How to Style a Sweater Vest (13 Ways)

Everyone at a certain point has or will have to try layering a sleeveless pullover on top of other outfits. However, outfits rise and fall out of trend in the fashion world. Today, you need to know how to style a sweater vest to avoid making silly fashion mistakes.

Sweater vests are not a new thing. They’ve been around for quite a long time.

However, what has changed about sweater vest outfits is the “How”. The way people were styling a sweater vest in the 70s and 80s may not be entirely similar to today.

Surely, there may be some similarities. But knowing these simple sweater outfit ideas for the current trends will prevent you from outdated styling.

What is a Sweater Vest?

A sweater vest, a.k.a. sleeveless pullover or sleeveless sweater, is a sleeveless knitwear outfit made from thick cotton or wool that is worn on top of another outfit in the upper part of the body.

It’s such a simple outfit that is worn by pretty much anyone from a high school teenager, and a working woman to a grandma. Apart from adding resizable warmth, the outfit polishes up ordinary outfits by adding extra style and elegance.

Read more:

15 Superb Fishnet Outfit Ideas 2023

15 Plus Size Casual Outfits with Sneakers for an Amazing Curvy Styling

How to Style a Sweater Vest (10 Ways)

Let’s see how you can style up with a sweater vest in the current year and beyond.

1. Wear it as Sweater Dress

Sweater vest as a dress
Source: Pinterest.com

Sweater dresses were popular in the 70s and 80s. However, sweater dresses usually consisted of long sleeveless.

Currently, you can wear a sweater dress as a dress. Choose a sweater vest that reaches your lower thigh. You can wear it over a long sleeve shirt or a short sleeve t-shirt.

For the shoes, you can wear them with a pair of low-top white sneakers especially if you wear the sweater vest over a white shirt or t-shirt. If that’s not the case, try to style it with some ankle boots.

2. Wear it Over a shirt dress

sweater vest with a white sweater_1 way on how to style a sweater vest
Source: asos.com

The next elegant knit vest outfit idea is wearing it over a shirt dress. Just so you know, a shirt dress is a dress that looks like a long shirt as it extends to the thighs.

You can wear this dress with a knit vest. I particularly like the white shirt dress with a gray sweater vest worn over it.

If you prefer to go for the white shirt dress, you should select white sneakers or boots. It does work with black ankle boots as well.

3. With a Mini Skirt

Who doesn’t miss the wonderful high school memories? Wear a sleeveless sweater with a mini skirt to feed your high school nostalgia.

There are tons of ways of styling up a sweater vest with a mini skirt. The common style is to wear a checkered sweater vest over a white shirt. If the vest is long, you can tuck it into the skirt to create a wonderful waist.

The most stylish of this idea is a small sweater vest. You wear it over a shirt or t-shirt, but instead of tucking it in the skirt, you wear it as a crop top. To achieve this, you must tie your t-shirt or shirt above the belly button and wear a small-sized sweater on top.

4. Wear it as a Two-Piece with Mini Skit

sweater vest and short skirt min dress
Source: aliexpress.com

This is such a sexy outfit idea. It involves wearing the sweater vest with a min skirt of the same color pattern and materials.

You can find these two-piece knit outfits in almost any color. It’s OK to choose any length, but the one that looks timeless is the one with a knit vest crop top.

This outfit looks great with boots or sneakers. If you opt for the blue and white two-piece outfit, go for white sneakers. Try burgundy sneakers if you find a sweater vest and skirt two-piece outfit in black colors.

5. Wear a Turtleneck Sweater vest

turtleneck sweater vest

This idea is pretty similar to the one that involves styling it up with a dress. However, with this idea, you’re going for a turtleneck sweater vest as opposed to a V-necked or round-necked sweater vest.

Start by trying a white shirtdress and a beige or brown sweater vest. If you feel great in it, go ahead to face your world. Wear it with a white shirt and black pants if you don’t feel okay with the first outfit idea.

You can style it with white or black knee-high boots. If you opt for a pair of Capri trousers, you can wear them with some low-top sneakers.

6. Wear It in Black & White

black sweater vest, black pants, and white t-shirt, and sneakers
Source: Sydnestyle.com

Whether you want to wear it as a casual outfit or a workwear outfit, a black and white styling of the sweater vest will give you the fashionable look you crave for.

If want to wear it casually, try to wear a black sweater vest over a white t-shirt. Try choosing a pair of black Capri trousers and a pair of white low-top sneakers for the trousers and shoes.

To wear it as workwear, you can select a sleet white shirt and wear a black sleeveless sweater over it. You can go for a pair of trousers or a skirt proper for work. As for the shoes, wear heels and you’ll rock them at the office.

7. Sweater Vest Over a Blouse

sweater vest over a blouser
Source: glowingfem.com

Can you wear a sweater vest over a blouse? Big YES! A sleeveless sweater can be layered over some blouses.

The two most common way of styling up a sweater vest over a blouse involves pairing it with a skirt or trousers. With a skirt, you can wear it with a mini skirt and boots.

As for wearing it with trousers, try wearing it with Capri trousers and sneakers. However, some wear it with a pair of workwear trousers and leather shoes or boots. It also looks stunning and fashionable.

8. Sweater vest over Dress

The following interesting style is to put on a sweater vest over a dress. This is completely okay.

