I owe the whole idea to a drag queen.
On season eight of RuPaul’s Drag Race, Bob the Drag Queen explained that she likes to walk into the club purse first. Not head high, not best foot forward. Purse first. The accessory leads, and you follow it in. It stayed with me for years, and when it came time to think about this brand, it turned, almost on its own, into cardigan first.
At its simplest, it means what it says. The cardigan leads. You build the rest of the outfit beneath it, and when you walk into a room, the cardigan walks in first. It also meant something for how I built the brand: one garment, done properly, rather than the whole endless world of the knit. The most humble, least show-off piece in the drawer, treated as though it deserved every ounce of attention. Lead with the quiet thing. Make it the main event.
But here is the part I would only tell you, the person actually reading this.
It was never really about the cardigan.
Purse first, cardigan first, it is the same idea underneath. Put the best version of yourself forward, and let something you love lead you into the room. Our guiding light at Cardigan Knitwear is this: the only way out is through. You cannot go around the day, the nerves, the party you do not quite feel ready for. You go through it. Head on, and present, and dressed as the person you most want to be.
So think of the cardigan that way. Not a shield, but a flag. The thing you plant out in front of you and follow into the room, standing that bit taller for it.
That is cardigan first. Purse optional.
