Help me describe an out-of-style 80's sweater type
October 24, 2019 11:03 AM   Subscribe

I do not have the words to describe or search for a type of sweater I used to see frequently many years ago. It seems to have disappeared into the mists of time along with ultra-thin ties and Members Only jackets. Please name it and point me to a picture.

Strictly speaking, it's not a cable-knit, though it has a rough texture. To me, it screams Marin County Macy's men's store in the 1980's.

Sweater type is generally monochrome with tiny woven-in bits of a complementary color. Pullover, crew-neck, long-sleeve, loose almost shar-pei-like fit, knit is thick and open - you cold stick a plastic coffee stirrer through the knit but it is not at all solid nor nearly as open as a fishnet.
posted by zaixfeep to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (20 answers total) 2 users marked this as a favorite
 
is it like this only baggier? I searched marled men's sweater
posted by brilliantine at 11:10 AM on October 24, 2019 [1 favorite]


Something like this?
posted by librarianamy at 11:13 AM on October 24, 2019


like this, except with an additional color?

this is the weave i am thinking of from your description. i searched by 80's open weave sweater express. But i don't remember them having men's clothes at that time.
posted by domino at 11:21 AM on October 24, 2019


Response by poster: librarianamy, that's the correct general shape and color combinatiom. To me, the knit should be a bit thicker and more open, like loose chainmail or the cane weaving in a Breuer chair back. You should see bits of whatever is beneath the sweater if it's streched slightly. I can't confirm your picture is a match at that resolution.
posted by zaixfeep at 11:26 AM on October 24, 2019


Shaker Knit Sweater? Still available at Lands End.
posted by sarajane at 11:28 AM on October 24, 2019 [4 favorites]


Shaker sweaters, maybe? The stitch texture is a chunky, textured rib.

Forenza sweaters often had this shape and texture and were super popular in the 80s, but as far as I know they made only women’s sweaters and were always solid rather than marled or flecked.
posted by Metroid Baby at 11:29 AM on October 24, 2019


If everyone else's photos are on the right track, the search terms for that fabric would be Shaker stitch, Shaker rib, and fisherman's rib.

(On preview, if it's more of a hexagonal structure and less of a rib, let the search continue.)
posted by fountainofdoubt at 11:29 AM on October 24, 2019


Is it something like this? I know the cut is wrong, but this is a "heathered open weave" - heathered is one description for that flecky yarn, open weave means you can see through it.
posted by Lyn Never at 11:38 AM on October 24, 2019


Response by poster: librarianamy has the shape. Lyn Never, your weave is in the ballpark - imagine a 'masculine' version - thicker yarn, rougher and perhaps a bit more irregular-looking. Not heathered.

This is beginning to suggest it is not so much a style as a specific designer. OK, enough threadsitting.
posted by zaixfeep at 11:50 AM on October 24, 2019




not sure i'm offering anything different from above but I just pulled this out from under the bed. Super baggy. From the Gap, early-Friends era.
posted by easement1 at 1:55 PM on October 24, 2019 [2 favorites]


If you web search for "Cosby sweater", or "Fresh Prince sweater" could anything in those results be what you're looking for?
posted by McNulty at 2:24 PM on October 24, 2019


Is the photo on this pattern kind of what you are thinking of? If so, the crucial word to describe the shape would be "dolman" sleeve. As far as material, it was pretty common that in the 80s and 90s a sweater with this shape would not have been made with wool but with a ramie/cotton blend, which would hang much more loosely and retain that semi-open knit you are describing. There's a similarly shaped one here, though the knit is tighter.

This is a modern women's piece done in Shaker stitch which exhibits the loose weave you are describing, though the pieces you're thinking of may orginally have been crochet rather than true knit.
posted by DSime at 2:37 PM on October 24, 2019


Response by poster: librarianamy and Lyn Never are close as I mentioned above, the rest of you aren't. Consider the texture of Mark Lenard's black and white Romulan commander shirt from Star Trek TOS, but in my version ir's more loose chain mail-like and has openings in the knit where the black parts are. Now returning to read-only here, hopefully for good.
posted by zaixfeep at 4:10 PM on October 24, 2019


This is not the shape but is this the weave you are picturing? I googled "linen knit" which is a looser weave. I've only seen it in women's sweaters though.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 7:28 PM on October 24, 2019


Ragg wool?
posted by zepheria at 9:11 PM on October 24, 2019


Mohair was frequently knit really loose like this because it was fuzzy. I remember my sister (who was an 80s teen where I grew up in the 90s) having sweaters like this. Searching ebay for "punk mohair jumper" gets some pretty consistent results.
posted by FirstMateKate at 8:53 AM on October 25, 2019


I did an Ebay search for "1980s sweater men" and there are lots of garments to choose from (good grief, but I digress.) OP, maybe find one that looks like what you had in mind?
posted by Sublimity at 12:44 PM on October 25, 2019


Based on your comments I'm wondering about this cardigan,
or this pullover, this sweater which is described as "Coogi Style".

Following the rabbit hole of "Coogi", I find examples like this which were really distinctive, colorful, textured, with vertical elements--totally an 80s style moment. Is this what you're looking for?
posted by Sublimity at 12:56 PM on October 25, 2019


Best answer: Thank you all. You have given me some keywords and some examples I can point to but nobody got as close as I had hoped. I guess the sweater was a one-off design/range which faded into history after a few fashion seasons.
posted by zaixfeep at 2:25 PM on October 31, 2019


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