Quarter Zip Jumpers Are Trending. Here's How To Style Yours And The 6 Best To Shop Now

If one item of clothing has been on what you might call a 'redemption arc', it's the quarter-zip jumper. It was once condemned to forever be associated with the 'finance bro' wardrobe – sharing a fate with slimline puffer gilets – only to get the stamp of approval from an unlikely rescuer: Chanel.

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Yes, the maison synonymous with quilted leather handbags, tweed skirt suits and pearls gave the quarter-zip jumper the 'fashion treatment' for its latest Métiers d'art show, which this season was staged in a disused subway station in New York City. It's worth mentioning at this juncture that not only was the quarter-zip included, it opened the show. And what an opening. Matthieu Blazy decided to style the jumper, collared popped and fully unzipped, with a pair of jeans that weren't denim at all but leather (genius).

This might have seemed like the first step on its 'journey', but that's not entirely accurate. Having jumped back a few months to last year's shows, which finished in October, the groundwork had, in fact, already been laid for the quarter-zip's comeback.

The street-stylers took the knit under their wing, recalibrating its aesthetic from the world of finance to fashion. The key seems to be elevation. When Tamu McPherson wore a quarter-zip toLouis Vuitton, she paired it with separates that were the opposite of 'square' – a tunic-style skirt worn over balloon-hemmed sweatpants, both in the same brown as the sweater. Did she resemble a background character in Industry? No she did not.

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Other ways to wear the quarter-zip include a pleated knee-length skirt (preferably styled with toe-cap pumps or an otherwise fabulous slingback), tailored barrel-leg trousers or, naturally, straight-legged jeans (again, polish the silhouette by adding a heel into the equation).

One of my favourite quarter-zips is by Filipa K, a ribbed knit whose elongated collar means that it makes something of a statement as it falls over the shoulders. Why not style a tomato red polo neck, as well as a white shirt, underneath to maximise its layering potential even further, finishing the look with something unexpected on the bottom half – a denim maxi skirt instead of jeans, say, or elegant cargo pants? As long as you don't reach for a gilet in this context, the quarter-zip will have you ahead of the curve, and especially the bros, this January.

RE/DONE Frayed Wool And Cashmere-Blend Half-Zip Sweater

Nili Lotan Raelynn Cashmere Turtleneck Sweater

Ninety Percent Classic Half Zip Sweatshirt

COS Merino Wool-Yak Zip-Up Sweater

Filippa K Ribbed Wool Half-Zip Sweater

Rains Sapa Half-Zip Knit

Read the original article on ELLE UK.