Girl walks in to a store, girl tries on all the cardigans, girl is disappointed. Girl walks in to another store, girl tries on all the cardigans, girl is less disappointed. Girl walks in to Anthropologie, girl tries on all the cardigans, girl is happy. Yes…this has been my week.
I love cardigans. All varieties. Including, and maybe even in first place: a good sweater-coat-cardigan mashup (you know it as the coatigan.) I’m not a denim jacket gal (feels too constricting), I don’t do leather jackets (not my thing), I look like I’m playing dress-up in blazers, but a solid cardigan? Yep.. always does me good. Once upon a time, Boden made AMAZING coatigans that I loved loved loved. Unfortunately, this is no longer the case. I’ve worn my Boden coatigan for SO many years though, that it really is time for an update.
I had terrible luck at Madewell and J.Crew, better luck at Free People, and the best luck at Anthro. Here’s what I found:
**The Paloma Sweater Jacket and Cable Knit Sweaters are 50% off right now at Anthro — they are selling out FAST, though. Both would make GREAT gifts, and Anthro has free upgrades right now on fast shipping with delivery by Christmas **
Paloma Sweater Jacket
Paloma Sweater Jacket: I loved both of these (wearing xs). Perfect weight if you want something truly in-between a sweater and a coat. I thought the boiled wool might be scratchy, but in person it’s soft and easy to wear. As you can see below, they both came home with me (for a try-on with my own mirror), and I think I like them even better with my gray straight jeans vs the pilcro flares. 
Hygge Cardigan
Hygge Cardigan: This comes in 5 different colors (including two-toned options), and the terrible dressing room lighting does not do this dark turquoise color justice. I also have to tell you…this cardigan is like wrapping yourself in the coziest, softest, most wonderful blanket, and then being allowed to wear it all day long and look pretty good while your’e doing it — not a bad plan, right? Wearing xs/s with with Pilcro Slim Boyfriend Jean.
Berber Checked Coat
Berber Checked Coat: No, it’s not a cardigan…no, it’s not even a coatigan…and yes, I think it’s a little too big for me (wearing xs — reviews say it runs big), but I still love it. Should I get it, and just pretend it’s not too big and it meets my requirements for an in-between cardigan-sweater-jacket-coat? I need to decide quickly, though, one size has already sold out. Hmm…
Cable Knit Cardigan
Cable Knit Cardigan: Comes in 4 fabulous colors, but I have a taupe Anthro cardigan from years ago that I wear all the time, so I was of course drawn to the one on the left. Ridiculously soft and cozy, hangs nicely, and cut to go with everything. Not quite heavy enough for what I’m looking for right now, but definitely a good closet staple if you’re needing a basic cardigan update. Wearing xs in taupe and s in gray.
Loviisa Textured Cardigan: A really soft and light cardigan to lounge in with your pajamas, or wear out and about. Wearing an xs/s — available in petites (which would have fit me better).
Morganne Longline Jacket
Morganne Longline Jacket: I totally fell in love with this jacket/coatigan! Really lightweight (perfect for in the car, indoors, and wearing all year round) and nice clean lines. Wearing a small (some of the regular sizes are sold out, but lots of availability still in petites, which actually would have fit me better). Wearing with Ludington Waffle Pullover (also really soft and comfy), Pilcro Ultra High Rise Boot Cut Jeans and Danskos.
Taffy Sweater Cardi
Taffy Sweater Cardi: These two cardigans (wearing xs) from FreePeople most match what I set out looking for. Soft, a nice in-between weight, and I LOVE the buttons. I’m more of an open-cardigan kind of gal, but It has a belt/tie to cinch around the waist too as a nice option. Henley underneath with Lucky Jeans and my fav Danskos.
Madewell Cardigans
1: Camden Sweater-Coat in Black: Totally fine, but nothing really special — a good basic, though. 2. Camden Sweater-Coat in Heather Elm: Also fine, but again…nothing special. 3. Donegal Kent Cardigan Sweater: Click through here to see color up close. It’s a really nice speckled black yarn that’s really soft too, but not quite the right cut for me. Didn’t help that the jeans and Danskos weren’t quite right together either…ugh. No luck at all with Madewell. The Whisper Cotton Striped Tee, though was great — hard to go wrong with a striped tee.
J. Crew
So…I’m not even going to put the J.Crew pics in…they are NOT good. NOT good at all. I’m not giving up, though. I have found great pieces at J.Crew in the past, but not this shopping trip.
Below is everything I tried on (a bit easier than scrolling up and down if you’re looking for the links):
Hope this has been helpful for any of you who are fellow coatigan fans. I’m pretty sure my favorites are the Paloma Sweater-Coat and the Free People Sweater Cardi….oh and also the Morganne Longline Jacket…and of course the Berber Checked Coat. Thoughts? Opinions?
-Linzi
