The Best Cardigans to Call On for Sweater Weather

BRB, wrapping myself in cashmere and pretending I'm Nicole Kidman in "Big Little Lies."

Gabriella Karefa-Johnson in a cardigan
(Image credit: Edward Berthelot/Getty Images)

A cashmere-wrapped Nicole Kidman in Big Little Lies, an artfully disheveled Mary-Kate Olsen in an oversized open knit strolling around SoHo with a latte in hand—the best cardigans create powerful style moments and are more than just an as-needed thermal layer. When shopped and styled thoughtfully, they can be one of the best sweaters in your cozy collection. And while not every fall cardigan you own needs to be a scene-stealing number of an HBO Max or It-girl caliber, you should take the style seriously—especially this season's offerings. Contemporary takes on the classic style are trend-informed and run a gamut of aesthetics, catering to both minimal and maximal dressers alike. 

Ahead, dive deep into our edit of trending cardigans for winter 2023-2024, and find some input and styling tips from a few fashion insiders to guide you throughout sweater weather.

What to Look For

When shopping for a classic cardigan, avoid anything that’s too trend-driven. While ultra-cropped and extra-baggy versions have been popular in past seasons, the majority of 2023’s iterations feature clean lines that will keep you warm for seasons to come.

On the runways, a few clear trends emerged. At Christian Dior, cardigans were whispered thin and sometimes adorned with feminine-feeling buttons. At Fendi, they were colorful. At brands like Chanel and Miu Miu, they appeared in muted tones like blush and brown and layered over coordinating tops like the cooler version of a chic Upper East Side grandma—this was subverted at the latter by the inclusion of sheer skirts and briefs and tights rather than trousers. 

Miu Miu Fall Winter 2023 Miu Miu

(Image credit: Miu Miu)

Fendi Fall Winter 2023

(Image credit: Fendi)

Styling a Cardigan

Cardigans are a wardrobe staple for a reason—there are near-endless ways to style them. Oversized and drapey silhouettes can easily be layered over the top of a fall dress for extra warmth, as Etro did. Designers like Anna Sui went matchy-matchy with their styling, pairing printed cardigans with coordinating green tops. Even Bluemarine tried matching styling, opting for duster-style cardigans worn barely buttoned with a low-rise knit trouser-legging hybrid.

Etro

(Image credit: Etro)

Anna Sui

(Image credit: Anna. Sui)

The Best Cardigans

Meet the Experts

Zoe Gofman
Zoe Gofman

Zoe ‘Zaz’ Gofman, is a New York and Los Angeles-based fashion stylist, wardrobe stylist, personal shopper and creative consultant. She is known for marrying her bold flair with her love for vintage pieces and the classic crispness of French fashion. 

Growing up spending her summers in France, Zaz was continually immersed in and inspired by international fashion trends at a young age. She curated and refined her stylistic eye throughout young adulthood by sourcing and sewing textiles, working at local clothing stores, and being hired as a personal shopper in her hometown of New York City. 

In addition, her passion for fashion, zaz possess a unique musical talent and went on to college at Tulane University, with the long-term goal of entering the music industry. Graduating from Tulane in 2020, Zaz began to think about ways to merge her creative interests as she sought to lay the foundation for her career path. However, that career path found her. Zaz’s intrepid style and unmatched confidence turned heads when she attended NYFW in September of 2021, catching the eye of big industry names and landing her a job as Shanina Shaik’s wardrobe stylist. since then, Zaz has taken on several additional clients including Adriana Lima, Meredith Duxbury, Elisha Herbert, Charlotte McKinney and more as well as styling for various brand campaigns and contributing her style expertise in articles for InStyle, Harper’s BAZAAR, People, etc. Whether she is styling someone for a night or dressing an entire brand campaign, Zoe is devoted to creating timeless looks that capture not only a moment, but also the people in that moment, and making them feel like they’re the only one in the room. 

Emma Childs
Fashion Features Editor

Emma is the fashion features editor at Marie Claire, where she writes deep-dive trend reports, zeitgeisty fashion featurettes on what style tastemakers are wearing, long-form profiles on emerging designers and the names to know, and human interest vignette-style round-ups. Previously, she was Marie Claire's style editor, where she wrote shopping e-commerce guides and seasonal trend reports, assisted with the market for fashion photo shoots, and assigned and edited fashion celebrity news.

Emma also wrote for The Zoe Report, Editorialist, Elite Daily, Bustle, and Mission Magazine. She studied Fashion Studies and New Media at Fordham University Lincoln Center and launched her own magazine, Childs Play Magazine, in 2015 as a creative pastime. When she's not waxing poetic about niche fashion topics, you'll find her stalking eBay for designer vintage, reading literary fiction on her Kindle, and baking banana bread in her tiny NYC kitchen.

With contributions from