Best Knitwear Under £50, Across Every Brand
Knitwear is the autumn buy you'll wear most, so it's worth being fussy. Fifty quid is the ceiling here, no exceptions, and every brand from New Look to M&S has...
Knitwear is the autumn buy you'll wear most, so it's worth being fussy. Fifty quid is the ceiling here, no exceptions, and every brand from New Look to M&S has to earn a place on the strength of the knit rather than the label sewn into it.
Under £50 the price tells you almost nothing. The yarn and the gauge tell you everything. A £17 cable knit with a tight, dense stitch will still be in shape next winter when a £45 one that pills after three washes has been quietly binned, and you can usually spot which is which by zooming right into the product shot before you buy.
“Under fifty quid, gauge matters more than the price tag.”
The AW26 knit palette
Forest green is the shade the high street has actually committed to this season. The rest are the neutrals it sits well against.
Forest green
#2F4232
Oatmeal
#D8C9B2
Chocolate
#4A342A
Burgundy
#6B1F2B
Dusky rose
#C29891
Cream
#F1EAE0
Cable knits and chunky crew necks
Cable is the knit trend everyone called for this autumn (Grazia and Who What Wear both ran it as their lead), and the high street has gone all in. It leans preppy and it holds its shape better than a flat knit, which is the bit that matters at this price: the texture does the visual work, so a cheaper yarn gets away with a lot more. Go oversized enough to layer a collar underneath. Not so oversized you lose your waist.
Shop knitted tops under £50
Green is the colour to buy this autumn
After several seasons of oatmeal and grey, the colour the shops have committed to is green. Forest, bottle, and the occasional bright one. It reads more expensive than beige does, and it's easier to wear than it sounds, especially against denim or chocolate brown. Buy one knit in a proper colour this year and make it this.
Jumper dresses do the whole outfit
Ribbed roll-neck, boots, done. It's the laziest decision in your wardrobe and it still looks like you tried. Rib knit is also forgiving of a cheap fabric in a way that a smooth jersey isn't, so the sub-£50 versions genuinely hold up. Watch the length. Anything landing awkwardly mid-calf needs a boot with some shaft to it or the proportions go strange.
Knitted co-ord sets
A matching knit set is the closest you'll get to wearing a duvet in public without anyone clocking it. Buy one for travelling and for the days you need to look put together on no thought at all. Split it up afterwards and you've got two separates that work perfectly well apart.
3 things to check before you buy a cheap knit
Read the composition, not the colour
Anything 100% acrylic will pill at the friction points within a month, usually under the arms and across the bag strap. A wool or cotton blend at the same price is the better buy, and the composition is always in the product listing if you scroll far enough.
Size up on a crew neck, stay true on a cardigan
Oversized only works on the jumper. A cardigan bought too big stops sitting closed at the front and the shape goes with it.
Put a collar under it
A shirt collar and cuffs coming out of a plain crew neck is the cheapest trick there is for making a £20 jumper look like a deliberate choice.
Knitwear at this price sells through quickly and the good colours go first, so move on anything you like rather than saving it for later. Check it against what the other brands are charging for the same gauge before you commit.