Style - Menswear

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Wall Street Journal - September 24, 2005

Zipped-Up Style p7

Written By Ray A. Smith

Men's Sweaters

Men's Sweaters have been a tricky spot lately for designers and retailers. Sales of men's sweaters and vests fell 5.5% for the 12 months ended in March, according to NPD Group, a market-research firm.

A focal point this fall: the zipper. Keying off the zipper's popularity on fleece jackets, hooded sweatshirts and sporty casual sweaters in recent seasons, more designers are adding zippers to more refined sweaters with slimmer cuts in fabrics like cashmere. "Think of it as a more polished take on a hoodie," says designer Michael Kors, whose zipped sweater offerings this fall include a $98 navy lambswool ribbed half-zip version (one that zips down only a few inches below the neck). Brioni has a cashmere half-zip sweater this season for $1,395. Makers say they hope these dressier versions will appeal to men shopping for business-casual clothes. Calvin Klein's $188 dark-blue ribbed cotton zip cardigan is shown paired with a dress shirt, tie and flat-front pants in promotional materials for retailers, suggesting officewear.

Men in conservative workplaces should probably save zip sweaters for true casual days, however, says Samantha von Sperling [of Polished Social Image Consultants], an image consultant based in New York. For those who do want to try them at work in a business-casual setting, she suggests sticking with fabrics such as cashmere or super-fine wool.

This Story ran in The Wall Street Journal, Pursuits Section, Page P7, September 24th, 2005.