Your Favorite 90’s Trend is Back and Better than Ever!

“I come back stronger than a 90’s trend”, Taylor Swift sings in Willow, a track on her new album Evermore. Swift released two albums in 2020, and not only did Swift craft 34 lyrical masterpieces in quarantine, but she also designed new clothing merchandise in support of her music. The item that caught the eye of so many was a cream colored, cable knit cardigan with gray stars embroidered on its sleeves. The cardigan screams classic and cozy, and most importantly it let us know that: Cardigans. are. back.  

Swift gifted the cardigan to many of her friends, including Halsey, Cara Delavingne, and Tan France. These celebrities gave their seal of approval for the cardigan with the use of instagram posts and tweets. Tan France even went as far as to say that he would live in it. Cardigans truly are that piece of clothing that you can grab quickly from your closet and layer to turn into an outfit. They are a classic wardrobe staple that may have given off grandma vibes in the 90’s, but are now back with a twist. We are talking about embroidered cardigans.

Image Courtesy: The Guardian

Embroidery is a beautiful art form that can transform pieces of clothing. It adds color, and intricate designs to what may have originally been a solid colored cardigan. Swift chose to embroider her cable knit cardigan with elegant grey stars, and since this item is meant to be oversized, the sleeves balloon outwards drawing attention to the celestial entities that immediately catch the eye of an observer. 

Today, floral designs are a very popular embroidered pattern for cardigans. A solid pastel colored base, with small yellow wildflowers and green stems is the perfect way to give cardigans a youthful look.

Image Courtesy: Popsugar

Each cardigan is unique. They can vary based on the material they are made of, the neckline, the color, button pattern, and now even embroidery patterns. Embroidered cardigans transcend everything that we know about cardigans from the 90’s. 

Embroidery can turn a casual comfy look into a sophisticated outfit for everyday wear. Layering an embroidered cardigan or even finding a matching skirt made of the same material is a great way to dress up our favorite classic. Cardigans are extremely versatile and embroidered patterns add pops of color that are bound to be topics of conversation. While wearing a grey sweater weather fleece Patagonia, there's a high chance that you will bump into a lookalike. But I find it hard to imagine that you would stumble across the same issue with an embroidered cardigan. A lot of the clothing we see nowadays are branded with company logos, however, with the use of embroidery, the variety of cardigans are endless. 

They are also a staple that can be used in almost every season. They can be cropped and light weight, or thicker like a cable knit. Their versatility is proof that they are worthy of all the praise and attention they have been receiving.  Although tube tops and biker shorts have also resurfaced from the 90’s and found a place in today's popular fashion, embroidered cardigans should be the next thing you place in your online shopping carts. They encompass sophistication but also youthfulness, and they can reveal so much about a person’s personality. 

A person’s style can tell you a lot about them, and embroidered cardigans act in support of this idea. Although one person may prefer a low v-neckline and a floral design, another may prefer to have many buttons and an embroidered zig-zag border. Due to their modifiable nature, these cardigans can be used as an expression of our personalities. Afterall, Swift’s cardigan is a symbol for her music and her lyrics, but know that you don’t have to be a famous pop star to tell a story with your clothes. I dare you to try to find an embroidered cardigan that fits your persona. As humans we are extremely multifaceted, but so can these cardigans. If selected carefully, it will serve as more than just a cardigan or embroidered pattern, but rather as the narrative that you bring to this world.  

Strike Out,

Writer: Aparna Srinivasan

Nashville