Women's V-Neck Sweater

A V-neck sweater is cut from the shoulder seams down to a point at the chest, replacing the closed loop of a crew or turtleneck with an open triangle. The angle is set at the knitting stage, not added afterward, and a ribbed or finished edge along both sides of the V keeps the opening from curling or stretching out of shape.

Depth is the one measurement that changes everything else about the sweater. A shallow V, cut just a few inches below the collarbone, shows the collar of a shirt worn underneath and stays close to work-appropriate on its own. A deep V, cut closer to the chest, needs a camisole or nothing at all beneath it, and shows far more skin at the chest than a shallow cut ever will. Read the depth before you read the size, since two sweaters in the same size can open at very different points.

The V draws a single line straight down from the collarbone, which lengthens a short neck the same way a turtleneck's height shortens one. Against a mock neck or a turtleneck, it is the opposite design choice: open where they close, cool at the throat where they trap heat. A cardigan opens the same triangle shape at the front but adds buttons and full closure, so it can be worn shut when a plain V-neck cannot.

Round faces and shorter necks tend to benefit most from the vertical line a V-neck creates. Layering over a collared shirt is the style's other strength, since the V leaves the collar visible instead of burying it. Reconsider a deep V for cold offices or outdoor weather, since an open chest loses heat a closed collar would have kept in, and reconsider a shallow one if you specifically want the lengthening effect a deeper cut gives.

Try it on over whatever you plan to layer underneath, since the V's visible depth changes once a shirt collar fills part of the opening. A finished or ribbed edge should lie flat against the chest rather than curling outward; a curling edge is a sign of a poorly finished knit that will only get worse with wear. Wash and store it the way you would any sweater, cool water, flat drying, and folded storage, since the ribbed V edge stretches under a hanger's weight just as a neckline elsewhere would.