A quarter-zip jumper sits between a crew neck and a jacket. Zipped up, it looks neat enough for the office; open over a tee, it is relaxed enough for the weekend. Below are seven quarter-zip outfits for men, each built from pieces in the WARDLEY range, plus a quick guide to the quarter-zips we make, plus one half-zip, and how they fit.
The WARDLEY quarter-zips — plus one half-zip
- Belgrave Men's Quarter-Zip Jumper - Slim Ribbed (£59.00): a plain ribbed knit with a stand collar, cut close through the body. Oat, Light Grey, Charcoal, Navy, Black and Tobacco. Between sizes, size up.
- Highbury Men's Fair Isle Quarter-Zip Jumper - Nordic Knit: a cable-knit body with a Nordic Fair Isle band across the chest and a metal quarter-zip. Regular fit in Ecru / Navy, Charcoal, Camel, Navy / Forest and Denim / Chocolate. The Highbury is true to size; if you are between sizes, size up for layering or a more relaxed fit, or down for a closer fit.
- Blackheath Men's Lightweight Quarter-Zip Knit Top (£59.00): a mid-weight knit with a stand collar and a contrast inner collar. Regular fit in Navy, Black, Camel and Light Grey. Between sizes, size up for a relaxed fit.
- Gower Men's Marl Half-Zip Jumper (£59.00): a marl textured knit with a stand collar and a half-zip rather than a quarter-zip, with a warm lining. Regular fit in Light Grey, Charcoal and Petrol, sizes S–XL. Between sizes, size up for a relaxed fit.
The Belgrave and Highbury list flat chest measurements on their product pages; compare them with a jumper you already own. See the size guide for more help.
7 quarter-zip outfits for men
1. Office: Belgrave, shirt and smart trousers
Wear a Navy Belgrave zipped over the Moorgate Men's Stretch Non-Iron Shirt (£49.00) in White, with the Bank Men's Stretch Smart Trousers (£59.00) in Charcoal. Add suede-look loafers from your wardrobe. Keep the shirt collar tucked inside the stand collar for a neat neckline.
2. Weekend: charcoal quarter-zip, tee and jeans
Wear a Charcoal Belgrave or Blackheath half-zipped over the Essential Men's Heavyweight Boxy Fit T-Shirt (£36.00) in White. Add the Shoreditch Men's Straight Leg Stretch Jeans (£59.00) in Indigo and clean low-top trainers. Simple, and it works almost anywhere on a Saturday.
3. Winter texture: Highbury and chinos
The Highbury's Fair Isle band gives more texture than a plain quarter-zip without looking like a novelty Christmas jumper. Wear it in Ecru / Navy with the Putney Men's Slim Tapered Chino Trousers (£59.00) in Navy or Stone. Because the knit is patterned, keep the trousers and shoes plain. For more ideas, read our Fair Isle jumper guide.
4. The commute: quarter-zip under an overcoat
Zip a Black or Charcoal Belgrave to the top and wear the Hampstead Men's Longline Overcoat over it, with dark trousers. The stand collar fills the neckline under the coat, and the Hampstead is cut long and fully lined to go over knitwear.
5. Layered: quarter-zip and gilet
On crisp days, wear the Hyde Men's Quilted Gilet - Lightweight (£59.00) over a Light Grey Blackheath. The gilet adds core warmth without restricting your arms. Size up in the Hyde if you plan to wear it over chunky knitwear.
6. Smart-casual: quarter-zip and pleated trousers
A close-fitting Belgrave balances a wide leg. Try Oat or Navy with the Mortlake Men's Wide Leg Pleated Trousers (£59.00) in Stone or Charcoal, plus loafers. See our guide to wearing pleated trousers.
7. Off duty: quarter-zip and a bomber
Wear a Camel Blackheath under the Fulham Men's Quilted Bomber Jacket (£149.00), with Black Shoreditch jeans and trainers. The bomber is a regular fit that sits at the hip; between sizes, take the larger size.
Three rules for any quarter-zip
- Skip the tie. The zip collar does the job a tie would.
- Mind the collar. Open or closed, keep the stand collar sitting flat and neat.
