When to Say When

It's one of the eternal questions. Why are we here? Where did we come from? What is the meaning of life?



How many black cardigans is too many black cardigans?

I would like to be able to tell you that I have accumulated this fairly impressive collection of inky knitwear accidentally -- that I keep forgetting I already have black cardigans at home and in episode after episode of early-onset Fashion Alzheimer's I keep buying them, like my dearly departed Grandma Stella did with boxes of band-aids (we discovered dozens of them in her bathroom cabinet after her death); but I have no such excuse. As a matter of fact, with occasional very rare exceptions I have a pretty accurate wardrobe tracker in my head. No, I've done this on purpose.

They're all different, of course. It's like the white blouses: they come in so handy, you really can't have too many of them, they're a go-to item that you have for ages, and each one has some variation in design or fiber that makes it perfect in a different way. A gal needs options, doesn't she? Like the White Blouse Collection, the Black Cardigan Collection is justified. Each of these items is slightly different from the others and each serves a specific purpose. Let's explore, shall we?



From left to right:
The first one is the newest (tag still attached, as you can see). Superfine super-soft merino wool, very long (to my knees) & slouchy. I'm very into slouchy right now. Next, wool/cashmere blend, made like a grandpa cardigan. Heavyweight and very cozy, good for when it's really chilly. Next, two-ply cashmere, crew-neck. Next, two-ply cashmere, v-neck. This one is quite fitted, I often wear it as a top without a shirt underneath it. Next, short-sleeved cashmere with fox collar. Next, cotton knit with white tipped collar and placket. Lastly, cotton baby cable.

Okay, well, not exactly lastly. After I took that photo & was putting them back in their sweater bags and drawers (because I hasten to reassure you that I do NOT hang my sweaters and I beg you will not, either), I remembered these:



The one of the left is a boiled wool sweater coat with embroidery, and the other sweater coat is big and chunky and soooo soft, it's like a bathrobe.

So.

I have a lot of black cardigans.

I feel no regret about any of my black cardis -- like I said before, I get a lot of wear out of them and it's good to always have just the thing. As a matter of fact, I've misplaced one -- the short-sleeved Banana Republic one that I bought a couple of summers ago that I fell very in love with, and I'm pretty pissed about it. I really miss that thing. But I think I may call a black cardi moratorium for the foreseeable future. I think now is when to say when.

How about you guys? What do you have multiples (or even too many) of?