2 hours ago
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I love jumpers. Jumpers are my happy place. I know we are supposed to call them sweaters or knits because it sounds more posh, sorry, elevated, but my heart belongs to good old jumpers.
So I am thrilled that the twinset is back, because the only thing better than wearing a jumper is wearing two. But, as you may have noticed from the photo, the twinset no longer looks quite how you remember it. Traditionally, a twinset is a crew-neck jumper, long or short sleeved, with a matching cardigan. It looks as though it probably smells of lavender sachets and as if its wearer might drop into a curtsey at any moment.
But the twinset 2.0 is a loose, informal hook-up between two pieces of knitwear. It could be wearing one jumper, and tying a chunky cable-knit one in a similar shade around your shoulders, scarf-style. It could be layering a knitted waistcoat over a jumper in the same colour. It could be wearing a short-sleeved merino wool T-shirt, skater-style, with a long-sleeved, fine-gauge sweater beneath.
In the layering months – which is half the year in the UK, after all – your fashion credentials shine more in how you wear clothes than through which pieces you wear. Just the right sliver of white T-shirt at the neck of a jumper makes all the difference. Cheerful stripy shirt cuffs exposed by the pushed up sleeves of your sober blazer. These details – not the clothes themselves, certainly not the label inside those clothes – make you look, well, a bit fashion.
The joy of a twinset is that the extra jumper adds practicality plus panache. There is a through line from the few-years-back vogue for shoulder-robing a jacket, making it look shruggy and cardigan-soft, through to the on-the-street trend for draping a jumper around your shoulders, not as clothing exactly, but as a sort of knitwear necklace or cosy ornamental shoulder pad. There is also, in the unbuttoned chill vibe, a note of gentle rebellion against the pared-back minimalism of recent years.
Fashion has always loved layers. Think of the 1990s and early 2000s: camisoles over T-shirts, long sleeves peeking out from under short. This new twinset trend feels as if that adolescent experimentation and the grandmotherly tone of the matching cardigan and sweater set have met somewhere in the middle. It is a little bit preppy, another trend which works across the generations. But while the Ivy League students of the 1950s were all affluence and aftershave, and Ralph Lauren’s 1980s adverts resurrected the trope with sweaters marketed as lifestyle props, the attitude has changed. It’s not trying so hard. Sleeves are tied low, sometimes slung asymmetrically. Less boarding school prefect, more art school maverick.
The new twinset is a way to experiment with texture, proportion, and colour. A cable knit heaps texture across the shoulders of a fine cashmere crew neck. A bold striped sweater injects personality on to a monochrome base. A chunky fisherman knit adds architecture to a sleek merino turtleneck. Two sweaters at once is a tiny, wearable extravagance, a little wink at maximalism.
If you are not a fan of the draped-over-the-shoulder look, sleeveless knits come into their own in the world of the new look twinset. Not having two sets of sleeves makes it much easier to get your coat on. And the newness of the sleeveless knit as a look adds jazziness to every outfit.
Ultimately, the new twinset trend speaks to our collective craving for comfort that doesn’t abandon style. After a long spell of loungewear dominance, fashion lovers want to be cosy but polished. Visual intrigue, but tactile reassurance too. Fashion has taken something quaint, and made it cool again. You don’t need to buy anything new (just raid the knitwear pile), but the result feels fresh. One jumper is always a good idea. Two jumpers might be genius.
Model: Kentha at Milk. Stylist’s assistant: Charlotte Gornall. Hair and makeup: Sophie Higginson using Sam McKnight and Victoria Beckham Beauty. Bag, £159, Zara. Scarf, £12.99, H&M. Jumper, £20, M&S. Button-up vest, £60, Oliver Bonas. White jeans, £95, Jigsaw. Earrings, £125, Dower and Hall
