The sweater vest — worn by Fred Astaire and other fashion icons with panache, yet later destroyed by a Pennsylvania politician. But just as Justin Timberlake brought sexy back, or at least gave it a fresh look, so the sweater vest rises again from the fashion ashes.
In many ways, there’s nothing manlier — a vest frees the arms to work yet still warms and draws attention to the chest. If the man has arms that work and a chest that should get attention, this overlooked item — the much-maligned sweater vest — will make him stand out. Sexy (and manly) is never what everybody else does. Here are seven sweater vest choices for the man in your life.
- The Nordstrom from Nordstrom named after Nordstrom — John V. Nordstrom that is. Just $60.
- Below is a man in a sweater vest from Macy’s. He’s warm, confident, and has plenty of money left to take you out to dinner. This one’s just $20.
- Greg Norman, one of the greatest golfers of all-time, wears this sweater vest from his Shark Label. Zip up, but let the arms go free. You sayin’ Greg Norman’s not manly? The whole continent of Australia disagrees.
- This one’s a little different — you know about $2,000 different. It’s a washed cashmere sweater vest in red by the high-end Italian fashion house of Kiton. Throw down the $1,995 at Neiman Marcus and grab this for a man and chances he’ll feel as manly as they come.
- Nike’s Aeroloft Flash Vest ($280) isn’t really a sweater, but it sure is a vest. The manly man who takes a run in this one in the afternoon will sure look good switching to the Kiton above for evening.