The Informant: Long Wharf’s Seaside Sweater Is Made With and For the Ocean
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The demands on the humble pullover crewneck are steep, and most don’t measure up. They may look great folded neatly in stacks at the outlet mall, but after a few months of layering they reveal their true colors. They fade, pill, bunch, they get warped and lose their elasticity in the wrists and neck. And the brands who build theirs appropriately stitch some dumb graphic on the front that renders it an occasional wear versus an everyday staple. I like hermits crabs as much as the next guy, but I don’t need to become the “crab guy” in the office.
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I’ve been on the hunt for a blue sweater for a long time. At the beginning, the task felt small. I was foolhardy enough to think I’d pick one up on my way upstate. No such luck. For a sweater aficionado like myself, I can read through the tea leaves pretty quickly. They always fall apart on me and stubborn wrinkles set in for the long haul.
I was looking for something that was a cotton blend with more flexibility than Donegal wool to stand up to the elements, as it typically breaks down upon the first drop of rain and New York’s weather is infamously unpredictable.
After cruising around the internet, I came upon Long Wharf, particularly the Montauk SeaWell model. It’s just a ribbed blue sweater that looks great, but after months of weary searching I was tentatively excited.
Long Wharf Supply & Co. Montauk SeaWell Crew Sweater
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It’s 60% cotton, which is the ratio I was looking for. It feels soft enough to wear without anything under it on lazy Sunday bodega runs, but it also polish and structure, so I can slip an Oxford shirt under it for work.
It’s a little thick, so it wouldn’t layer under a blazer easily, but it works well as an outer layer or under a bigger coat. Also, the remaining 40% of the blend isn’t just another polyester synthetic, it’s made from recycled oyster shells as part of Long Wharf’s SeaWell project.
According to the company, millions of oyster shells are discarded every year, ending up in landfills and eventually turning toxic. Their polyester material is upcycled using remains from the oyster shells and discarded water bottles, contributing to the sustainability efforts both in fashion and of the seabeds. You’d have no idea it’s made of ground up calcium carbonate by the look of it, but as you’re sipping rosé seaside you can feel good about your advocacy for marine life.
This sweater comes with me almost everywhere. It’s machine washable, because cotton, and it works with just about everything else in my wardrobe, because blue. For anyone looking to add a well-crafted staple to their wardrobe for fall, this is the one.
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