Fearne Cotton’s knitted vest is the ‘genius’ layering piece that’s got us counting down the days until sweater weather returns

Fearne Cotton’s knitted vest is a "genius" layering piece that’s got us counting down the days until sweater weather returns.

Summer isn’t over yet and whilst we’re still definitely making the most of our summer capsule wardrobe favourites, we can’t help being a little bit excited as we anticipate the styling opportunities autumn will bring. Cooler weather means transitional items are a must and Fearne Cotton had the right idea back in April when she wore a Nobody’s Child knitted sweater vest. Spring and autumn have a lot in common when it comes to conditions - a lot of rain and unpredictable mildness and cold temperatures - and Fearne’s outfit has got us excited for sweater weather. 

She shared her look on Instagram as the first snap in a series of videos and pictures and described it as a "nerd chic outfit" for a podcast recording the week before. Fearne wore a white shirt under her vest, which might sound very summery but everyone should have one of these in their autumn capsule wardrobe too.

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They are so versatile when it comes to styling and here they acted as the ideal base layer for her knitted sweater vest to go over. Not quite as full-on cosy as a jumper, a sweater vest is a great transitional wardrobe staple that helps to keep your body warm in cooler weather but not overly toasty like we all want to be in winter. Their sleeveless design also makes them so fun to incorporate into outfits as in autumn you’d likely wear them with a top or shirt underneath and these can be mixed and matched to give you so many new combinations.

To get maximum wear out of a sweater vest a neutral option is always a good choice, but Fearne loves wearing a splash of colour and so hers was a beautiful patterned one. The scalloped design looked like it featured pale yellow, black, white and a hint of pinky-red. All of these hues were very warm-toned and, dare we say, quite autumnal, though she wore it several times this spring.

Woman&Home’s Digital Fashion Editor, Caroline Parr, is impressed by the layering potential of Fearne’s sweater vest and reveals how you could make one work in summer, leading into autumn.

"I'm already starting to look ahead to autumn, and layering is absolutely key to dressing for those tricky in-between days. A sweater vest is the ultimate layering piece - even Kate Middleton added one to her wardrobe last year!" she says. "Fearne's crochet number from Nobody's Child will look great worn on its own with linen trousers for any late summer bursts of sunshine, then switch to jeans and add a white shirt underneath the tank top and it will see you through to winter as well. Genius!"

The broadcaster and author rolled her sweater vest up a little at the bottom so that it didn’t cover the waistband of her leather trousers and this gave it a lovely smart-casual feel.

The trousers themselves were black, echoing the black tones in the vest, and had a cargo design. Two pockets can just be seen on each trouser leg and the trousers look to have a wide, flared silhouette. As Caroline says, Fearne could also have worn this vest and shirt combination with jeans for an equally stunning look. 

The leather trousers added some edginess, though, which works so well given Fearne’s personal style. She opted for a pair of snake print ankle boots for another touch of contrast and wore her blonde hair in gorgeous waves. In summer a pair of your best white trainers would also look great with an outfit like this too and we’ve been inspired to start wearing sweater vests right now as we await autumn’s arrival.