A letter from a customer
Three people stopped me about this cardigan before lunch. I still don't quite know how to feel about that.
What changed my mind about patterned knitwear, written by a customer, not the shop.
I have never once in my life bought a patterned cardigan for myself. Plain grey, plain navy, the occasional cable knit if I am feeling adventurous. Patterned knitwear always struck me as something for other people, the sort who do not mind being looked at twice at the school gate. So when my daughter sent me a link to a Nordic pattern cardigan, I nearly scrolled straight past it.
I did not scroll past it. I opened it, then I ordered it, and here is what actually happened once it arrived.
The pattern sits at the yoke, not all over
This is the detail that won me over before anything else. The pattern is not scattered across the whole cardigan the way some knitwear tries too hard. It sits properly at the yoke, in cream, moss green and a warm rust red, the way a traditional Nordic jumper is actually knitted, and the rest of the body is a plain, soft grey. It reads as considered rather than busy. I wore it to the shops on an ordinary Tuesday and felt, for once, like I had made an effort without trying particularly hard.
I own exactly one patterned thing in my wardrobe now, and it is this cardigan. That alone should tell you something.
The grey does the heavy lifting
Because the body is plain grey rather than patterned all over, the Atasha goes with almost everything I already own. Jeans, a plain shirt, my usual black trousers for church. I was half expecting to have to build an outfit around it. I did not. It simply joined the rotation.
The rust red trim is doing more work than I expected
The neckline, the button band, the cuffs and the hem are all finished in a warm rust red rib. It is a small thing, but it is the reason the cardigan looks finished rather than plain. On a grey October morning it is the only bit of real colour near my face, and more than one person has asked where I got it before I have even taken my coat off.
My husband, who notices almost nothing I wear, asked if it was new. That happens perhaps twice a year in this house, so I take it seriously when it does.
It buttons, so it layers properly
A button front rather than a pullover means I can wear it open over a blouse on a mild day, or done up to the top when it is properly cold, without having to wrestle anything over my head and undo my hair in the process. Small thing again, but it is the difference between a cardigan I reach for daily and one I save for best.
The offer made me stop putting it off
The Atasha is 70% off at the moment. I am wary of a percentage on its own, because a discount only means something if the thing underneath is actually worth having. This one was, so the 70% off simply removed the last excuse I had for hesitating.
It is not the cardigan I am keeping for best
That is really the point of it. It is warm enough for the walk to the shops, smart enough for lunch out, and patterned just enough to stop being invisible without shouting about it. It has become the ordinary, everyday cardigan, which for something I almost did not open the link for is the highest compliment I know how to give it.
The Atasha, against the cardigan you usually reach for
Hallway
Kitchen
Out on the lane
The pattern, up close
I have owned more plain, safe cardigans than I can count, and most of them stayed in the drawer more than they were worn. Here is the difference, laid out plainly.
The one at the back of the drawer
- Safe grey or navy, nothing near the face
- Pullover, awkward on a warm morning
- No real detail up close
- Kept for best, worn rarely
- Full price
The Atasha
- Grey body with a proper Nordic patterned yoke
- Buttons front, easy to layer
- Rust red ribbed trim at neck, cuffs and hem
- Worn most days, not saved for best
- 70% off, UK sizes 8 to 22
About the price
I will be honest, when something this easy to wear is also 70% off, my instinct is to look for the catch. I looked. The knit is exactly as it is in the photograph, the buttons are secure, and the colour has not faded after washing.
Free UK delivery, and 30 days to send it back if it is not right. If you, like me, have written off patterned knitwear as not for you, I would have a proper look at this one before the weather turns.
Anne Whitaker
Atasha Nordic Pattern Button Cardigan
70% OFF- Grey body with a cream, moss green and rust red patterned yoke
- Rust red ribbed neckline, button band, cuffs and hem
- Pearl look buttons down the front
- Relaxed, easy fit
- UK sizes 8 to 22
- Free UK delivery and 30 day returns
About the writer. Anne Whitaker is a customer from West Yorkshire. This page is an advertisement for Abbey Lane ยท Free UK delivery ยท 30 day returns.