How to Style a Sweater as a Layering Piece

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I recently saw some interesting photos at Banana Republic of sweaters styled as a layering piece, and since it IS that season where you may or may not need a sweater or cardigan, depending on temperature, wind, humidity, office AC, etc., I thought it might make an interesting discussion.

If you're not actively wearing the sweater, how do you style it? Do you wrap it around your shoulders or your waist, or do you just carry it in a bag? This can be very office-specific as well as location-specific, but here are the basic questions: Are there ways to style a cardigan that are “classic,” or does the sweater-as-accessories-look read a certain way to you, like preppy, casual, or (ahem) dated? Do you prefer to just throw a cardigan in your bag for your commute if you're not wearing it?

We've talked a lot about classic sweaters for work outfits over the years, including giving tips on how to wash “dry clean” items, and discussing what makes a sweater appropriate for the office — as well as how to do business casual in cold weather and seasonless sweaters for summer!

We've also discussed 9 ways to use an office pashmina, and how high to button your cardigan… but we haven't discussed how to style a sweater as an accessory.

(Oh, and we've also rounded up the best fake collars if you like that preppy “layered look” for your sweaters!)

{related: the best sweater jackets for the office}

Can You Wear a Cardigan Over a Sweater?

You can, in theory, wear a cardigan over a sweater — but we have some notes on that…

Option 1: Sweater Sets

First, many sweaters come as sets with short sleeves or tank top options — this is a great way to wear a cardigan over a sweater.

The Best Way to Add Warmth If You're Already Wearing a Sweater: The Office Pashmina

Another option that bypasses a lot of the bulk but still gives you warmth: go for a good quality office pashmina. (IMHO, this is the best option!)

Can You Wear a Sweater Jacket on Top of a Sweater?

A third way to do the sweater-on-sweater look: wear a sweater jacket on top of a sweater! Because most sweater jackets are more substantial, you can treat them more like blazers.

Option 4: Just Keep a Blazer at the Office to Wear Over Sweaters

Of course, you can always wear a blazer on top of a sweater — this is one of the reasons blazers as separates are great, actually.

How to Get the Layered Look with Sweaters

One question that we get a lot is how to get the layered look with sweaters without a lot of bulk. You can always hunt for a “twofer” sweater, where there is a blouse built into the sweater.

Another option here is to wear a silky blouse beneath sweaters — this saves you a lot of the hassle that you get with trying to layer a blouse beneath a sweater.

A third option is to go for dickies, aka fake collars — it's an easy cheat to get the look!

Hunting for great fake collars for layered work outfits? As of Jan. 2024, Amazon has a zillion options for fake shirt collars as well as faux turtlenecks; also check out Etsy seller Putney Home Design as well as others. On the fancy side of things, it's hard to beat Lele Sadoughi's faux collars. (Amazon also has a number of twofer sweaters, with that layered look built in!)

(Of course, if you're looking for a dickey to layer with a blazer, Veronica Beard makes the blazers and the dickeys — Quince also has zippered inserts for blazers.

How to Style a Sweater as an Accessory: Other Options

For my $.02, I think both looks above are way too casual for a conservative office. If I needed to shed a layer before returning to my office I'd be far more likely to throw both arms of the cardigan over my shoulders, like below.

But while I see a lot of this look in real life (enough that I'd call it classic!), I see hardly any images in the styled annals of Pinterest and style blogs, which makes me wonder if people see it as outdated. (Refinery 29 has their “cool girl” take on how to style sweaters that includes a very sloppy version of the below looks…)

Personally, I will note that I probably wouldn't do the looped cuffs as shown in image 3, and in image 1 I would probably have buttoned parts of the sweater to avoid the cape-like look and to make it look neater, like in image 2.

One of the reasons I've always liked the cardigan-over-the-shoulders look is because you can do it on TOP of blazers if you're really freezing, even if you're already wearing a sweater underneath the blazer.

For me it's always been a functional look rather than an intended part of my look for the day — I've found that my sweaters get damaged if I throw them in my bag so I prefer to wear them around my shoulders if I'm not actively wearing them.

What are your thoughts, ladies? How are you styling sweaters as layering pieces these days, whether for work or play? Are any of these part of your “look” for the day, or are they always just a means to an end for commuting or networking events/work-related cocktail parties where you don't want to end the conversation to put your sweater down but don't want to wear it anymore? 

Some of Our Latest Favorite Sweaters to Style as Accessories

Our Latest Favorite Cardigan Sweaters

(Note that you should always button at least a few buttons at top and bottom before trying to wear it as above — otherwise it will look a bit like superman's cape. If you just want to wear it on top of your shoulders as a cape, of course, go right ahead…)

Our Latest Favorite 100% Cotton Sweaters for Work

Our Latest Favorite Silk Sweaters for Work

M.M.LaFleur has a bunch of silk jersey sweaters, including cardigans!

Looking for cotton-silk pieces? Banana Republic has some; so does M.M.LaFleur.

Poetry has a number of pieces in a linen silk blend.

Silk-wool sweaters are hard to find, but Tory Burch's bestselling cardigan fits the bill.

In 2024, Buck Mason has a lot of silk-cashmere-wool blend sweaters, including this turtleneck and this crewneck – APC also has some!

Some of our favorite silk-cashmere sweaters for work include these from LaLigne and Brooks Brothers; if you're looking to splurge, Akris has a bunch right now.

The Best Cashmere Sweaters for Work

Some of the classic cashmere sweaters for work (as of 2025) include Nordstrom Cashmere, Quince ($50!), Vince, J.Crew, Naadam, Talbots, Lands' End, and Brooks Brothers. If you're looking for something fancier try TSE, Loro Piana, Akris, Autumn Cashmere, or (more casual) Jenni Kayne.

Great Merino Wool Sweaters for Women

As of 2024, our favorite 100% merino sweaters for work include Uniqlo, Everlane, Banana Republic, and APC. Eileen Fisher has high quality merino, also, although the clothes tend to be on the more casual side.