Ahhhhh….the statement cardigan. My spring transition wardrobe hero! Although my soul is completely ready to be rocking my white tee – good denim – comfortable sandals uniform, it’s unfortunately a little brisk for just a cotton tee with no top layer these days in Philly, so the statement cardigan walks in and saves the day. Hero, I tell you.

If you missed it, I did a little cardigan sneak-peek last week featuring my favorite of the bunch I tried. It happened to go on major sale, and I didn’t want you guys to miss out on the sale price. The sneak-peek includes detailed pros and cons of this specific MOTHER cardigan –it’s a good one –and it’s still on sale!

Cardigan | Denim | More Washes | Birks

In the process of statement cardigan research, I narrowed it down to three categories of statement cardigans I often wear in the spring —colorful spring statement cardigans, striped cardigans, and neutral-colored cardigans (that are statement-y because of some type of interest or contrast).

Spring Cardigans That Are Both Exciting & Worth The Splurge

Often for statement cardigans, my search starts and ends at Anthropologie and Free People. They usually have the best selection of interesting statement cardigans (many featured below in the roundups), but this year as I mentioned in my MOTHER cardigan post, I branched out and decided to try some higher-end brands. In spring, I wear statement cardigans almost daily, so it felt like it would be worth the splurge for my particular day-to-day wardrobe if I found one (or more than one) I truly loved. 

A few of the fancy-schmancy cardigans I tried are on sale, woohoo! (make sure to read the pros/cons, though…not all of them were wins). I also rounded up a bunch of alternative fabulous statement cardigans that I’ve had my eye on. So many good ones that could happily step in and take on their role as a spring transition wardrobe hero.

1. Colorful Spring Statement Cardigans

At Nordstrom | At Intermix | At Neiman | At Bloomies |
At MOTHER

The tie-cardigan above I thought would be the “one” when I placed my big cardigan order. The colors are amazing for spring, and the tie-cardigan style and shape are perfect. It shed quite a bit, though, and the black yarn wasn’t as high-quality and soft and luxurious as I wanted it to be. That being said, though, it is currently on MAJOR sale, so…it’s definitely giving me second thoughts…especially over jeans. Wearing an XS.

Cardigan | Denim | Bag | Wedges | Joggers | Sneaks

More Colorful Spring Statement Cardigans

2. Striped Statement Cardigans For Spring

Max Mara Cardigan | Budget-Friendly Alternative

I thought there was no way I would keep this one. WAY too expensive, for this style of cardigan. Especially since I figured it would be easy to find something for much less $ from another retailer. But…I KEPT reaching for it when putting outfits together…and I kept wanting to wear it as I walked out the door…and I kept searching and searching for something similar and just wasn’t finding the quality and thickness I was looking for. I broke down one morning and decided to rip off the tags.

I traveled with it for spring break and it was wonderful. SUPER soft, not at all itchy, looks great with jeans and a tee, was cozy enough to snuggle while snoozing on the airplane, and I know it will get a ton of wear. I love stripes…I love things that are soft…I love cardigans…I’m obviously still rationalizing my purchase. Wearing an XS.

Cardigan | Cami | Denim | Bag | Wedges | Joggers | Sneaks

More Striped Statement Cardigans

3. Neutral Statement Cardigan

At Theory | At Neiman | At Amazon

This is an interesting cardigan. If I was in an office setting more often, this cardigan would have hands-down been my favorite of the bunch. Classic, so pretty in person, soft, and would work great over various simple office-wear basics. The style and neutral colors are timeless, but the contrasting black trim and multiple pockets make it just enough different that it feels special and interesting.

It’s not as thick as the other statement cardigans I tried, so it’s not quite warm enough to serve as a jacket alternative top layer for my early spring walking-the-city casual looks, but it’s still a fantastic piece. Wearing an XS.

Cardigan | Cami | Denim | Bag | Wedges | Joggers | Sneaks

More Neutral Statement Cardigans

What other Spring Statment Cardigans am I missing? Any others that are working as YOUR personal spring hero piece?

-Linzi