As the year comes to a close and we all look ahead to the bigger and better things that we hope will come in 2022, it’s important that we don’t neglect the good and beautiful things that 2021 gave us. Though it may not have yet penetrated popular culture, the cardigan has seen something of a resurgence among the influential and exclusive of the internet. Like Crocs in 2019, the reintroduction of the wide-leg pant in the late 2010s, or Arc’Teryx in early 2020, we are currently witnessing the first small wave of the cardigan’s inevitable return as a staple in the wardrobes of the masses. For that reason, this week’s StockX Pick of the Week is the entirely sold out Stüssy Shaggy Cardigan which released earlier this Fall.
On a recent episode of the podcast, Blamo!, menswear blogger Derek Guy defined a new subcultural way of dressing. Dubbed “Bookcore”, a riff on styles of the past like Normcore or Gorpcore, Derek Guy explained that all the “cool people online” now dress like “the people he sees who routinely attend bookstore talks, read anthropology books, and know a lot about Tibetan Pottery or something.” He defines the look as a mixture of normcore, western wear Patagonia, orthopedic sneakers, and more rolled into a look compared to a history teacher or some kind of adjunct professor. For those unaware, normcore is the name of a style that’s often been described as “non-style.” It looks eerily similar to how Jerry or Cramer may have been dressed in Seinfeld or how Oscar Isaac was dressed in Scenes from a Marriage (at least in the fitting photos provided by the costume designer). The look includes a lot of pieces you might’ve caught Mr. Rogers or grandparents wearing like dad jeans, New Balance, and sweaters.
everyone cool right now dresses like an elderly person who attends all the lectures at their local indie bookstore
— derek guy (@dieworkwear) December 23, 2021
This is where Stüssy’s Shaggy Cardigan fits into the mix. The two most popular colorways deviate from the traditional colors given to garments of the safe and sound knitwear variety, making them statement pieces with a touch of subtlety. The Lime Green looks like your great grandfather’s favorite cardigan took a walk and fell into a vat of radioactive acid while the Eggplant colorway looks like the casualwear of Jeremy Irons’ Adrian Veidt from Watchmen. If you’re looking for something more traditional, the cardigan is also available in navy and white. Material-wise, the cardigan is made from a 60% Nylon, 40% Acrylic material, which gives it a shaggy look and feel that any stylish grandparent would drool over.
Stüssy is still a relatively new and small brand on StockX, but the Lime Green Cardigan has been resold more than most of the brand’s recently released t-shirts and hoodies. As far as non-collaborative Stüssy apparel goes, this cardigan, with little to no branding, is one of the top ten best reselling pieces from the brand on StockX. As far as resale prices go, the Stüssy Shaggy Cardigan looks like an excellent investment piece considering that it’s already reselling for $100 more than its original retail price on average.
The resale market validity of something like the Stüssy Shaggy Cardigan points to a change in the appetites of the once hoodie hungry streetwear audience. The streetwear industry is growing older and brands must grow with their audiences if they intend to hold on to them. Streetwear’s original appeal was something of a counterculture, defying the establishment’s business-casual dress code mandates, but that doesn’t necessarily mean hoodies and logo t-shirts forever. Pieces like the Stüssy Shaggy Cardigan demonstrate what it looks like when an apparel brand matures alongside their customers, and the sweater’s popularity and resale market demand only confirm that.
While some will certainly disagree, it’s entirely possible that in two to three years, we’ll be living in a world where knitwear has usurped the hoodie. This may seem like a stretch, but life has already started to look more like an Aimé Leon Dore lookbook than a Supreme one. Currently, it feels like Stüssy sits somewhere in the middle of those two brands, bridging the gap, one Shaggy Cardigan at a time.
Shop the Stüssy Shaggy Cardigan in every colorway on StockX below.
