If you were to ask me who is one of the most influential celebrities in fashion today, Harry Styles would come to mind immediately. When I first saw the pictures of Harry wearing the now famous J.W Anderson Cardigan on the Today Show, I immediately became obsessed. From his sweater vests and highwaisted pants to his iconic pearl necklaces, Harry has somehow made dressing like your grandparents cool. 

Even more momentous is the way Harry’s unisex style continues to shatter social norms for both men and women. Men feel more comfortable painting their nails and wearing “feminine” styles, while women feel like it's ok to wear a men's sweater. In fact, they’re itching to wear a men’s sweater. 

His style has influenced thousands of teenagers, myself included. While I would love to wear outfits from Gucci and other designer brands to class each day, my college student budget (and most anyone’s budget) have made that dream pretty unrealistic. This means I have had to get creative when trying to find Harry-esc items to add to my closet. But, the best thing about Harry is that really anything goes! So, whether it be a day of thrifting or a thrown together combo of my favorite patterned sweater vest, corduroy jeans and some shiny kicks: it’s a yes to Harry Styles’ style any day.

The eye catching colors and patchwork drew my attention. It balances being bold without going overboard perfectly and is a designer piece that I could actually see myself wearing with a normal outfit. After a quick Google search I was heartbroken to learn that it would cost me $1,890 to add this cardigan to my collection. Even though I didn't have a spare $2,000 to drop on a sweater, I did have a vague recollection of my grandmother teaching me how to knit one rainy day in 2008 and lots of quarantine time on my hands, so I decided to just make it for myself- what could go wrong? The sweater is essentially just a collection of squares all sewn together so it seemed fairly easy  to recreate. I took a trip to Michaels, purchased an obscene amount of yarn, and immediately got to work. I started by knitting the back squares, then the front, then the sleeves and finally the trim and collar. A project that I thought would take me a few weeks quickly turned into months as I underestimated what it would take to try to recreate something from scratch without a pattern. Finally, after around three months of hard work and a couple all nighters, my project was finally complete. Although it took me much longer than expected and was by no means an easy task, I am immensely proud of my creation and I look back fondly on the process of making it. Up until this summer I had never tried my hand at creating a piece of clothing that I would actually wear. The process of looking at a series of images of the cardigan then mapping out the size, number, and placement of each square, deciding how I would stitch them together, and creating a full pattern that would transform a bunch of balls of yarn into a wearable piece was incredibly rewarding. It allowed me to discover my passion for fashion at a level deeper than just the latest runway shows or seasonal trends. 

During the 3 months that I worked on this cardigan, it somehow became a trend, with people everywhere trying their hand at knitting or crocheting one for themselves. Eventually, Jonathan Anderson himself even released an official pattern to help out anyone who wants to give it a shot. After the pattern was released, the number of cardigans being made skyrocketed, and it became clear just how versatile the piece can be. Although I decided to make an exact copy, some people decided to make their version reflect their own personality and taste.  I have seen a pastel version, one in different shades of green, a rainbow colored sweater, and many, many more. So, if you ever find yourself stuck in another pandemic, why not try to knit your own and see what unique spin you can put on it.