This outfit, and in particular, this sweater vest absolutely screams Neo-Prep. Wearing this, memories of the early 2000s come flooding back into my consciousness. A yellow cable knit sweater vest with the Polo logo visible - it is one of those "if you know you know" things. This is just such an extreme Neo-Prep piece it is hard to beat. Does it harken back to the early 2000s too hard? Perhaps. Is it too much? Maybe. But, it is the very beginning of spring and it is fun, we must throw caution to the wind in service of nostalgic ends every so often.
This sweater vest really can't be tamed down. You can try with a plain white OCBD which is the most basic, most simple and most neutral shirt you can pair with this and it is still feels pretty extreme. In a situation like this, when you have a piece like this, it seems that it can often be best to lean into the extreme-ness. Lean into that boldness, that over-the-top-ness. The white OCBD actually looks worse than this bolder stripe. Even though it is technically more natural, it actually ends up confusing the outfit more. It almost forces the outfit to say back to you " Who are you kidding? Are you trying to tone this down? Give up."
The blue university stripe worked alright but it felt a bit cramped and a little heavy. This thin blue stripe with lots of white, lots of room in-between the stripes sits in the perfect place. It's a little more bold, it's a little more colorful and bright yet not too crowded. It doesn't feel heavy. It still feels light, thanks to the width of the stripe. To embrace this April Neo-Prep "wink" we want it to feel bright, airy, fun, free, springlike, optimistic, bold, fun and daring. This shirt helps support this attention-grabbing throwback sweater vest in the perfect way with the perfect balance, helping the bold along without getting too in the way or contradicting (in a bad way) the overwhelming spirit of the centerpiece. If it wasn't already obvious, I acquired this by way of thrift store for just a few dollars.