.shetland-museum.org.uk/collections/textiles/textiles.htm

There are some wonderful examples of Fair Isle knits there - this 1920s jumper has to be one of the best I've ever seen:

And I love this 1930s photo:

Oh, and that's a brilliant new avatar night.

 

[Salv]

Coincidentally, there's an article about Fair Isle - the island - in today's Sunday Times newspaper.

 

[Orgetorix]

Why, oh why, oh why can't clothing designers and manufacturers offer what they advertise for the consumer to purchase?

I saw a Ralph Lauren Purple label advert showing a man (a model from a fashion show, no doubt) in a great gray flannel pinstriped db suit with a green Fair Isle cashmere sweater that was absolutely stunning. Even better, the sweater had a deep v-neck and was showing off his tie quite nicely. I went to RL's web site this morning to look for it and was vastly disappointed. Even though the website (disingenuously) said RLPL would be offering its show items for purchase this fall, the items actually for sale were not the same. The color and texture of the suit's fabric had been toned down. The color of the sweater was more muted, and, perhaps worst of all, its v-neck was at least three or four inches higher!

I might have been willing to shell out RLPL's ridiculous prices for the stunning look that they advertised, but I'm not about to pay them for a second-rate imitation. Let that be a lesson to you, Ralph!

 

[geo]

Fair Isle sweaters are just as Harris Tweed or Reggiano cheese, there is only one original, which is entitled to the name.

 

[herringbonekid]

Why, oh why, oh why can't clothing designers and manufacturers offer what they advertise for the consumer to purchase?

i think (and i'm sure a fashion-insider will correct me if i'm wrong) that a lot of what appears in photo-shoots and sometimes window displays are 'samples' or 'prototypes' that inspired the main line but are not necessarily identical. :eusa_doh:

 

[Orgetorix]

i think (and i'm sure a fashion-insider will correct me if i'm wrong) that a lot of what appears in photo-shoots and sometimes window displays are 'samples' or 'prototypes' that inspired the main line but are not necessarily indentical. :eusa_doh:

I understand that's the case as well. Normally it doesn't bother me--most designers' stuff isn't something I'd ever wear. Ralph Lauren, though, so often does great classic English-looking menswear that I'd sometimes like to be able to buy what he shows. It just irritates me that in their advertising they say you can buy items straight off the runway, as it were, but in reality the stuff they offer for sale is different.

 

[BellyTank]

i think (and i'm sure a fashion-insider will correct me if i'm wrong) that a lot of what appears in photo-shoots and sometimes window displays are 'samples' or 'prototypes' that inspired the main line but are not necessarily identical. :eusa_doh:

True in some cases-

Sometimes the promotional stuff is off the catwalk- from the collection.
The rack stuff is sometimes a watered-down version for the masses- inspired by the colection.
The collection may be TOO much, TOO extreme.

B
T

 

[Matt Deckard]

I'm still torn about how J.Crew can cary so few then not restock!

They flew off the shelves at every store with which I spoke and never saw another one.

 

[Hemingway Jones]

I'm still torn about how J.Crew can cary so few then not restock!

They flew off the shelves at every store with which I spoke and never saw another one.

Here's my J Crew in Rome:



And I picked this one up at the Neimen Marcus outlet in Philadelphia:



These are becoming my signature style.

 

[cookie]

you guys ought to check Ken out

Edit: No live auctions, please.

 

[cookie]

you guys ought to check Ken out

Edit: No live auctions please.

This guy is a class act and a bona fide expert on all vintage UK fashion

 

[TOTTIE]

The thing about Fair Isle patterns is that they became very popular in WWII and immediately after as patterns to knit at home because you could re-use or use up bits of wool which weren't enough to make a whole sweater...

I assume that made them instantly uncool for the 1960s generation and beyond who desperately didn't want clothing that made them think about 'making do' and austerity.

They are also quite difficult to knit.

Re. the other debate, although I hugely support the right of Scottish islanders to reclaim their heritage, 'Fair Isle' refers to a type of pattern rather than to a place of origin (though of course the designs originated there). Fair Isle patterns are widely sold and knitted as such, and I have several 30s and 40s patterns at home for them. So I think it can be called a Fair Isle even if not knitted there.

The thing about Harris Tweed, and various food products (cheeses and wines particularly, and particularly in France) is that their names enjoy legal protection. You cannot legally call a tweed not hand-woven on the isles of Harris or Lewes 'Harris Tweed'. I don't think that Fair Isle, Arran etc jumpers do have this protection... though perhaps they should...

 

[Will]

Louise Irvine is researching the colors used in this painting that hangs at the Royal and Ancient at St. Andrews, one of two Fair Isle sweaters worn for portrait sittings by the Prince of Wales in the 1920s.

 

[Orgetorix]

Louise Irvine is researching the colors used in this painting that hangs at the Royal and Ancient at St. Andrews, one of two Fair Isle sweaters worn for portrait sittings by the Prince of Wales in the 1920s.

Who is Louise Irvine?