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It wasn’t long ago that even the best men's zip-up sweaters were the uniform of retired dads and billionaire dweebs—untouchable, unfashionable knitwear. Whether it’s our resignation to the inevitability of old age, an adroit move to pass as a benefactor of generational wealth, or simply a cultural mining for the next thing, zip sweaters are cool now. Yes, the zippy sweater that categorically lame finance guys wear over non-iron button-ups and slim slacks has infiltrated the zeitgeist and been proselytized to oblivion on menswear TikTok. Swaggy dudes have seen the style possibilities of the fussy knit, how it can be fashioned and layered in a multitude of ways. Brands like Mfpen, who have made a thing of subverting corporate uniforms, are using the fuddy-duddy layer to cut through the noise of glitzy high fashion and brash streetwear. Household names like J.Crew and L.L.Bean, who’ve been producing zip-up sweaters forever, are finding newer, younger customers gorging on them—if they haven’t stolen them from their dads first. Now that we’re firmly in sweater weather, it’s the perfect time to get experimental with your knits. Quarter-zips and full-zips alike have an inherent sporty-ness about them with their zip hardware and turtleneck/track jacket silhouette. In that sense, they’re a sort of hybrid that can transpose to different style tribes smoothly, from prep to punk to gorp and more. Plop it over some baggy cords and an Oxford shirt for to look like you just got out of a philosophy lecture. Or layer it under a trucker jacket and over a pair of flared jeans for a ‘70s spin. Synced up with some baggy cargo pants and slick sporty shades and you’re in your club kid era. The point is, the zip sweater isn’t just cool, but it’s worthy of space in every dude’s closet. So here are a handful of the best men's zip-up sweaters to jump into right now. Perhaps the most sophisticated and platonically ideal version of the zip-up sweater on this list, COS's merino wool version features a two-way zip, a versatile straight fit, and classy deep black colorway. It’s made entirely of luxuriously smooth merino wool—a pleasant surprise given the solid price tag. The addition of a two-way zipper might seem small, but it opens up more styling possibilities that we here at GQ can’t appreciate enough. Wear it over a clean, relaxed white dress shirt and pleated trousers to tap into a corporate-core moment or zip it up to the top and layer it under a bomber jacket and vintage jeans for a sporty riff on rugged americana. We’re bummed that it doesn’t come in any other colors, but black is versatile enough to overlook that gripe. 100% Merino wool Regular fit Uniqlo's deliciously-named souffle yarn half-zip sweaters are ultra fluffy and feel way more luxurious than the price tag would lead you to believe. It’s almost like a brushed mohair or alpaca, which is great for adding some texture to any lacking outfit. They come in a handful of versatile colorways and are cut in a relaxed fit that’s primed for layering. Be warned, though. Uniqlo’s budget-friendly option makes it easy to add a few different colorways into your shopping cart. 67% Polyester, 25% Acrylic, 8% Wool Regular fit Lofty, luscious merino wool in a lovely shade of olive green? Something about this makes us want a dirty martini. Todd Snyder’s slate of knitwear has evolved in recent seasons from a whirlwind of midcentury prints and patterns to a calm, collected stable of minimalist designs, each with the same great knack for construction, materials, and fit. These merino wool quarter-zips are the perfect example. The wool is supremely soft and luxuriously silky, plus the contrasting knits from between the torso and the saddle shoulder sleeves is a subtle, yet distinguishing feature. It’s cut into a tastefully tailored fit that can look dapper tucked into some high-waisted pleated trousers, or untucked with a plain white tee peaking out from underneath, paired over some baggy cargo pants. 100% Merino Wool Quarter-zip Zip-up sweaters can take a million different forms and some of the coolest iterations are coming from Copenhagen’s Mfpen. The label has been harping on tropes of corporate uniforms and giving them an edge. While this cable-knit, collarless version of the zip-up sweater isn’t what you’d normally think of, it’s one that you won’t stop dreaming about. It’s made of a 100% wool and features a relaxed fit for maximum layering options, and the crew-style neck is the perfect frame for collared shirts or even hoodies. But don’t be caught off guard if all of a sudden the hip geriatrics in your vicinity try to steal it off your back. Relaxed fit The legendary knitwear label Inis Meáin knows how to make a damned good sweater. After all, they’ve been doing knits for fifty years. Crafted by skilled artisans on the isle after which the company gets its name, each piece is produced in small batches and finished by hand. This indulgent blend of wool and linen gives its zip-up a gorgeous texture you're not likely to see anywhere else and feels both rustic and refined. Paired with some vintage jeans and canvas sneakers or crisply pressed slacks and polished derbies, it’s well-suited for any stylish situation. 75% wool, 25% linen Regular fit Style is subjective, we know—that’s the fun of it. But we’re serious about helping our audience get dressed. Whether it’s the best white sneakers, the flyest affordable suits, or the need-to-know menswear drops of the week, GQ Recommends’ perspective is built on years of hands-on experience, an insider awareness of what’s in and what’s next, and a mission to find the best version of everything out there, at every price point. Our staffers aren’t able to try on every single piece of clothing you read about on GQ.com (fashion moves fast these days), but we have an intimate knowledge of each brand’s strengths and know the hallmarks of quality clothing—from materials and sourcing, to craftsmanship, to sustainability efforts that aren’t just greenwashing. GQ Recommends heavily emphasizes our own editorial experience with those brands, how they make their clothes, and how those clothes have been reviewed by customers. Bottom line: GQ wouldn’t tell you to wear it if we wouldn’t. We make every effort to cast as wide of a net as possible, with an eye on identifying the best options across three key categories: quality, fit, and price. To kick off the process, we enlist the GQ Recommends braintrust to vote on our contenders. Some of the folks involved have worked in retail, slinging clothes to the masses; others have toiled for small-batch menswear labels; all spend way too much time thinking about what hangs in their closets. We lean on that collective experience to guide our search, culling a mix of household names, indie favorites, and the artisanal imprints on the bleeding-edge of the genre. Then we narrow down the assortment to the picks that scored the highest across quality, fit, and price. Across the majority of our buying guides, our team boasts firsthand experience with the bulk of our selects, but a handful are totally new to us. So after several months of intense debate, we tally the votes, collate the anecdotal evidence, and emerge with a list of what we believe to be the absolute best of the category right now, from the tried-and-true stalwarts to the modern disruptors, the affordable beaters to the wildly expensive (but wildly worth-it) designer riffs. Whatever your preferences, whatever your style, there's bound to be a superlative version on this list for you. (Read more about GQ's testing process here.)
