With the rise of fast fashion much of the clothing produced in the last 20 years will sadly never rise to the status of vintage or heirloom. Yet there are certain pieces of clothing made close to 100 years ago that physically and aesthetically stand the test of time, enter The Irish Fisherman Sweater.
Dense and almost waxy, these knit masterpieces were designed to be water repellant to protect islanders of the West Coast of Ireland, many of whom were fisherman, from the sometimes-harsh, wet and salty elements. Original fisherman sweaters, also categorized as Aran knits (named after the three rocky isles guarding the mouth of Galway Bay), utilized unwashed, undyed wool. Not washing the wool leaves the natural lanolin oils produced by the sheep intact. To add to the water repellency of the garment, sometimes additional lanolin was applied. Most commonly the natural undyed wool was cream in color and referred to as, báinín (pronounced "bawneen"). Darker versions were produced by rarer black sheep.
Fisherman sweaters are most recognizable by their unique cable designs which resemble twisting ropes running vertically up and down the body and sleeves. Each sweater, or jumper as they are called across the pond, contain 4-6 knits patterns each. Irish clans created their own distinct patterns that were passed down from generation to generation. There is a hotly debated myth that these patterns were used to be able to identify the bodies of fisherman lost at sea by sweater knit when their decomposed bodies washed back to shore. Needless to say, authentic, handknit fisherman sweaters are hard to miss.
They are also hard to find. The majority of cable knit sweaters in the resale market are “modern” versions made with softer and lighter yarns produced on knitting machines. And although beautiful in their own way, they do not compare to the utility and longevity of their predecessors.
I believe my love affair with Irish fisherman sweaters to be genetic. My great grandfather, Hugh McLaughlin was of Irish descent which may have inspired my parents to purchase undyed, báinín, dense, handknit versions at the “Irish store” in Door County, Wi, the "Cape Cod of the Midwest". Forty plus years later, I still own and covet my parent’s sweaters despite taking up considerable real estate in my small closet. I have such nostalgia for these hearty sweaters that when I was Design Director for a menswear brand, I became dead set on finding artisans that could knit these masterpieces for the brand. After two years of searching and one attempt to recreate something in Italy, I discovered, in Ireland at least, that the yarn producers no longer existed. I found knitters, but they imported yarn to make modern, soft, more figure shaped versions. American consumers in particular want everything super soft and lofty, which doesn’t equate with longevity unfortunately, rather piling. I wanted dry and dense, not soft and lofty. Turns out Ireland wasn’t the only country with fisherman in need of sweaters. A brand named Strathtay out of Scotland still handknits beautiful, dense, cabled, sweaters with a dry hand feel, just how I like them. Their website specifically notes that they have, “been making knitwear for the fishermen of Scotland for generations and are one of the few true 'cottage' knitters still around today, offering a level of quality that modern processes and international brands cannot achieve.”
Modern is great for art and plumbing, but when it comes to knitwear, vintage was knit to last.