Nicholas Daley Knitted Vest- Green

Hand-worked cotton runs quietly through Daley's line, and it comes from the same instinct as the crocheted hats and the knitted bags: a preference for things made at the pace of a hand rather than at the pace of a machine. The vest is open and airy, with the weight in the yarn rather than in the garment, so it holds a shape over a shirt without adding warmth you do not want in April or September. Worn over a plain shirt or a tee it does the job a waistcoat does in tailoring, which is to give the middle of an outfit something to be, with none of tailoring's formality and none of its obligations. It is a garment you can see through, which is the point of it.

The colour and the making

Crochet is worked one loop at a time with a single hook, which is why it cannot be machine made at scale and why the fabric it produces is denser and more sculptural than knitting. In a heavyweight cotton the stitches stand up and hold their own structure, so the vest has body without weight. Green is the more decided of the two colours we took. It is a garden colour rather than a wardrobe one, and it works best where it can be the only event.

We took the vest in two colours because it is a colour piece and one shade would have been a half decision. It is also the easiest way into the hand-worked side of this house, which is the side of it we care most about.

One hundred percent heavyweight cotton, hand crocheted in England. Colour: Green.

Open and airy, worn over a shirt or a tee. Heavyweight cotton crochet holds its shape better than a lighter hand-knit would and will relax only slightly. Forgiving on size.

Over a plain white or ecru shirt, with the Pleated Trouser in khaki. Over a black tee, where the green reads much sharper. Avoid it against the tartans.

Hand wash cool and dry flat, never on a hanger, because a heavy crocheted cotton will stretch out of shape under its own wet weight. Reshape it while damp. Our fabric care guidance covers the rest.

The Knitted Vest in light blue is the hand-dyed and knitted half of the pair. The Hand-Crocheted Bucket Hats are worked the same way, and the Wide Beach Short is the linen short to wear it over. Everything we carry from Nicholas Daley is listed together.