What makes a piece of clothing an icon? Is it classic styling, perfect function, longevity of popularity? Whatever the criteria, the classic Guernsey sweater is undoubtedly iconic. Born out of a practical need for a warm, water-resistant piece of clothing for fishermen, it has developed into a globally recognised classic.
Small details tell the story of the Guernsey's lineage; the patterns on either side of the sleeve seam representing the ladders on the harbour walls, and small choppy waves respectively; the small underarm gusset to improve range of movement; the neck gusset to give a closer fit; these are jumpers with a working history.
I have long fancied including a classic Guernsey in our collection and so last summer I was delighted to have the chance to visit the Le Tricoteur factory on the island's western coast. The most traditional of the remaining makers, Le Tricoteur still employ hand-knitters for several stages of production, including knitting and linking the decorative details and the ribs. They're also the last mill to knit their main panels on old punch-card driven, mechanical flatbed knitting machines. This is important because these old machines, whilst slower, have more needles per inch, meaning they knit a denser, more robust garment. All of their jumpers are knitted from 100% British wool; the ones we are selling are made using a lovely blend of Suffolk and Romney wool. Several of their team of hand-knitters work from home so parcels of work travel back and forth across the island in large paper sacks with the knitters' names written on them, which get reused over and over again. There's love and care in every jumper they make.
If you've never worn a proper Guernsey before you'll be struck by a few things. Firstly, just how firm and compact they are. The density of the knit and the singular quality of the British wool makes for a phenomenally robust piece of clothing. You might also be struck by how your Guernsey fits around the neck. The classic boat neck shape is the same at the back and the front, very similar to that of the classic Breton (made just a short hop across the water in northern France), and mirroring the design of the smocks the fishermen wore over their jumpers in foul weather. Because of this they're entirely reversible (tradition was you'd keep one clean side for best), so the neck may feel higher than most jumpers you might own. The other thing that might strike you is how indestructible they are, but this won't be 'til about fifty years after you buy it.
We are delighted to be launching two Guernseys, both made by hand at Le Tricoteur. One, our men's style, is available in solid navy, in sizes from small to extra large. And for women we have a contemporary version of the Guernsey in a navy and ecru stripe, with the one-size oversized fit working for all sizes up to a 16, or possibly an 18 if you want a slightly neater fit.
Inside the Le Tricoteur Factory
The main body and sleeve panels are knitted, fully fashioned panel, by their traditional flatbed mechanical machines, overseen by Iain the Head Technician. Panels are then sent out to the hand knitters to have their sleeve details, neck details, gussets and ribs knitted on by hand. These garments then travel back to the mill for hand-linking and labelling by the team at the factory. Every garment is 100% made on the island of Guernsey from 100% British wool yarn.
What makes a piece of clothing an icon? Is it classic styling, perfect function, longevity of popularity? Whatever the criteria, the classic Guernsey sweater is undoubtedly iconic. Born out of a practical need for a warm, water-resistant piece of clothing for fishermen, it has developed into a globally recognised classic.
Small details tell the story of the Guernsey's lineage; the patterns on either side of the sleeve seam representing the ladders on the harbour walls, and small choppy waves respectively; the small underarm gusset to improve range of movement; the neck gusset to give a closer fit; these are jumpers with a working history.
I have long fancied including a classic Guernsey in our collection and so last summer I was delighted to have the chance to visit the Le Tricoteur factory on the island's western coast. The most traditional of the remaining makers, Le Tricoteur still employ hand-knitters for several stages of production, including knitting and linking the decorative details and the ribs. They're also the last mill to knit their main panels on old punch-card driven, mechanical flatbed knitting machines. This is important because these old machines, whilst slower, have more needles per inch, meaning they knit a denser, more robust garment. All of their jumpers are knitted from 100% British wool; the ones we are selling are made using a lovely blend of Suffolk and Romney wool. Several of their team of hand-knitters work from home so parcels of work travel back and forth across the island in large paper sacks with the knitters' names written on them, which get reused over and over again. There's love and care in every jumper they make.
If you've never worn a proper Guernsey before you'll be struck by a few things. Firstly, just how firm and compact they are. The density of the knit and the singular quality of the British wool makes for a phenomenally robust piece of clothing. You might also be struck by how your Guernsey fits around the neck. The classic boat neck shape is the same at the back and the front, very similar to that of the classic Breton (made just a short hop across the water in northern France), and mirroring the design of the smocks the fishermen wore over their jumpers in foul weather. Because of this they're entirely reversible (tradition was you'd keep one clean side for best), so the neck may feel higher than most jumpers you might own. The other thing that might strike you is how indestructible they are, but this won't be 'til about fifty years after you buy it.
We are delighted to be launching two Guernseys, both made by hand at Le Tricoteur. One, our men's style, is available in solid navy, in sizes from small to extra large. And for women we have a contemporary version of the Guernsey in a navy and ecru stripe, with the one-size oversized fit working for all sizes up to a 16, or possibly an 18 if you want a slightly neater fit.
Inside the Le Tricoteur Factory
The main body and sleeve panels are knitted, fully fashioned panel, by their traditional flatbed mechanical machines, overseen by Iain the Head Technician. Panels are then sent out to the hand knitters to have their sleeve details, neck details, gussets and ribs knitted on by hand. These garments then travel back to the mill for hand-linking and labelling by the team at the factory. Every garment is 100% made on the island of Guernsey from 100% British wool yarn.
I have long fancied including a classic Guernsey in our collection and so last summer I was delighted to have the chance to visit the Le Tricoteur factory on the island's western coast.
Everything we do is a celebration of the people, the skills and the traditions of the amazing factories we work with, all of them the very best of their kind, all of them deeply embedded in the culture and history of their communities.
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Our philosophy around photography is really simple: just keep it honest. Shoot the clothes as they are, don’t alter or pin them, don’t retouch. When our clothes arrive and you put them on we want them to look like the clothes you see in the pictures.