The Guernsey

These are the iconic guernsey jumpers of Le Tricoteur, which are the only guernsey jumpers to hand-finished on the island of Guernsey, making them to the most iconic of iconic.

These are part of our range of Other Goods, which is a collection of good British things that are made by other people and can’t be bettered.

We added these largely because Caroline still wears hers and she had that before we even met, so that makes it about 40 years old. And it still looks great. Unchanged, unbeatable, unbreakable. Perfect.

If you think of truly legendary, renowned British clothing, the guernsey is up there.

Savile Row suits.
Arran jumpers.
Tweed jackets.
Barbours (sadly often made abroad now, but, still…).
Fairisle knits.
Kilts.
Duffel coats.
Dr Martens.
Harringtons.
&
Guernseys.

You may know something of the history of this storied sweater. It has remained pretty much unchanged since the 1500s, when English wool was used to make guernseys for fishermen and was mainly exported to Spain and northern France. It’s said that they were used in The Battle of Trafalgar, and they have long been a part of the Royal Navy’s uniform.

Interestingly, a guernsey was included in the brilliant BBC project A History of the World in 100 Objects, which kind of says all you need to know.

Beautiful, fit for purpose, very long lasting indeed.