The Only Sweater You Need is 100% Cotton

SHOP $188, buckmason.com

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I'm in a constant battle with the sweater industry. Everything is too ill-fitting, too focus-grouped, or too high-end. The well-priced, well-designed, and well-made sweater is a modern myth. Then, there's the issue with fabric. There are about 100 days a year when I want to wear a sweater, and there are thousands of sweaters that are too thick, too thin, or useless because they're ugly. My solution, my little sweater hack, is having two high-end v-neck dress sweaters in cashmere and merino wool, with a more versatile selection of thick-gauge cotton sweaters I can beat up year after year.

Brooks Brothers makes a wonderful tennis sweater in thick-gauge cotton, but it still looks a bit sporty. The big and chunky Irish fisherman's sweaters aren't for me. I want that little blend of heritage and modern, and (of course) I'm going to go to Buck Mason for that. The Seafarer Sweater is absolutely spot on, a perfect sweater.

Now like I said, that big chunky Irish fisherman knit is not for me. I know this is a minority opinion, but I think it's too much—damn near impossible to layer and makes you look like you're dressed up as Billy Crystal from When Harry Met Sally if you wear it solo. My sweater North Star is also Irish, but it's playwright and poet Samuel Beckett. (His novels are his best work, but you have to call him playwright and poet first. C'est la vie.) Look up "Samuel Beckett sweater," and you'll find tons of promotional pictures of the man in sweaters. One or two are big classic fisherman numbers, but the vast majority are this class of thinner, textured wool rollnecks and crewnecks that are functionally extinct in 2025.

All that to say: this Buck Mason crewneck sweater is my way to get that Beckett look. It's not exact, but it's as close as I've found to those not-dressy-nor-heavy sweaters of yore. It's got some heft with the thicker spun cotton, but what that really gives the sweater is texture. It looks like a vintage sweater because Buck Mason, as a company, is obsessed with the quality of old clothes. That's why I love it, and that's why this sweater looks so damn good.

SHOP $188, buckmason.com

A second issue I have with modern sweaters is cut. Everything wants to be either thin and fitted, which makes it look like you bought it on Amazon, or it wants to be so big and baggy that you look like a child wearing your dad's clothes. This is neither; it's that classic masculine cut. Take your normal size, and it fits without showing the imprint of everything underneath it.

The body is also ever so slightly shorter than most modern sweaters I see today. I'm talking like one-inch, but it's a crucial inch. The result is that it hits just above my fly when fully pulled, or I can position the bottom ribbed hem around my waist. It's a small menswear-nerd detail, but most modern sweaters get an extended torso in the name of size inclusivity. If you are a heavier guy or particularly tall and slender, that cut can work for you, but I'd argue that the vast majority of men would look better in this Buck Mason cut. I say that because it's not cropped; that's never what I want. It's just slightly shortened for a more classic, more flattering fit.

SHOP $188, buckmason.com

Let me address another gripe I have with sweaters: the marketing pitches for "washable cashmere." That's a myth. If a brand is telling you to put your wool sweater in the washing machine, it's because it's dogshit wool, and you'll be buying a new one in five years anyway. Heavier wool—like that on coats and blankets—can come out unscathed. Sweater wool, no chance. Cotton, however, is perfect for the washing machine. Sure, it's a bit hard on the garment, but I toss this sweater in my regular cold cycle and lay it flat to dry it—and it's rolls with the punches. That's why I prefer cotton for this category of everyday sweater, it just rolls with the punches you throw at it.

So here we have a sweater that looks classic, has a flattering cut, and can stand up to more abuse than anything else on the market. If you still think a $200 price tag is too high, you're part of the modern fashion. Good clothes will look as fashionable in a few decades as they do today, and good companies make clothes that will last that long. Buck Mason, for my money, is one of the best at it, and this sweater is one of its crowning achievements.

Photographs by Florence Sullivan