Feel free to try layering the sweater vest over a mini-dress. For example, you can wear a cropped sweater vest over a mini-shirt dress as discussed above. You can also wear the sleeveless sweater over a maxi dress.

For the shoes, you can wear knee-high boots if you’ve worn a sweater vest over a shirt dress. As for the maxi or midi non-bodycon dress, you can wear it with a pair of sneakers.

9. Dropped Shoulder Oversize

If you’re a huge fan of plus-size styles, you’ll love this sweater vest idea. You wear a dropped shoulder oversized sweater vest with other large outfits.

You can pair the sweater vest with a plus-size shirt and jeans. As for the shirt, the long sleeve works great with a plus-size sweater dress.

In terms of shoes, you can wear them with a pair of sneakers. Depending on the type of jeans you want, you can wear burgundy sneakers, white sneakers, black sneakers, or multicolored sneakers.

10. Over a Turtleneck Sweater

sweater vest with turtleneck
Source: Pinterest.com

If you want to wear the sweater vest in winter, wearing it over a turtleneck sweater is perfect. You’ll look elegant and feel warm in winter.

There are a few ways of styling a sweater vest with a turtleneck sweater. Mostly, this outfit is worn as formal wear. You can start with a black turtleneck sweater and a brown sweater vest with black and white check prints.

You can also try a one-color sweater vest. For example, you try the yellow V-neck sweater vest and cream turtleneck sweater. And you wear this outfit with pale yellow trousers.

As far as shoes go, you can wear black shoes and start work. You can also try wearing white sneakers especially if you opt for the first option, a black turtleneck sweater, and brown sweater vest.

11. Wear with Jeans and Over a T-shirt

darkblue sweater vest and jeans
Source: Pinterest.com

Can you wear a sweater vest with jeans? The answer is YES! You can wear it over a white t-shirt and with a pair of denim or cowboy jeans.

To create a wonderful casual outfit, wear a pair of jeans (striped or non-striped) with a blue or gray sleeveless sweater. Instead of the sweater vest flying around, you need to tuck it into the jeans to create a waist view.

Sneakers are the best footwear to pair with jeans outfits. Choose some low-top white sneakers and rock them with the sweater vest.

12. Checkered Sweater Vest and Skirt

a girl in checkered sweater vest, white skirt and ankle boots

This is among the most popular sweater vest outfit ideas. The outfit looks great for casual and workwear thanks to the elegance of the check print.

You can wear a checkered sweater vest with a medium or short skirt. Of various colors, a sweater vest with spots of black and white check prints looks particularly stylish.

13. With fishnets

sweater vests withfishnets
Source: Pinterest.com

It wouldn’t be fair to end this discussion without mentioning fishnet outfit ideas. You can style a sweater vest with fishnets.

The idea is pretty simple. You wear a black sweater vest with some patterns over a white shirt. And you put on some black fishnets under a mini skirt. You can also wear it with a white sweater vest and white fishnets.

As discussed in this post, fishnets can best be styled with sneakers and boots. If you go for white fishnets, put on white sneakers or boots. Step into black ankle boots, you’re wearing black fishnets.

FAQs about Sweater Vest Outfit Ideas

Here are some of the commonly asked questions about sweater vest outfit ideas.

Is Sweater Vests in Style Now?

Sweater vests may have gone out of trend in the past years. However, they’ve magically made it back into the trend in the 2020s.

As Hello Magazine notes, sweater vests are trending and should be your way of layering. Wearing a sleeveless sweater over a shirt, shirtdress, sweater or t-shirt is now more popular than ever.

So, learn how you can style this trendy outfit by reading the above 13 sweater vest styling outfit ideas. Bookmark this post to revisit it whenever you’re about to wear this sleeveless sweater.

Can You Wear a Sweater Vest with Nothing Under it?

Now that we’ve established that sweater vests are in style, anyone would be curious if this outfit can be worn in summer or on hot days.

The best way to wear a sweater vest in summer is to wear it without anything underneath. You can wear it without a t-shirt, blouse, or shirt to allow fresh air to circulate through your armpits.

In the lower parts of the body, you can wear a pair of jeans or leggings. FYI: you can wear it at home. If you want to get to run an errand or to an event, I wouldn’t recommend wearing it with anything under it. Select something suitable for the season.

Read: 21 Top Sexy Outfits for Women of 2022

Can You Wear a Sweater Vest with Jeans?

As discussed above, it’s proper to wear a sweater vest with jeans. If you want a casual style with this sleeveless sweater, try to wear it with a pair of denim or cowboy jeans. For the footwear, you can put on flat like white sneakers.

You can read in detail how to style a sweater vest with jeans.

What Shirt to Wear under a Sweater Dress?

Although you can wear a sweater vest over a sweater, wearing it over a shirt is more convenient. You can wear it with shirts of various colors and patterns. Of course, a white shirt is a go-to choice for many people thanks to its easiness to style with other outfits.

Final Words on How to Style a Sweater Vest

Sweater vests are outfits that can be worn by anyone regardless of age, gender, and body structure. However, this post is more geared toward the female demographic.

Whether you’re just a high school teenage girl, a young lady in her twenties and thirties, or a lady over her thirties, you need to know how to style a sweater vest with other outfits. This is the obvious reason that outfits get in and out of trend over time.

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I hope this post has provided you with the guide you needed to style a sleeveless sweater.

I wish you the best of luck!

Xoxo!

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