Just about every famous modern day UK woman has been photographed wearing a cardigan. They are quintessential components of every female life.

We throw them on and off all day and all year long. We shrug one on to go out and fetch the milk from the doorstep in the morning. We reach for the cardie on the back of our chair when we are working, if the room suddenly feels a little cold. We grab one on the way out to watch the kids enjoying their football practice. We decide to pop one on top of the picnic basket “just in case.” We wear the lovely cashmere ones to formal occasions and hang onto the shabby, baggy ones to do the hoovering and housework.

Lots of us drape one over our shoulders in bed while we’re reading a book or watching a favourite show on our laptop. They are the nearest thing in clothing terms to a girl’s best
friend – and we would all be lost without them.

In years gone by, the cardigan had a bad reputation. It was associated with a downtrodden and world weary look. It represented an attitude of “couldn’t care less” about what you wore and how you presented yourself to the world. But with modern manufacturing processes, the wealth of superb materials to work with, and all the top designers, including David Emmanuel, weaving their magic over the garments, cardigans are no longer the poor cousins of the wardrobe.

Just as well really because cardigans are lifesavers. It is hard to imagine surviving in
the British Isles without a good selection of them. They slip on and off so easily, unlike
jumpers, and this is what really makes them stand out from the crowd. The majority of women would much prefer the choice of a cardigan over a jumper for the pure and simple reason that it is uninhibiting. If you are too hot, you take it off; if you are too cold, you put it back on. It’s as simple as that. Jumpers are a great deal more hassle, as they involve all that pulling on and off over the head, and there is no guarantee that this process won’t mess up your hair, leave you feeling flushed and maybe even a bit ridiculous, in the effort required to wriggle out of it.

Why put yourself through such an ordeal when a cardigan will save you from all that stress? There has never been a better time to buy from the extraordinary range of styles, colours and shapes that are now widely available. It is certainly not a case of one size fits all. Cardigans can be long or short, sculptured or straight, patterned or plain, hugging or loose, chunky or tight. You need never worry about looking frumpy if you choose wisely and opt for a well-made garment that fits you nicely and keeps you cosy into the bargain.

For some cardigan inspiration, and some retail therapy at the same time, why not take a look at the Bonmarche range of knitwear? This is a company which knows what women want and that, in a word, is a cardie. It can be comfy, it can be casual, it can be smart, it can be sophisticated, but we all know we need them.

From Virginia Woolf to the Royal family, every woman worth her salt has posed in a cardigan, secure in the knowledge that she is an icon of British womanhood. And if
it’s good enough for the Queen and top celebrities, it surely is good enough for the
rest of us? Wear your cardie with pride. We are the women of Britain and we love our
cardigans.