The Official 2024 Sweater Power Rankings

Hold: The polo sweater. Auralee is untouchable in this category, but of course John Smedley is the OG. The only thing that knocked the polo sweater down from the Buy into Hold is its surging popularity. We’re approaching a saturation point.

Buy: Rollnecks. J.Crew still runs the rollneck game. Evan Kinori makes a good one, too.

Hold: Sweater vests.

Buy: Archival designer sweaters are good. The best? This geometric knit from Prada’s Fall 2017 collection, the legendary fall ’18 Kiko Kostadinov intarsia, and the autumn 2002 Mohair punk sweater from Undercover.

Hold: 100% cashmere sweaters. They’re just too hot and soft.

Buy: Alpaca. Anything Lauren Manoogian—especially the Double Face Coat, which works well for guys—and Lemmermayer of Austria, which you can find at Anatomica in Paris or Japan and the Florida rich-guy emporium Maus & Hoffman (but are easy enough to find on eBay or Etsy).

Sell: Primary colors.

Buy: Earth tones and undyed fibers.

Sell: Faux-distressed sweaters.

Buy: Sweaters with holes.

Sell: Precious sweaters that you only wear to dinner with your parents.

Buy: Sweaters for sports. A jog on a brisk morning in a Shaggy Dog and a pair of lacrosse shorts, or touch football on Thanksgiving morning in sweatpants and a rollneck? Elite.

Sell: Shawl collared cardigans—if there are any of these still around—especially with those woven leather buttons. Wearing these is twee, chore coat-guy behavior.

Buy: Cowichan sweaters. This one 18 East did a few years ago with Kanata is exceptional. The Child of Hell Cowichan from this season is Supreme at its 2024 best.

Sell: Tucked-in sweaters.

Hold: Around the shoulders sweaters.

Buy: Partially worn, recklessly applied sweaters. One arm in, one arm out. Tied around the head like a bonnet. Wrapped sideways around the neck. Got your head in then gave up, arms draped loose like tentacles.

Sell: Cheap polyester sweaters. Read the care tag, not the label.

Buy: Weird handmade sweaters. I especially like these Man-tle sweaters that look like arts and crafts projects. Casey Casey makes excellent lumpy sweaters. If I was really going to splash out, I’d get this beefy Daniela Gregis hand-knit cardigan.

Sell: Novelty and ironic sweaters.

Buy: Family heirloom sweaters.

Buy: Non-sweater sweaters. That Rier fleece has sweater status, on account of it being made from wool. And Magliano’s unusual cardigan is padded, which is unconventional, but I dunno what it is if not a sweater.

Sell: Sweaters with extra stuff—a collar where you don’t need it, epaulets, hoods, elbow patches, logos or other embellishments.

Buy: Unconventionally layered sweaters—sweater under a shirt, or sweater over another sweater.

Sell: Polo Bear gets a pass, but all other cutesy intarsia sweaters do not. Knitwear is a great way to express your personal style, but a bad way to show people what your hobbies are.