Help Me Decide - Aero Rollneck or Aran Sweater?

[Philalethes]

Hi All,

I have thought about asking my wife for a nice Aran sweater for Christmas. However, my Barnstormer is ready to ship ( ! ), and I am considering purchasing a rollneck sweater instead and having my wife put it aside for the Holiday.

What attracts me to the Aero sweater is that it looks less bulky and thus appears to easily fit under my new Barnstormer or my WWII peacoat as an extra layer of insulation.

What attracts me to the Aran sweater, aside from the tradition and styling, is that it seems to more easily layer with a dress shirt. (I wear collared shirts most of the time.) But, since seems to be more bulky, I would probably wear it on its own more often than under a coat.

Here is a specific question: for owners of RAF/submarine/rollneck sweaters, what do you wear under it?

 

[PADDY]

There's a thread already linked to RN / RAF / British Submariner sweaters. Have a search (I'm mobile right now). I'll merge these threads when possible. However, I use an ELC / Eastman RAF Rollneck with the Barnstormer and it's a great combo. Remember the RAF boys wore collared service shirts under theirs in the 40's.

 

[cuthbert]

I just receive a nice pack from Amanda with:

1) A redskin Aero D-1

2) An Aero rolleck

3) An Aeroscarf in Royal Stewart

I recommend ALL the above but the label of the sweater is not Aero but Brenire, which is the actual factory that makes these sweaters for Aero and supposely for the Ace cafè and Eastman. The D-1 with the CC-41 perhaps are not historically accurate but they are VERY warm and stylish.

 

[Cooperson]

Would love to see some pics if you get the chance.

 

[Edward]

There's a thread already linked to RN / RAF / British Submariner sweaters. Have a search (I'm mobile right now). I'll merge these threads when possible. However, I use an ELC / Eastman RAF Rollneck with the Barnstormer and it's a great combo. Remember the RAF boys wore collared service shirts under theirs in the 40's.

P, I think this is the one?

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?42142-Aero-Rollneck-RAF-sweater&

There are a few places in the UK offering the RAF type sweater - the Ace cafe, ELC, Aero among them. I obviously can't tell for sure not having held all of them in my hand individually, let alone at once, but it doesn't seem a stretch to speculate that they all originate from the same source, in which case it's simply a matter of finsing the keenest price.... I believe the best price I've seen was one of the less well known sources on the other thread who sell them significantly cheaper than some other sources.

As to the merits of a roll neck viz-a-vis an Aran... really, down to personal choice. As Paddy notes, you can wear a collared shirt with either, just with a roll neck you can't fold it out over the top of the sweater neck. I suppose, if pushed, I might consider the roll neck a more "dressy" option of the two, partly due to its military uniform associations, partly due to it being a plainer design. You're unlikely to be wearing either for even "business casual", though, I'd have thought so it's no biggie either way. Funnily enough, I tend to associate the roll neck of the two as being the more nautical, which is ironic given that the Aran sweaters wre very much worn by (civialian) seamen, while the "RAF" sweater was only ever issued to Navy types, and later appropriated by the fly boys. I well remember my paternal grandmother, who knitted us some beautiful Aran sweaters before the arthritis got the better of her knuckles, telling us about them being worn by fishermen on the Irish coasts. Different families apparently had different patterns, and occasionally in times past when the body of a fisherman lost at sea washed ashore some time later, they were often idetified by the family knit pattern.

Oh... I've just remembered also, I bought one of these sweaters for my Dad some ten years ago or more, from the Ace Cafe, back when they still did them in both cream and navy colours. I bought him the navy one, and it's still going strong. Ace only do the cream now, but the website of the producer (linked to somewhere in the thread above, if memory serves) has them in navy and it's a nice alternative.

 

[cuthbert]

Would love to see some pics if you get the chance.

Of the sweater, the jacket or the scarf?

 

[Cooperson]

Of the sweater, the jacket or the scarf?

