Why I Tuck in My Sweaters and the Best Shorter Knitwear Options

Feb 15

Written By Suzan

I often get asked why I tuck in my knitwear. If you wear high-rise trousers, most sweaters are too long to sit at the perfect length, so you have two options if you don’t want them to fall to a random length below your waist. The first is to pull the sweater up and fold it inside and the second is to tuck it in. If you pull it up and fold the excess fabric inside, it usually doesn’t stay in place for long, unless the bottom opening is very narrow, which is unlikely. In that case, the best option is to tuck the sweater into your trousers. But this method has one weakness, it doesn’t really work with very thick sweaters. So if you want to wear your sweaters tucked in, stick to thin to medium-weight knitwear.

There are a few brands that are making shorter sweaters to fit their brand aesthetics. But of course, how a sweater fits you has a lot to do with your body type. If you are a tall, skinny guy and can size down from the average size for your height, these sweaters will probably be too short for you. But if you, like myself, are someone with a stronger upper body and need to size up from the average size for your height, these sweaters might still be too long. There is no perfect length to fit all body types. But if we take an average-built man, a sweater just a few centimeters shorter in body length will make a difference on your whole look, because it will sit right on top of the trousers at your waistline. You can usually see this in lookbooks or product shots from these brands.

Sweater perfectly sitting on the trousers are the waistline - from Berg and Berg Bad Gastein lookbook

I have to admit that even with these shorter options, I still think they should make them even shorter to create the perfect fit - at least for my personal taste. The average length for a sweater in size L is around 68–70 cm, which is far too long when you consider that most men who buy this size are between 175–185 cm tall. And based on average heights worldwide, I'd say more of them fall on the shorter end of this range.

The shortest sweater I found in size L is the Ballogie Rollneck from Horatio London, with a body length of 58 cm. The second shortest is from Natalino, with a body length of 63 cm. I would say that anything under 65 cm in body length for size L can be considered shorter at this point. But I honestly think that if we're talking about knitwear that perfectly pairs with high-rise trousers, there's no need for a size L sweater to be over 63 cm in body length on average.

Horatio London Ballogie Rollneck in size M (58cm body length) worn by a 178cm-tall man.

If we're talking about averages, I don't see the need for a longer length, especially for brands with a high-rise trousers aesthetic. Actually, I think for an average man, size L should be 60 cm in body length. It could be less— in the photo below, you can see that the Ballogie Rollneck from Horatio London, with a length of 58 cm, is far from being too short when worn by a 178 cm tall man. But because I know some will say that shorter sweaters ride up during daily activities in casual clothes, I would accept it being 60 cm, which is still considerably shorter than the average length most brands offer today.

Below, I have listed a few knitwear options with a body length shorter than 65 cm in size L.

**Horatio London Ballogie Rollneck**
Body Length: 58cm
Available in 10 variations
Price: 208,95€
Buy it **here**.

**Natalino Shetland Wool Crew Neck Sweater**
Body Length: 63cm
Available in 8 variations
Price: 197€
Buy it **here**.

**Bryceland's Shaggy Shetland Sweater**
Body Length: 62,9cm
Available in 7 variations
Price: HKD $ 2080
Buy it **here**.

**Speciale Roll Neck Cashmere**
Body Length: 64cm
Available in 4 variations
Price: from £665
Buy it **here**.

**Harley of Scotland Shetland Jumper**
Body Length: 62,2cm
Available in 3 variations
Price: 224,95€
Buy it **here**.

**Horatio London Roxburgh Crewneck**
Body Length: 62cm
Available in 3 variations
Price: 198,95€
Buy it **here**.

**Speciale Cardigan - available in Cotton and Cashmere**
Body Length: 64cm
Available in 7 variations
Price: from £395
Buy it **here**.

**Speciale V Neck - available in Cotton and Cashmere**
Body Length: 64cm
Available in 5 variations
Price: from £345
Buy it **here**.

**Speciale V Neck - available in Cotton and Cashmere**
Body Length: 64cm
Available in 7 variations
Price: from £365
Buy it **here**.

**Harley of Scotland Womens Crewneck**
Body Length: 61cm (same width as men version)
Available in 16 variations
Price: from 146,95€
Buy it **here**.

I wish there were more brands making shorter knitwear, but I would love to hear your thoughts on this topic. Do you ever tuck in your sweater, or do you prefer a longer length?