The Best Men's Rollneck Jumpers Will Make You Look Very Famous

There are few items in a man’s wardrobe that look as good as the roll neck. Ok, sure, yes, it can sometimes feel like someone with delicate merino-clad hands is trying to strangle you gently… so gently, but once you get over that initial panic, you’ve unlocked a proper winter classic.

You are Sean Connery, in profile, one eyebrow raised, hotel bar, dense with smoke. You are Yves Saint Laurent and Clark Gable; Ali and McQueen. You are Steve Jobs. You have just invented the iPod. Well done! Roll, turtle, polo, whatever you want to call your ‘neck, it would be remiss to dismiss its allure.

Even if its an entry-level Uniqlo merino (a fine roll neck, it comes highly recommended), it looks and feels expensive. Roll neck, double-breasted suit, overcoat on top – it’s a look that works whatever your age, inclination or budget. It can be deployed at work to send your nearest rival into a fashion existential tailspin. “Did he just pull the roll neck out on me!?” To dazzle your significant other, life partner, paramour. “Sir, is that a cashmere... roll neck?” Or – and I haven’t tried this yet, but I’m sure it will totally work – to dominate your latest Zoom meeting. “Sebastian… are you wearing a roll neck on camera?” The possibilities are, truly, infinite.

While the more svelte, Bond-adjacent, staring at yourself in car windows on the way to dinner at Nobu roll necks by the likes of Jon Smedley, Dunhill, Canali and Tom Ford are fine and elegant choices, there is also another genre of roll neck that offers a totally different aesthetic: the salty sea dog, like those worn by Hemingway Beckett and Paul Newman once he started getting a few lines on his forehead. These roll necks are made from mohair, lambswool and alpaca. They are slightly heftier, rougher, made for big walks down the reservoir or taking the pleasure cruiser out on Morecambe Bay. Roll-necks for the kind of man who has a Big Mouth Billy Bass on his desk and asks all of his family members to refer to him as ‘The Captain.’ These are weekend and windswept walks roll necks. Inis Meain, Howlin’, Jameison of Shetland and Oliver Spencer are all brands to look out for. Even the high-end European houses a la Saint Laurent, Gucci and Prada have experimented with the 'Shipster' style, thus demonstrating its cross-demographic appeal.

So whether you’re looking to channel a loafer and negroni basement bar mainstay or a lonely lighthouse captain staring out into the roiling abyss at darkest midnight, there is a roll neck for you. Here are some of the best!