Sweater Survey

Among the well-knit man's many accomplishments is his flair for telling a good yarn.

Cashmere is wool from beneath the hair of Himalayan, Kashmir or Tibetan wardrobe. Lamb's wool, on the other hand, comes from the lamb and while some of the woolliest of these are grazing away in the Hebrides, a good lamb's-wool sweater can come from almost any place in the world.

Alpaca wool has joined the luxury class mere recently in sweaters, and is quite the favorite in International sports circles. Man-made fibers such as Orlon, Dacron, Nylon, Acrilan, Vicara and Dynel - all of them warm and exceptionally long wearing - are softer ad more richly textured than ever before; they have the aditioal advantage of retaining their
shape through innumerable washings and long wear.

The Sketches, left, represent basic styles most popular today, but as sweaters gain more and more fashion significance, new patterns and
weaves tend to make them highly individualized.

The V-neck classic is a steady favorite still for tie and collar; in plain colors, and sans sleeves, it is an attractive alternate for your
waistcoat under casual suits. In bright patterns, like the one at the bottom of the page, it serves as a wind-breaking companion to open-necked sports shirts. The crew-neck pull-over is an indispensable item in the undergraduate's wardrobe. This year the cardigan coat sweater emerges from the sports world with a new, low opening that keeps it unseen under a buttoned suit jacket, and allows it to act as a decorative vest when the jacket hangs open. Another low-cut style that doubles as a vest is the European pull-open. Another low cut style that doubles as a vest is the European pull-over surplice that also appears with long batwing sleeves for active sportswear. News on turtle necks this year is that some of them can be rolled on way for one color and reversed for another color. And the rolled shawl collar pull-over that came to us from Scotland a few years back is now firmly established in the sportsman's and vacationer's wardrobe, worn buttoned at the throat or open like a sports shirt.

Since we are in hte midst of a high-color era, almost anything goes; bright reds, blues and even pinks turn up in all these styles, along with softer shades of grey, green, gold, beige and ruddy brown. For any kind of casual wear, you have your choice of subtle stripes, bold Argyles, space figures, checks and allover patterns. For business, plain hues of muted grey, green, blue or brown, keyed to your suit color, are pleasantly conservative.

A word about knits; there are four basic stitchings, and they have a great deal to do with the weight of your sweater. Flat-knit sweaters are the lightest - that is , treated like jersey. Shaker knits and rib stitches are considerably heavier ( among rib-knit sweaters you can now find horizontal patterns - interesting to look at, with the same, springy resilience as the vertical rib ). Shell-stitch models have a lace effect that is especially handsome in more formal, alpaca sweaters