Serendipity

The shawl lapel, roll collar, or shawl collar is a continuous curve. Originally seen on the Victorian smoking jacket, it is now most common on the dinner jacket (tuxedo). This similarly began as informal eveningwear, and was then made in both more and less formal versions, depending on the situation in which it was to be used. (Thanks Wikipedia!)

I love shawl collars, be it on the Gos (he deserves bold) at Cannes in the form of a velvet jacket, a simple cardigan or even on a full coat. But I think the most interesting of these is the shawl collar cardigan. I recently saw My Week with Marilyn and Eddie Redmayne wears a shawl collar cardigan, perhaps to denote his class and upbringing. He’s the son of an incredibly rich art historian and an old etonian (ironically he’s an old etonian in real life as well!) and thus wears fairly preppy clothing, though with an obvious english slant. But more famously, Tom Buchanan in The Great Gatsby (The Redford version) wears a thick shawl collar cardigan having just returned from a game of polo. Somehow this item has become associated with wealth and the moneyed classes, and yet it is just a simple twist to the standard cardiga, which I find is often associated with elderly gentlemen and teachers!

But there’s another twist to the cardigan, or a belt rather than a twist. The belted shawl collar is a beautiful, and rarely seen innovation and one that has yet to really catch on over here as far as I know. The belting sets it apart from the plethora of basic designs already available, and also offers the wearer some new ways in which to wear the piece. I couldn’t find any history of the design but above are a few pictures of what I’m talking about.