Skip to main content

80s Fair Isle Jumpers and Cardigans

1980s chunky knit fair isle sweater
An original 1980s Chunky Knit Fair Isle Sweater

If you remember being forced to wear a mock Fair Isle jumper that your gran had knitted for you as a child, then you're certainly not alone! My gran tended to knit loose, very loose, and I swear she thought I was an orangutan, judging by the length of the arms. "Don't worry child, you'll soon grow into it" was a phrase that was frequently used. By the time I had finally grown into it, the sweater was no longer fit for purpose!

Fair Isle is actually an island which is situated within the Shetland Islands in bonnie Scotland. Fair Isle knitting first became popular when the Prince of Wales wore a tank top in public during 1921. These days, the term is used to describe the patterning, and, I suspect, that most Fair Isle style clothing is now manufactured in the far east, and not the genuine article.

Zig zags, diamond shapes, star-like flower heads, lines and dots generally made-up the patterns we all grew up with, However, at Christmas time the patterns were given a rather unpleasant Nordic-style, festive makeover. Unbelievably, those ghastly Christmas jumpers with reindeer and snowmen (that you wouldn't be seen dead in during the 1980s) are actually trendy again, and the more ghastly the look, the more people seem to like them. It's all quite bizarre to me!

Fair Isle has been very fashionable again in recent years, and that gives me the perfect excuse to wear a cardigan - you can't beat a good, old-fashioned cardigan for comfort and practicality - and now I can be en vogue, too!



Fair Isle Jumpers
Matching Fair Isle Jumpers for him and her
Nordic Fair Isle Red Christmas Cardigan
Nordic style Fair Isle Christmas Cardigan

 The Starsky Cardigan

One of the most infamous cardigans was the one worn by Paul Michael Glaser wore in the 70s cop show Starsky and Hutch. Finding an exact replica is likely to be an impossible task, but there are cream fair isle cardigans available that have a similar feel. Besides, can anyone really remember the exact patterning anyway?

Starsky wearing a cream cardigan
The original Starsky & Hutch

Starsky Cardigan Costume
Starsky Cardigan Costume
I found this cardigan at Amazon which is designed to be used as a costume, rather than to be worn as casual wear. Now, it's certainly not cheap, but if you've always wanted to dress like Starsky, then now's your chance!

The cardigan is also available at Amazon's US store.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Blondie - Debbie Harry - 70s and 80s Fashion Photos

Embed from Getty Images Debbie Harry Fridge Magnet Back in my school days (yes, it was a long, long time ago!) many kids associated Blondie purely with lead singer Debbie Harry, although Blondie was actually a band, and a damn fine one, too. It's not hard to see why. After all, she oozed sex appeal and became a style icon, and many of her looks can still be seen on the high street today. Harry's designer friend Stephen Sprouse can claim responsibility for many of those looks. He created every style you can imagine using denim, black leather biker jackets, camoflauge, wayfarer and aviator shades, pink and girly styles, nautical stripes, animal print catsuits - the list goes on! I find it amusing that in 1998 Britney Spears caused controversy by wearing a school uniform for her video "Hit Me Baby One More Time". How quickly we forget that Debbie Harry had done this two decades earlier! After forming in 1974, Blondie became pioneers of the punk and new wave s
Post a Comment
Read more

An 80s Tennis Player Costume? You Cannot Be Serious!

While most people opt for a pop star theme when dressing up for an 80s party or event, one option that is a little more original is to dress like an 80s tennis player. The costumes I'm about to show are obviously based on John McEnroe, and I'm dead serious! The short-tempered tennis star became infamous for his confrontational behaviour towards the umpire during the 1980s, screaming "Answer my question! The question, jerk!" (when he angrily threw his racket at the juice cart) and "You can't be serious man, you cannot be serious!" when he thought the umpire had made a bad call about the ball being out. He was often booed by the crowds for his rants, but it was hugely entertaining to watch! Embed from Getty Images The look above is the one you should aim for, and this is the most iconic. So let's take a look at the fancy dress costume options available...   The white T-shirt and shorts outfit with red and blue stripes is based on McEnroe&
Post a Comment
Read more

Create an 80s or 90s Acid House - Raver Look

With its squelching bass sounds (often created using a Roland TB-303 bass synth) and minimalist production, the sound of acid house first became popular in the latter half of the 80s, starting in 1987. The media were more focused on the illegal raves and psychedelic drugs, but in reality, a good many young folk enjoyed dancing to the new sound in nightclubs (including myself) without going anywhere near any drugs or illegal raves. What is synonymous with the acid house scene is the smiley face logo, and the T-shirt featuring the logo, along with tie dye and psychedelic clothing, and bucket hats which became popular with ravers. Baggy over the knee shorts were popular with men. Bandanas and dungarees/dungaree shorts were also worn by both sexes. Some ravers also had  yellow whistles . In the early 90s,  white overalls , hooded anoracks and  yellow dust masks with an "E" , smiley face or radiation symbol also became part of the rave scene. Initially, the dust masks we
Post a Comment
Read more