Looking for the best sweater vests for men, huh? Figures. What is it about those sleeveless, grandad-coded jumpers that folks just can’t seem to quit? While you’d always expect to see the likes of college football coaching great Jim Tressel in his “Tress-vest”, these days everyone from Jeremy Allen White to Tyler, the Creator considers the sweater vest a core part of their fall arsenal. And if those style legends do, why shouldn’t you?
So to make sure you’re adequately kitted out for the transitional weather ahead, we rounded up the absolute best sweater vests for men on the market right now—proving once and for all that you don’t need to be an aspiring PGA pro (or, heck, an aspiring PhD) to free your arms and cool your core in impeccable style.
The Best Men’s Sweater Vests, According to GQ
Take Me To: More Sweater Vests We Love | How We Review Products | How We Make These Picks | Why Buy a Sweater Vest Today?
Best Sweater Vest Overall: J.Crew Cotton Fisherman Cable-Knit Sweater Vest
It’s not just giant-fit chinos and great value Oxford shirts: J.Crew also currently offers a note-perfect sweater vest, knit in a rugged fisherman style that’s practically begging to be taken for foggy morning stroll by the sea. The beauty of a cable-knit fisherman design like this one is that the weave is dense enough to fend off chill and keep out water, but still open just enough to breathe a little. And while J.Crew’s version isn’t hand-knit by a seafarer’s devoted wife, it has been updated for modern life, with a 100% machine-washable fabric and six different sizes to choose from.
Best Budget Sweater Vest: Lands’ End Cotton Modal Fine Gauge Sweater Vest
Lands’ End isn’t just a guaranteed “low risk, high reward” solution for most heritage styles—it’s also a low cost one. For just 40 bucks, you can end your layering quest right here. The cotton-modal blend keeps this vest in shape no matter how many times you wear or wash it, and the red, black, or forest green colorways are already dying to be worn at all holiday events. So whether you want to flex your inner finance bro with a more fitted cut, or size up over a T-shirt for that “cool substitute teacher” energy, this vest has got you covered in more ways than one.
Best Fair Isle Sweater Vest: Drake’s Fair Isle Lambswool Sweater Vest
If the Fair Isle sweater was good enough for my favorite Beatle (Sir Paul), it’s good enough for us all. The iconic knitting technique—where two yarns tango across each row to create colorful geometric diamond, star, and zigzag patterns—hails from a tiny Scottish island called, yes, Fair Isle. And while few brands still knit their Fair Isle sweaters in the motherland, Drake’s is keeping it real. Their version is 100% lambswool, which not only keeps you warm, but also lets moisture out—a must in an overly-heated restaurant or bar. And that print is undeniable—just the right amount of chaos, kept in order by that thick, ribbed caramel collar and hem.
Best Argyle Sweater Vest: Our Legacy Formal Sweater Vest
If you zoomed in on a Fair Isle, you’d end up with a print resembling an argyle knit. That’s the look Our Legacy chose for their sweater vest, and given the success of their Camion boots and Stüssy collabs, I’d take their word that the argyle is a solid direction of travel for this style. The cult Swedish brand’s riff brings the entire sweater vest look in line with current fashion preferences: the wool is an alpaca-nylon blend, making it a little lighter and softer to wear, while the larger armholes and uneven hem make it clear that you’ve lost none of your punk edge, even as you dip your toe into a more golf club fit.
Best Cricket Sweater Vest: Polo Ralph Lauren Team USA Cricket Sweater Vest
If the sweater vest is associated with any one sport, it’s cricket. And given that the sport is making its historic return at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, now’s a great time to secure your patriotic (and on sale) cricket sweater vest from the king of Team USA outfitting and heritage clothing alike, Ralph Lauren. It boasts an archival Team USA shield patch, and because it’s made from soft combed cotton rather than wool, will be that much breathable should you choose to layer it under a heavy blazer this winter, or wear it early as summer ends.
Best Cardigan Sweater Vest: Gap CashSoft Textured Sweater Vest
I’ve been whispering it for a while, but Gap is right now making pieces that are as strong as they were in the brand’s high-kicking khakis heyday. Case in point: This low-buttoning, Ferris Bueller-esque sweater vest in a mid-weight plush yarn they claim is as soft as cashmere. Just as they do on a blazer, the patch pockets add a dose more of laid-back cool, and the all-black colorway? Looks luxe as hell for the low-low.
More Sweater Vests We Love
S.N.S Herning Ratio III Ribbed Virgin Wool Sweater Vest
Beams Plus Fair Isle Cardigan Vest
Margaret Howell Wide Rib Irregular Spun Wool Sweater Vest
Banana Republic Merino Sweater Vest
Nicholas Daley Wool Sweater Vest
18 East Buri Boucle Knit Sweater Vest
Nepenthes Cowichan Vest
How We Test and Review Products
Style is subjective, we know—that’s the fun of it. But we’re serious about helping our audience get dressed. Whether it’s the best white sneakers, the flyest affordable suits, or the need-to-know menswear drops of the week, GQ Recommends’ perspective is built on years of hands-on experience, an insider awareness of what’s in and what’s next, and a mission to find the best version of everything out there, at every price point.
Our staffers aren’t able to try on every single piece of clothing you read about on GQ.com (fashion moves fast these days), but we have an intimate knowledge of each brand’s strengths and know the hallmarks of quality clothing—from materials and sourcing, to craftsmanship, to sustainability efforts that aren’t just greenwashing. GQ Recommends heavily emphasizes our own editorial experience with those brands, how they make their clothes, and how those clothes have been reviewed by customers. Bottom line: GQ wouldn’t tell you to wear it if we wouldn’t.
We make every effort to cast as wide of a net as possible, with an eye on identifying the best options across three key categories: quality, fit, and price.
To kick off the process, we enlist the GQ Recommends braintrust to vote on our contenders. Some of the folks involved have worked in retail, slinging clothes to the masses; others have toiled for small-batch menswear labels; all spend way too much time thinking about what hangs in their closets.
We lean on that collective experience to guide our search, culling a mix of household names, indie favorites, and the artisanal imprints on the bleeding-edge of the genre. Then we narrow down the assortment to the picks that scored the highest across quality, fit, and price.
Across the majority of our buying guides, our team boasts firsthand experience with the bulk of our selects, but a handful are totally new to us. So after several months of intense debate, we tally the votes, collate the anecdotal evidence, and emerge with a list of what we believe to be the absolute best of the category right now, from the tried-and-true stalwarts to the modern disruptors, the affordable beaters to the wildly expensive (but wildly worth-it) designer riffs.
Whatever your preferences, whatever your style, there’s bound to be a superlative version on this list for you. (Read more about GQ’s testing process here.)
Why Buy a Sweater Vest Today, In the Year of Our Lord 2024?
The best part about wearing a sweater vest right now? The layering possibilities, which are about as endless as a CVS receipt but a lot more interesting. You can throw one over a tee, a long-sleeve thermal, a crisp dress shirt, or even rock it with nothing but a necklace underneath if you’re chasing that charmingly-sleazy-nightclub-owner vibe. The choice is yours. And if the sheer amount of layering options don’t get your creative juices flowing, then the prints and patterns almost definitely will. Preppy-cool Fair Isle? Acid-washed argyle? Just-kooky-enough cable-knit? There’s a veritable buffet of cozy, stylish choices on the market these days, and we promise you won’t leave hungry.
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