Some years ago I picked up this beautiful, stunning 1980s era Izod-Lacoste [Made in USA] sweater at a thrift store for under $5. When I found it, it was covered with fuzz / pills. You know the fuzz / the pilling that certain sweaters tend to amass as they age? It was absolutely covered with them. For some this may be a deterrent. Some may conclude "It's a great sweater but unwearable". They only say this because unlike me, they are not aware of the defuzzer. They are sadly and tragically living in the dark ages, the ages in which a sweater is tossed to the side after the appearance of the slightly bit of fuzz.
A defuzzer will change your life. It will change the way you shop at thrifts and it will change your sweaters lives. It will extend their lives. This small device is just $15 but it reliably and consistently does a job that really nothing else does. It truly is a great purchase, even if it just brings one great sweater back from the dead. I cannot recommend it enough. This sweater was a chore I must say. It was so covered with fuzz, it took about 90 minutes to clean up the entire thing. But, as you see, the result is incredible. This sweater looks practically brand new despite being around 30 - 40 years old.
These vintage 1980s Izod-Lacoste sweaters are interesting. Some don't like them so much because they are so distinctive. So time-locked. They are so particular to a certain time. Some don't like the depth of the V. I used to have a blue one 15 years ago but it got lost along the way and so when I came across this one I was thrilled. Although it isn't the same color as my previous blue, I may say this color is actually better, I think. The sweater itself, in any color, is such a bold choice, such a bold item, that going all in with the red seems like a step up, compared to playing it safe with blue. A nice green would be perfect.
This sweater (and any sweater similar) works well with a white OCBD and also a blue university stripe although in this photo I went with a light blue OCBD which felt even better than the white and blue university stripe. I thought over all three, had them all out of the closet as I decided on this outfit, I asked my 2 year old son what he thought, and I went with the light blue. For what it is worth, he chose the white.
There is one very niche detail I would like to draw your attention to. This detail is related to a piece I wrote the other day on the placement of the second button on our shirts. Note how many buttons are undone in this photo. There is only 1. This is a deep V sweater. If I was wearing a standard 7 button front shirt this second button would be placed a bit higher and it would not look as good, it would not look as well placed. It would feel too high. It would feel off. I would then try to unbutton the second button but it would be too low at this point and the shirt would be too open.
The solution is the solution mentioned in my piece from earlier this month. The solution is a six button front or a custom shirt in which the second button is lowered. The shirt I am wearing in this photo is an OCBD I had custom made, on this shirt I had the second button lowered 1 inch. This is a very niche detail, and an example of the kind of house of cards that is "getting the right look" when wearing vintage pieces. Sometimes the "look" we think of, we imagine, is contingent on a very specific piece, maybe a piece from a very specific time, and without that piece it isn't just right. This is a perfect natural, non-concocted example of the tiniest little way in which a vintage piece may necessitate another vintage (or vintage emulating) piece in order to pull off the look just right, and totally perfect. Lastly, note the watch - a Casio 1980s style A158WA. Another piece which completes this whole ensemble, placing it in a near time-vault of the 1980s. The ensemble is not a time vault of grotesque over-the-top 1980s caricature, it isn't a costume. It is rather something natural, organic - a small, natural complimentary nod and wink.