It’s Sweater Season

Most of you have probably noticed that as summer gives way to autumn, there is a definitive switch from polo shirts to long sleeves in the office.  Even more than that, there is a natural, albeit subtle, rise in the number of sweaters which show up.

The sweater is a garment which doesn’t get it’s fair share of the love - more than an accessory, but less than a necessity, the sweater is a staple of winter business attire.  Yet in recent times the fame of the sweater has been reduced to the occasional Tacky Christmas Sweater Party or mentions of Ohio State’s Jim Tressel as “The Vest”.

So a year ago I set out on a personal mission to perpetuate the rise of the sweater in today’s American workplace.  I sent out an email to all the guys at the bank and encouraged them all to support the mission.  Thus, the Sweater Fraternity was born.

The first year of the Frat was a rousing success.  And with cold weather creeping up on us once again, it was time again last week to kick off the season in style.  Below is an excerpt from the email I sent to the crew last week along with a picture of the brotherhood in Durham.

Approximately one year ago, a group of enterprising young men from Square 1 Bank set out on a new frontier.  Tired of conforming to the norms of modern day fashionistas, these pioneers reinvented an age-old classic and kickstarted a clothing phenomenon.  The revolution was so stirring that it wasn’t limited to simple haberdashery fare – it was a full fledged brotherhood.

I’m talking, of course, about The Sweater Fraternity.

As autumn is now upon us, it’s time to recognize formally what we already know – it is Sweater Season.  We will officially kick off the season tomorrow, October 24^th, by sporting our favorite threads.

As a reminder from our official charter email, “the sweater can take many forms and serve many functions.  In fact, the term “sweater” is a catch all for various types of garments, including the whole family of cardigans, pullovers, and vests”. With such diverse options to choose from, there will always be good, bad, and plain ugly sweaters on display – yet The Sweater Fraternity is an equal opportunity organization which never discriminates based upon fashion insensibility.

Sweater Season is upon us.  If you have the guts to email me a picture of yourself rocking a sweater, I’d love to post them on the blog.  Vive le Sweater!