How to Style Cashmere and Knitwear for Winter

Once the clocks go back, most of us live in knitwear until March, and honestly, that’s no hardship. Get the pairing right and one good cashmere jumper (or a cardigan with a bit of shape) will do Saturday coffee, Christmas dinner and nearly everything in between.

Here at Sinead Keary The Label, we design our knits to work with the rest of our pieces. That goes for the Lily Cashmere Bow Back Sweater, in 100% sustainably sourced cashmere, and just as much for our cardigans: the Mia, the Julie, the Amie, the Clara Wave and our new Lara Diamante Cardigan.

Below you’ll find how we style them, what we wear them with from morning to evening, and how to look after cashmere so it’s still lovely five winters from now.

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How do you style a cashmere jumper?

A cashmere jumper looks its best paired with a sharper fabric, such as satin trousers, a tailored skirt or dark denim. Take our Lily Cashmere Bow Back Sweater: it’s knitted from 100% sustainably sourced cashmere (Good Cashmere Standard), the sleeves flare softly, and there’s a satin bow tied at the back. Wear it with a midi or satin trousers at night and jeans by day.

It drapes beautifully, so we don’t bother tucking it into trousers. With a skirt, though, a quick half tuck at the front gives you a waist and leaves the bow on show.

That bow is what people comment on, so pin your hair up or sweep it to one side if you can. It’s true to size, but if you’re between sizes we’d go up. Choose from black, cream and plum, or the new Khaki that launched on 1 October with Lydia Millen Chapter Three.

What do you wear with knitwear to make it look dressy?

To make knitwear look dressy, put it with satin, silk or tailoring in the same colour family. At Sinead Keary The Label, that usually means our Sandra Satin Trousers. Plum Lily with plum Sandra, or the cream Mia Sculpted Cardigan with cream Sandra, and you’re sorted for Christmas dinner.

One colour head to toe makes you look taller, and the jump from knit to satin stops it feeling flat. If contrast is more your thing, try the Mia in cream over our black Sandra Satin Trousers for a night in town.

Softer still: the Lily over a satin or tailored midi skirt. Browse our Skirts and Shorts collection for options.

Our dressiest cardigan is the Clara Wave Cardigan, with its curved button placket, self-covered buttons and our Tori button cuff. In black over the Sandra Satin Trousers it’s an easy Christmas party outfit, and the cream is soft enough for a christening.

For a bit of sparkle, our new Lara Diamante Cardigan in grey has diamanté around the neckline and diamanté buttons down the front, with a slightly cropped length and a neat ribbed hem and cuffs. At Sinead Keary The Label we wear it with black leather trousers or the Sandra Satin Trousers for a party, and it works just as well day to day.

Can you style a cardigan as a jacket?

A cardigan can pass for a jacket if it’s shaped through the waist and shoulder and you wear it buttoned, on its own. That’s exactly how we cut the Mia Sculpted Cardigan at Sinead Keary: nipped at the waist, with a V neckline, a V-shaped hem, mother of pearl buttons and big balloon sleeves. It’s a jacket shape in a soft knit.

It’s knitted in our signature viscose mix and fits true to size, so stick to your usual size for the sculpted shape. You’ll find it in mink, cream and navy. We wear the cream with light-wash denim on weekends and tonal Sandra Satin Trousers for dinner.

The volume in the Mia’s balloon sleeve sits low on the arm, so it really wants to be the top layer. Add a coat by all means, just leave it open so the sleeves don’t get squashed.

The Julie Cardigan is the other one we’d happily wear buttoned up as a top. It’s a smoother, more structured knit with a little stretch, a crew neck, patch pockets and our logo buttons, and you can get it in cream, navy, black or stripe. Thrown open over tailoring it works just as well.

How do you layer knitwear for an Irish winter?

For an Irish winter, layer a fine knit under a warm coat and you’ve covered most of what the weather throws at you. Our favourite at Sinead Keary The Label right now is the Lily Cashmere Bow Back Sweater under the Jessica Longline Wool Coat, both in Khaki from Lydia Millen Chapter Three, for those damp days of dashing between the street and an overheated shop.

Cashmere is surprisingly warm for how light it is, so there’s no bulk under a tailored coat. Get inside, take the coat off, and the knit is your outfit.

On milder days, our Becky Silk Cami (bra friendly, thankfully) sits smoothly under an open Mia.

For weekends, reach for the Amie Asymmetrical Cardigan in navy. It’s a 50/50 cotton and wool blend in a relaxed boyfriend shape, with a deep V, wide cuffs and buttons that sit off-centre, so even a T-shirt and jeans underneath look like you thought about it.

How do you care for cashmere?

Hand wash cashmere in cold water with a cashmere or wool detergent, or hand it to a specialist cleaner if you’d rather not risk it, then dry it flat on a towel. Our own Sinead Keary Materials and Care Guide adds three things: steam rather than press, comb bobbles off gently, and give the knit a rest between wears.

1. Check the care label first, every time.
2. Wash by hand in cold water with a cashmere or wool detergent, or hand it over to a specialist cleaner.
3. Press the water out gently. No wringing, no twisting.
4. Dry it flat on a clean towel and ease it back into shape while it’s damp.
5. Freshen it with a little steam rather than a hot iron.
6. Use a cashmere comb, lightly, on any bobbles.
7. Give it a day or two off between wears so the fibres can recover.

Store it folded, never hung, because hangers pull the shoulders out, and tuck in some moth protection before it goes away for summer. Our full Materials and Care Guide has advice for every fabric we use.

Is it normal for cashmere to pill?

Yes, a little pilling is completely normal on new cashmere, mostly where it rubs against a bag strap or the inside of your arms. The Sinead Keary care guide suggests a cashmere comb to lift the bobbles, and it tends to settle after the first few wears.

A day off between wears helps too, since the same spots aren’t getting rubbed over and over.

Which Sinead Keary knit should you choose?

Go for the Lily if you want 100% cashmere and a soft, feminine shape. For cardigans, the Mia is closest to a jacket and the Clara Wave and the Lara Diamante Cardigan are the ones to dress up, while the Julie is neat and buttoned-up and the Amie is the slouchy weekend one. Every Sinead Keary The Label knit works with our satin trousers, skirts and coats, so you can’t really go wrong.

Every knit here comes in sizes XS (6 to 8) to 2XL (18 to 20).

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Discover our Cashmere and Knitwear collection to see every colour of every knit mentioned here. Team your favourite with Sandra Satin Trousers or a long wool coat from our Coats collection.

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