Andersen-Andersen Seamen Sweater - Italian Looks, Danish Heritage.

After nearly 25 years of faithful service my original Channel Island made guernsey pull-over has been relegated to 'old work jumper' status.

Looking for a smarter replacement (read: not full of holes) I immediately thought of Danish knitwear label ANDERSEN-ANDERSEN - a label I came across at a Copenhagen fashion show in 2014 and had mentally filed away for future reference.

Yep, it's a grey jumper, but a jolly well made one.

ANDERSEN-ANDERSEN is a small family run company founded in 2009 by Product Developer Cathrine Lundgren-Andersen and Art Director Peter Kjaer-Andersen. The company arose from the idea of making one durable and classic sailors sweater.

Today the collection has grown to 7 styles. The one which caught my eye was The Seaman, perhaps unsurprisingly very similar in style, construction and fit to my faithful guernsey. 

Long ribbed cuffs

The wool is single knit seven-gauge 100% new merino, sourced from South America. In collaboration with their Italian spinning mill the company developed its own yarn, now used for all their wool sailor sweaters. The extra spun fibres and the fact the yarn is made of pure new merino wool, makes it both soft and durable. The sweaters are then knitted by another small family concern in Northern Italy.

The detailing and construction is simple, but spot on - the bottom, collar & cuffs are all ribbed with thumb holes in the latter. For strength all seams are bar-tacked. 

The fit is pleasingly slim, making it an ideal base layer - the symmetrical cut means it can be chucked on quickly either way - this jumper may be stylish but the working sailor's heritage is clear to see.

ANDERSEN-ANDERSEN have their flagship store in Copenhagen, but I bought my jumper from that treasure trove of heritage fashion Maritime Antiques - a must visit for any vintage minded chap if you're in town. Yours for 1,200 dkk.

(All images courtesy of ANDERSEN-ANDERSEN.)