The cardigan has an image problem that comes entirely from bad proportions. Too boxy and it swamps you. Too fitted and it looks like you borrowed it from a smaller man. The relaxed cardigan sits in a specific middle ground that a lot of brands talk about and very few actually nail. What we’re looking for is a shoulder seam that lands right, a body length that works untucked over a collar or layered under a jacket, and enough ease through the chest that you can actually move. The yarn matters too. Something with real weight that doesn’t pill after three wears and doesn’t lose its shape by February. We’ve been through a lot of cardigans that photograph well and wear badly. The ones here do neither of those things. They’re the kind of piece you reach for without thinking, which is the whole point. A well fitting relaxed cardigan is harder to find than it should be. These are the ones worth finding.