Inverallan fly the flag for small, independent hand knit specialists once again. End Clothing show some close-up shots, the best way to appreciate these garments. Originally made for Scottish fisherman, many of us are still in need of something warm in a Spring that won’t make up my mind. Aran knits are fantastic when executed properly, these are pretty much the best you can get. Crew necks, shawl collars, hats and scarves, find them over at End.

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A collaboration that recently landed on our doorstep, two labels we’re more than happy to see join forces. John Smedley has being creating fine knitwear for over 225 years so to say they’re experts in the field is a bit of an understatement. They’ve produced 3 styles with Comme des Garçons; a v-neck cardigan, a short-sleeved shirt and their standard ‘Dorset’ shirt, all with contrast stitching. Dyed in Japan, these New Zealand Merino wool creations are then milled in the UK, Derbyshire to be exact, the finished product available in 3 shades of blue; Azure, Midnight and Royal. Available at Dover Street Market and the John Smedley store in London.

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S.N.S Herning, sweater kings, knitwear barons, jumper overloads. These guys continue to make us happy with their wool creations. This winter collection includes some of their staple styles with a few additions of a slicker, more refined nature. S.N.S. Herning are the kind of sweaters that could be worn with a suit of snappy pair of shoes without any sideways looks. But it doesn’t matter whether you go rugged or formal with these guys, you win either way.

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Big bright cardigan action from Paul Smith. This isn’t a big bird kind of yellow. It’s not a weak post-it note kind of yellow. This is a smooth mustard yellow. Somewhere between Coleman’s and French’s. 100% cotton, heavy knit with two waist pockets and one chest, wood effect buttons and ribbed cuffs and hem. A substantial piece of knitwear . Find it at Goodhood.

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Do we have a special place in our hearts for basics and knitwear that go well beyond the normal found in modern day basics. Hells yes, we do. When it comes to sweatpants, crews, and undergarments, their quality, build and performance must be as outstanding as classic shirting and outerwear.

In the midst of all the high fashion and tailoring at Pitti, we discovered the Riding High label from Japan. Straight up: their collection of undergarments and crews were some of the best we’ve seen in some time. It is almost expect when you have a company that focuses solely on making the very best basics around. Check the grey cardigan, the stitching detail on collars and you’ll see why we’re excited to get our hand on Riding High this Autumn 2012.

Photography: Luca Merli/Selectism.com/Mensreverie.com

View more looks in our gallery…

We featured Ireland’s Inis Meáin a while back, experts in the ever popular Aran knitwear field. This V-neck is produced exclusively for Stockholm’s Nitty Gritty.

A merino wool and cashmere mix, soft as puppy covered in marshmallows, its ribbed cuffs, hem and general camel coloured goodness all made on the Aran Islands. While we generally lean more towards the crew neck we’d happily change our ways for this one.

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Designboom takes a look at Capetown’s Design Indaba Conference which invited “an international selection of recent design graduates to present their work in the form of Pecha Kucha. among this year’s delegates, was homegrown South African, Laduma Ngxokolo who shared his fashion collection which interprets Xhosa beadwork aesthetics into a range of men’s knitwear for Amakrwala.” Ngxokolo’s range of knit wear was made for the Xhosa’s traditional rite of passage from boyhood to manhood.

More looks after the click.

Here’s a look at Monsieur Lacenaire’s promo video for their debut collection.

One of the highlights from our trip to Copenhagen last week was new knitwear brand Monsieur Lacenaire. The designer Garance Broca, who worked at Hermes for three years, took her knowledge to make knitwear that’s classic and subtly subversive. Which means they’ve got knitted varsities’ (like the one you see above), cardigans with plackets that turn into scarves and other little twists that show off a slight edge in knitting know how. Made in the same factories she visited during her time in Hermes, the collection uses Alpaca (both regular and the baby kind) and Italian merino for the wools, making everything in France. Our favourite piece? Has to be that knitted varsity. You can expect to see them in Colette, among other stores, come next winter.

Not entirely sure how Freeman Sporting Club’s Cowichan Cardigan has slipped our attention. The sweater is knit completely in midtown Manhattan (yes, garmento land is not just for shirts and ties), and the whole process was neatly written up on the firms own blog by the talented Mr. Coggins.

His words, wise as they are, are available here. Our added two cents… that’s to highlight our joy in finding a new layer to this “Heritage” tale. FSC has worked with Stoll, a German builder of weaving machines, to produce the sweaters. Once simple a machine showroom, Stoll’s NYC base has become a production center. A subtle shift, but one that ensures (to a degree) that traditions are continued.

It is especially nice to find that the pockets are knitted into the body… no sewn on extras here. The wool for these heavy shawl-collared sweaters is 100% Shetland lambswool, sourced from an old, respected vendor. In sum total, the cardi fits the “made local, buy local” ethos if FSC, even in “buy local” is currently extending to ones nearest web access.

Process pictures for the Cowichan Cardigan follow.