Cardigan Model Designs

A cardigan sweater is easily defined as a sweater with buttons or a zipper in front. It is contrasted to a regular sweater because there could either be a closed or an open front. Never worn alone, a cardigan sweater always has a long sleeve, and is accompanied by another piece of clothing, which means that it is technically designed to be worn in colder seasons. The versatility allows it to be in style and fashion regardless of season, and regardless of whether it is worn casually or formally.

There are many designs and variations in a cardigan sweater depending on the wearer's preferences. Each of these unique design represents one kind of motif, or shall we say, "aura" that represents that specific style in a way that separates it from other styles.

Knowing when to wear a specific type of sweater is one thing, but it is also important for us to know and learn about these types first. And so, to give you a simple checklist of these styles and variations, we've listed some of the more popular ones below:

American Rag Top Cardigan

This kind of cardigan is promptly identified by its looseness, and the associated style of wearing the cardigan sweater. The colors and patterns of an American rag top may vary differently, but it still retains that free, loose design. It is almost always worn wide open (with the exception of a belted cardigan of the same type), and it is the simplest, most comfortable, and one of the most recognized design of a cardigan sweater.

Blend Ruffle Front Cardigan

Compared to the American Rag Top, this kind of cardigan fits a lot more to the body, and is designed to mold to the contours of the one wearing it. The most prominent feature of the blend ruffle front cardigan sweater is the complex, almost flowerly ruffles that decorate both sides where the buttons or zipper is supposed to be found. Definitely not a sweater designed for men.

Ruffle Front Cardigan

Similar to the blend ruffle front cardigan, this kind of cardigan also has complex curvy designs on both sides. The main difference though is that the design of the ruffle front cardigan can almost be anything, from simple wavy lines to intricate and detailed folds and curves. Again, men's cardigan sweaters are far from this kind of design.

Lucy Cardigan Sweater

Similar to a pullover sweater, this is one of the simpler types of sweaters according to base design. It is much like the American Rag Top in the sense that there are no complex folds or designs. Unlike the American Rag Top though, this sweater is designed to fit better to the body (not as much as a ruffle front though), and is mostly worn with all the buttons closed. It also seems that the Lucy cardigan sweater often (not always) incorporates rather simple monocolor (blue, red, or even black for example) schemes to its design. The complexity of the design mostly comes from the way the fabric is knitted, much in the same way as other similarly designed sweaters such as a cable knit or a rose sweater.

Kensie Sweater

Kensie sweaters are defined by their large size compared to other kinds of sweaters, and also by the clothing shop where the name is derived. The cardigan variants are more or less the same, and they are usually differentiated from an American Rag Top cardigan sweater by its fabric (not color) design. Some monocolor Kensie sweaters might seem as though they are extended versions of the Lucy cardigan sweater.

Romeo & Juliet Couture

The name alone brings a romantic aura to this type of sweater. Named after the clothing shop itself, the Romeo & Juliet couture cardigan sweater is not really officially classified as a type of cardigan, nor do their items fall under one common category. The design of a Romeo & Juliet Couture sweater though still has one common element: almost all color schemes tend to fall under any variation of black, white, and brown.