Tall Girl Treat: Woolly, Woolly Awesome

I'm rubbish at cold weather: every year it takes me by surprise and every year I end up shivering due to being the least gifted layerer since that guy in every superhero film ever who just walks around with his shirt off.

I was bemoaning that fact earlier this week when Long Tall Sally sent me the Nordic cardigan from their winter collection that I had completely forgotten I'd asked to try on. HOORAY, TERRIBLE MEMORY!

Cardigans, and indeed undoable knitwear of any kind, are terrific. You can put them over anything rather than having to worry whether they will "work" with your outfit, like a jumper, or a knitted personal assistant. 

Moreover, I'm a sucker for any sort of pattern that could be classed as Fair Isle, nordic, or "somebody probably just vomited over this but let's sell it anyway."  I love this one. It's also incredibly soft and the sleeves obscure most of my hands, which is a total joy when you are used to constantly tugging on sleeves in a hope that you'll stretch the fabric.

I enjoyed it so much that I immediately went into Narnia* and took photos in it. Please to admire my best street style blogger poses.

*The slightly Mad Men-esque loos at work where really you wouldn't be surprised to find a faun as long as it was female and thus adhering to the loo code. 

 You purse your lips that much, right? Or has that bypassed duck and gone straight to heron. Moving on.

Historically, great places for cardigans for tall girls have been the following:

• Monsoon - I still yearn for those angora wraps with silk ribbons c. 2005
• H&M - always excellent for jersey basics
• East - aka, Mum shop. Totally bought a teal long one after my mum lent me hers one Christmas

Completely love the patterns on these East ones, like a wonderfully evocative cross between a forest and a snow shaker. (Which reminds me - TANGENT - remember the gorgeous ASOS forest dress? They've brought out a new purple and sleeveless versions.)

Back to the knitwear. You can get them in navy or black and they cost £85. That is a significant outlay for a cardigan, so do what I did and casually stalk the sales until you find one.

 Seriously, I don't know why this girl is looking so cross when she is wearing The Best Cardigan In The World™. I've been quietly stalking this one for ages, despite the fact one of my friends asked me if I already owned three (negative! Those are other items).

I don't believe in elbow patches, but I don't mind these. That is how much I enjoy this cardigan. It's £29.99 from H&M.

Monsoon's cardigans are all utterly dreadful this season, but their knitted dresses are as excellent as ever. I shrunk mine in the wash about two years ago and have refused to stop wearing it, they're that good. This Eva one is £59 and slightly flared so it doesn't do the dreaded wet suit effect on your hips which is nobody's friend.

This is positively discreet by my standards, but I couldn't resist crowbarring this in at the end. This lovely waterfall jacket from Next is £38 and the perfect compromise between warmth, cardigans and patterns. Fit.