Nicholas Daley Waffle Rollneck

Waffle is a structure rather than a fabric, a grid of raised squares that traps a layer of air between the cloth and the skin. It is the reason thermal underwear has looked like this for a century and a half. Daley takes it out of the underlayer and builds a finished garment from it: a heavyweight cotton waffle with a rolled neck, raglan sleeves cut in one piece from collar to cuff so no seam crosses the shoulder, curved pockets set into the side seams, and cuffs run long with a thumbhole through them. Everything on it is borrowed from workwear or from sportswear and none of it is decorative. Knitted in Portugal.

Why we selected it

We carry the rollneck because a heavyweight cotton waffle is one of the few mid-layers that works alone, under a jacket, and under a coat without changing what it is. We took it in three colours because a piece worn this often gets bought more than once.

The colours

Black and ecru are the two ends of what this garment can be, and they are not interchangeable. Black absorbs the structure. The raised grid throws small shadows across the surface and a black takes nearly all of them back, so what is left is weight, shape, and a mid-layer that goes under a jacket without asking to be looked at. Ecru does the reverse. An undyed off-white returns every square of the waffle, so the texture reads from across a street rather than at arm’s length, and the piece becomes something you would wear as the outer layer on a bright cold day. The division is practical rather than a matter of taste: black is the one to buy if it is going under things, and ecru is the one to buy if it is not.

Materials and construction

One hundred percent heavyweight cotton waffle, knitted in Portugal. Rolled neck, raglan sleeves, curved in-seam front pockets, elongated cuffs with thumbholes. Colours: Black and Ecru.

Fit notes

Cut to go over a tee and under a jacket, with raglan sleeves giving unusual freedom across the shoulder. Heavyweight cotton relaxes through the body over the first several wearings and returns with washing. The cuffs are drafted long for the thumbhole, so the sleeve is meant to look long.

Styling and care

Black goes under any of his jackets and is the version that disappears into whatever is over it. Ecru is the better one on top, over a tee with the Pleated Trouser in black, where it is meant to be the palest thing you have on. Wash cool, inside out, and dry flat rather than hanging, because a heavy cotton knit will stretch on a hanger while it is wet. Our fabric care guidance covers the rest.

Related pieces

The Waffle Roll Neck in chocolate is the same rolled neck in brown. The Crew Neck Waffle in black is the crew neck version, and the Pleated Trouser in black the trouser under it. There is more on the house on the Nicholas Daley designer page. Everything we carry from Nicholas Daley is listed together.