Latest obsession : vintage novelty knitwear
Hello friends! I want to share a little blog post on my current fashion obsession, vintage novelty knitwear. These add a pop of whimsy to every outfit and they are so much fun to collect! These novelty knit items were huge in America in the 80s and 90s and they are starting to find their way over to the UK, however, they can be expensive, especially the Halloween and Christmas ones around the holidays, so I’ve been having fun snapping them up when it’s cheaper, as well as buying them In general. Let’s chat!
wait?! What’s a vintage novelty knitwear?!
Basically it’s a vintage piece of knitwear which features motifs. It could be an all over print, or it could be more of a statement design. They are quirky and whimsical and often relate to a season or activity. For instance, you can get Halloween ones for when you go to a pumpkin patch, or Christmas tree ones for holidays, or even floral ones for spring. Yes, groundbreaking, but you know it works!!
Some Have more twee grandma vibes, and others are brightly coloured and super playful! They vary!!
Where can I buy vintage novelty knitwear in the UK
Honestly, it’s very rare to find these in charity shops, but if you happen to live in an area with a large American community, you could get lucky! Personally I’ve only found them in a charity shop once and you know I go to a lot of charity shops.
Similarly, it’s not something vintage shops tend to have a huge amount of, so whilst it’s always worth a look, it can’t be relied upon.
Personally, I would say the best places to look are online at places like eBay, vinted, tilt and whatnot. Search for keywords like ‘vintage novelty jumper’ ‘grandma cardigan’ ‘whimsical cardigan’ ‘cottagecore cardigan’ ‘vintage Halloween jumper’ ‘vintage Christmas jumper’ or search for the brand names themselves and see what comes up, my favourite ones to search for are ‘tiara’ and ‘storybook knits’.
My vintage wholesale discount codes:
Tilt referral code – £10 free shopping credit
labelsforlunch315
Whatnot referral code – £10 free shopping credit
https://whatnot.com/invite/labelsforlunch
Fleek app – £26 off your first order
RFD-FASHIONFORLUNCH
Novelty knitwear brands to look out for
- Storybook knits
- The quacker factory
- Tiara
- All points
- Susan Bristol
- coldwater creek
- Alfred dunner
- heirloom collections
Which ones I’m looking out for and buying
Personally, I love novelty knitwear, but I do find that it can be quite the showstopper and an attention grabber. So I try to choose the ones I know will work for me and my style. Often ones with a black base are really easy to wear, like the floral one I’m wearing above, which is why storybook knits.
That being said, I recently bought the cutest patchwork floral and heart print one which is perfect for spring and so cute with a patchwork print dress I have – it’s the top image on this post.
I’m also being guided by price, as some of them can be really expensive and I’m not sure im willing to pay over £50 for one of these – mainly because I’m cheap, not because they aren’t worth it.
Finally, I have been looking out for the Halloween and Christmas ones out of season. Mainly because it’s a great opportunity to buy them cheap because less people are willing to buy Christmas jumpers in January and I’m happy to sit on them for 9-10 months rather than pay a premium for them in November.
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Ta da! Anyway! I hope you like my thrift vintage novelty knitwear and let me know if you have any favourites! I can’t deny, I have more than I even have shown in this post! Oops!
