Your Fall/ Winter Turtleneck Inspiration

Canali recently put up their FW11 lookbook. It’s a hefty 68 pages long and chock full of inspiring styling shots. I was struck most, however, by how many chunky turtlenecks were featured.

For no good reason, turtlenecks have yet to catch on with the menswear blogoratti. I, however, think they’re damn great. Turtlenecks (also known as a polo necks) actually began as workwear garments sometime in the early 20th century. They were first worn by seamen and menial workers, for whom a scarf would be impractical and sometimes even dangerous. These original turtlenecks had tube collars that were closed with buttons and then later, after their invention, zippers. When textiles advanced to more stretchable and durable fabric blends, the buttons and zippers were forgone. Once the look became more streamlined, people such as Noel Coward started wearing them, and the middle class in America soon followed. By the mid-century, they were nearly ubiquitous and worn by people who wanted to look sharp, but didn’t want to don a suit and tie.

Today, turtlenecks are still great pieces to look sharp in. Just note that they tend to emphasize the jawline. As such, they’re best worn by slim guys with strong jaws, and should be avoided by those who are heavier or have a flabbier necks. If you have a strong jawline, however, try wearing a thick, chunky, woolen turtleneck, especially one with a heavily ribbed neck that cleanly folds over once. Thin turtlenecks can work, but they’re a bit trickier. You can very easily end up looking like a nebbish 1970s humanities professor who “likes to work on his novel” or, worse still, Steve Jobs. Chunky woolen ones, on the other hand, are very masculine and come without any social baggage. I especially like wearing them with mock neck outerwear pieces, like this quilted Polo Ralph Lauren Richmond jacket. A vest with a similar collar shape could also work.

The one downside to chunky, woolen turtlenecks is that they’re warm as hell. Only wear them if you plan to be outside most of the day. Otherwise, you’ll find yourself taking them on and off as you enter and exit buildings, which just becomes a pain in the ass. If you’re going out for a night stroll during the fall or winter seasons, however, these are the perfect things to wear.

The first five photos below are from Canali’s new FW11 lookbook. I’ve posted more photos behind the cut, but they’re not from Canali. In the coming months, I may do a round up of different turtleneck options, and publish it at Put This On, but let the following be your inspo for this Fall.