Nicholas Daley Work Cardigan

A work cardigan is a hybrid that should not really function and does: the button-through front and soft shoulder of a cardigan grafted onto the pockets and squared body of a work jacket. It sits exactly between a shirt and a jacket, which is the most useful and least occupied position in a wardrobe, and it is a garment Daley returns to in several forms.

The colour is what makes this one. Turmeric is a yellow with earth in it rather than brightness, closer to ochre than to gold, named for a rhizome that has been used as a dye across South Asia for centuries before it was ever a spice on a Western shelf. It is a difficult colour to wear and an easy one to admire, and Daley uses it repeatedly, here, in the Stone Jacket‘s check, and in the turmeric and navy trouser. Against it, waxed cotton at the details supplies the hard, dark, industrial note that keeps the whole thing from going soft. That is the pairing the house is built on, and here it is at its most concentrated.

Why we selected it

We took this for the colour, which is not something we would usually admit and is the truth. Turmeric is a colour almost nobody produces and it is the shade people stop at. The work cardigan shape is what makes it wearable rather than merely admirable.

A panel of waxed cotton somewhere unexpected is the most consistent Nicholas Daley signature there is, and on the Work Cardigan it is at the details.

Materials and construction

One hundred percent cotton with waxed cotton details, made in England. Button-through work cardigan cut. Colour: Turmeric.

Fit notes

Cut as a layer, so it is drafted to go over a shirt or a tee rather than against the skin. Cotton softens and relaxes across the first season. It will go under a coat but not under a close jacket. Take your usual size for wearing over a shirt.

Styling

Over a plain black or ecru shirt with the Pleated Trouser in black. Against the turmeric and navy check, which is the same colour family, it is a decision rather than an outfit. Turmeric wants everything else quiet.

Care

The waxed details rule out machine washing and dry cleaning without warning. Sponge the waxed sections with cold water only, dry away from heat, and tell any cleaner the garment has wax on it. Our fabric care guidance covers the rest.

Related pieces

The Stone Jacket and the Pleated Trouser in turmeric and navy carry the turmeric and navy check. The Zip Cardigan is the striped cardigan and the Three-Pocket Cardigan the plain linen one. Everything we carry from Nicholas Daley is listed together.