Thinking of getting a quarter-zip sweater? Quarter-zip sweaters are quite underrated. But with the right fashion sense, we guys can rock a quarter-zip any time of the week — be it casual or formal.
But most ponder over how to wear a quarter zip sweater. It’s quite simple, though. For a casual look, simply wear a plain t-shirt underneath with the sweater zip fully open. And as a business look, go for a dress shirt with collars down the quarter zip sweater.
Read on to know more outfits and the common mishaps most people make with quarter-zip sweaters.
How to Wear a Quarter Zip Sweater?
Besides the popular way of pairing with a plain tee, there are multiple stylish ways of wearing a quarter zip. Let’s go over the most popular ways in use right now.
1. What to Pair with
The most popular way of wearing a quarter-zip is with a plain ol’ tee or polo shirt. Solid neutral colors work best, like navy or white. As for pants, jeans are the best way to go for a casual look.
2. How to Handle the Zipper?
As for zipper height, for a casual look, you should keep the zipper either fully open or half-open. Closing the zipper completely makes it look too serious and kills the casual vibe.
3. What to Do with The Collar?
For casual looks, you can keep the collar up or down, either is fine. If you’re wearing a polo shirt, leaving the zipper at about half-height and having the collar up isn’t wrong at all. But when you keep the zipper fully closed or about three-fourths of the way up, it’s customary to keep the collar down.
How to Style a Quarter Zip?
By now, you should have a general idea on how to wear a quarter-zip sweater. Let’s get to how you can style and match up your quarter-zip sweater in different situations.
1. The Weekend Casual Look
The best way to pair up a quarter-zip during winter is to stick to the basics — wear a t-shirt of your choice underneath — that’s it! If you want to get dressed up a bit more, a button-down shirt works well.
Be sure to keep the shirt collar open and the shirt untucked. By keeping the shirt untucked, you make sure your hip profile is high enough. Complement this with jeans, and you’ll look stunning as ever.
Keep in mind, going casual, you’ve more options to play around with different colors. While doing this, you should keep color coordination in mind. For quarter-zips, similar colors profiles are recommended.
For example, if you have a navy quarter-zip sweater, we’d recommend wearing a navy blue, sky blue, or dark blue shirt under it.
2. Formal Work Style
Transitioning from casual to a formal, work vibe is easy with quarter-zips — simply wear a tie-buttoned shirt combo under your sweater. Keep the zipper high enough just to show the tie properly. If you’re feeling fancy and the workday isn’t too business-like, you can also pair this look with color-coordinated trousers.
Mistake to Avoid
Don’t keep collar up, ever! The collar doesn’t always stay up, and in the workplace, it’s a big no-no.
3. Night-Out with Friends
The best casual, night-out look for a quarter-zip, is pairing it up with a leather jacket. Again, keep color coordination in mind. Pair up with a black leather jacket only if you’ve got a dark quarter-zip. Otherwise, go for lighter-colored jackets like light green, yellow, or blue.
This is an easy look to go with, and it’s convenient too on the chilly winter nights.
The Proper Collar Ethics – Collar Up or Down?
Ah, the infamous collar. The biggest confusion when it comes to quarter-zip sweaters is what you should do with the collar. Is collar up or down best?
It depends on the situation, and the sweater type as well.
Collar Up or Down for Quarter Zip Sweater
It’s best to go collar down for formal looks and not worry too much about collar orientation in casual situations.
Collar up is misfitting in a formal situation. To avoid embarrassing situations, keep the collar down and leave the zipper three-fourths of the way up. The top button of your button-down or polo shirt should be visible.
As for casual situations, it doesn’t matter much. It’s okay to go with collars up and down. If you’re wearing a polo, it’s normal to go halfway through the zipper and stay collar up. But if you prefer a composed yet casual look, go for collar down.
Collar Up or Down for Half Zip Sweater
It’s best to go collar down for half-zip sweaters. There isn’t really much scope for a collar up in this type of sweater.
For a classic, easy-to-rock look, we’d recommend a formal shirt, tie, and pant look with the half-zip sweater fully open.
What Color Quarter Zip Should You Get?
Neutral colors are the way to go for quarter-zip sweaters. Some light & neutral colors like navy, white, grey, olive, black, etc., are the most versatile. These go well with almost everything.
One thing we’d suggest looking out for is the zipper color. Go for a grey or black zipper to let it match with everything. Some manufacturers use golden or brass zippers with good intentions to make it shiny, but it never works out in the end.
Frequently Asked Questions
As a general rule, it’s collar down for formal and both for casual looks. For formal, keep the collar down with a halfway or three-fourths closed zipper.
As with casuals, either works, but we’d still recommend collar down for polo tees.
The most popular and classic look is the work shirt-tie-pant look. Wear this underneath with the zipper three-fourths way high, just enough to show the tie properly, and you’re ready to roll.
Anything other than another sweater works, really. But the most popular choice is the plain t-shirt. A plain, neutral-colored white, grey, or black tee goes best with quarter-zips.
Conclusion
Hopefully, you now have a clear idea of how to wear a quarter zip sweater. It’s pretty simple, really, if you have the right fashion sense, which you do!
As a final note, we’d recommend you try different matching variations to see what fits you best. Follow the dos and don’ts we’ve mentioned throughout the article, and you’ll avoid common mistakes and embarrassing situations easily.
After all, playing around is the best way to explore and learn fashion. Cheers!