Would like see the fit of the sweater and jacket if you get the chance.

Cheers

 

[Sierra Charriba]

Yes, please, some pics will be perfect

 

[cuthbert]

OK guys I've to warn you that my cell is pretty cheap and the pics aren't great, however this morning I've taken some pics.

A detail of the rollneck:



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The Brunire label:



A nice bunch of scottish sheep on the tag:



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Here there's a pic of your favourite model, you can see the front and the back in the other mirror:



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For the record, the model is 179 cm tall, weights about 75 km, and usually wears a 36 or 38 jacket. Amanda recommended a size M and it feels good, not too snug beside the neck which is a little tight.

Here the sweater under its natural environment, a 30s half belt jacket:



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A detail of the very high and snug collar:



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Under a Pegasus jacket it's a little too tight, tough, the armholes of the D-pocket are quite small even for my standards:



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The complete Aero kit of the winter survival in the Alpine region:



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the redskin D-1 is faboulus, it was made by Kellyx, and it was a lucky finding: I asked Amanda if they could make me a B-6, a jacket that I considered more complex and detailed, but she told that the waiting list at the moment is....14 weeks! I asked her if they didn't have any sheepsking available, she told me that a customer had just returned a D-1 size 38 because it was too small, so I went for that. I was worried because I always thought the D-1 was uninteresting, but I was wrong: the jacket is fantastic, it is short and snug as I like and doesn't make me look like the Michelin man. AND the back has two panels, not four like the one on the website:



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The jacket is historically accurate and well made, extremely light and supple, very different from the typical Aero bike jacket I wear:



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[HighandDry]

Great coat and sweater!

My concern with the rollneck sweater is how rough/itchy is it? I almost bought the Northsea version (http://www.northseaclothing.co.uk/submariner.html), but heard that it is pretty itchy.

 

[Edward]

Great coat and sweater!

My concern with the rollneck sweater is how rough/itchy is it? I almost bought the Northsea version (http://www.northseaclothing.co.uk/submariner.html), but heard that it is pretty itchy.

Anwhere I've seen the North sea ones on sale, they look kinda pricey to me - I'd probably stick with the Aero in that case.

 

[Cooperson]

The D1, roll neck and scarf make a perfect combination! Thanks for sharing.

 

[too much coffee]

Hi Philalethes;

The Aero roll neck would get my vote.
Ever since I saw "The Battle of Britain" movie with Robert Shaw wearing his off white roll neck under his Irvin jacket, I've been a fan of both garments.
Your Barnstormer is a very outdoorsy and masculine jacket that will go very well with the roll neck. Where you live, you will get some decent wear out of it and it'll look great.

Regards,
coffee

 

[cuthbert]

Great coat and sweater!

My concern with the rollneck sweater is how rough/itchy is it? I almost bought the Northsea version (http://www.northseaclothing.co.uk/submariner.html), but heard that it is pretty itchy.

My skin is very sensitive, and usually I can't wear rollneck sweaters because of that and in general no wool garment in direct contact with the skin, but I feel this jumper very soft and not itchy at all...perhaps because of the magic wool from scottish sheeps?

P.S. Thanks for the link, I see that Northsea also offers the blue one, but if it's itchy it's not for me, even if I have to admit that I bought the sweater from Aero because I had already planned other purchases.

The D1, roll neck and scarf make a perfect combination! Thanks for sharing.

Probably a little too much to wear all together, unless you're visiting Cape North...today I tried to wear the D-1 with only a shirt underneath, with 10°C it was too much.

 

[BenchLoom]

Because they are meant to fit trimly - like those made by North Sea Clothing, I typically wear a t-shirt underneath. However, an oxford shirt works well too. Personally, I prefer the naval shawl collar sweater (which has a high neck) as opposed to the rollneck. In case you're interested, here's a resource for the NSC sweaters: http://www.benchandloom.com/shop/sweaters