- Let one piece lead. With a patterned knit like the Highbury, keep the rest plain. With a plain Belgrave, the trousers or shoes can carry more interest.
Wearing a quarter-zip without the finance-bro look
The quarter-zip carries baggage: a decade as the unofficial uniform of the corporate offsite. The association is specific — a smooth, navy, logo-embroidered quarter-zip over a tucked-in business shirt, worn with chinos and office shoes. Strip away the corporate styling, though, and what remains is an excellent design: a collar that frames the neck, a zip that adjusts ventilation and formality, and a silhouette that works under coats and over tees alike. The garment was never the problem — the styling was. The rules, condensed:
- Swap the shirt for a T-shirt or polo. The single biggest upgrade. A plain crew-neck tee reads relaxed and current; a polo splits the difference. The tucked-in business shirt is the look to leave behind.
- Go relaxed on the bottom half. Dark jeans, relaxed chinos or cargo trousers pull the quarter-zip into casual territory. A refined knit against an easy trouser looks chosen rather than issued.
- Let the zip do the work. Fully up, the stand collar sharpens the outfit; dropped a few inches, it relaxes everything. Half-measures look indecisive — commit to one or the other.
- Choose texture over corporate smoothness. A cable knit, a jacquard pattern, a visible knit structure. Our Highbury Nordic quarter-zip is cut in a Nordic jacquard knit with a metal zip: knitwear first, uniform never.
- Keep one shirt combination only. An open-collar Oxford, untucked, sleeves as they come. No tie, no tuck, no cufflinks — anything more formal drags the outfit back to the boardroom.
- Footwear: trainers and boots, not office shoes. Clean trainers or suede boots keep the outfit in the present; polished Oxfords push it back toward corporate.
- Fit: relaxed, not boxy, not sprayed-on. Shoulder seams at the shoulder, a body that skims without clinging, sleeves ending at the wrist.
What to wear under a quarter-zip, ranked
What sits under a quarter-zip matters more than most men realise: the neckline frames whatever is beneath it, so the underpinning sets the tone of the whole outfit. Ranked from the most reliable option down:
- A plain crew-neck T-shirt. White, navy, grey or black — the default that never fails. It never competes with the knit and looks right with the zip at any height.
- An open-collar Oxford shirt. The smart option, for settings that need a half-step up: collar open, untucked. Tucked and buttoned-up is a different outfit entirely.
- A polo, worn buttoned up. The collar peeks out just enough to add structure at the neck — smarter than the tee, easier than the shirt.
- A fine roll-neck, for deep winter. One of the warmest combinations you can wear without a coat. Keep it fine-gauge; anything chunky bunches at the collar and ruins the line. Navy under charcoal, charcoal under navy, ecru under olive.
- A Breton stripe. If the quarter-zip is plain, a stripe underneath adds interest without effort. One pattern at a time, though — a striped tee under a patterned knit is a fight nobody wins.
What to avoid: the tucked-in business shirt with a tie. It reads as office dress-down, not style — if the occasion needs a tie, it needs a proper jacket instead. Two fabric and colour rules cover the rest: the underpinning should be lighter in weight than the knit (heavy fabrics bunch at the collar and show through fine knits), and colours stay quiet — white, navy, grey, ecru, olive. The quarter-zip is the statement; what sits beneath it is the support act.
Frequently asked questions
Should a quarter-zip be zipped up or open?
Both work. Zipped up looks neater under a coat or over a shirt; half-open over a tee looks more relaxed.
What do you wear under a quarter-zip?
A plain tee for the weekend or a shirt for the office. For more ideas, see what to wear under a quarter-zip.
How is the Belgrave different from the Highbury?
The Belgrave is a plain, slim ribbed knit in six colours. The Highbury has a Nordic Fair Isle chest band, a cable-knit body and a regular fit.
Shop all men's quarter-zip jumpers or browse men's knitwear.
From the Journal: Men’s quarter-zip jumpers — the UK buying guide
Packing light: the weekend version
For a winter weekend away, you do not need an outfit per day — you need one knit with range. See one knit for the whole weekend, built around the Highbury Fair Isle quarter-zip: three ways to wear the same jumper across a whole trip, with its garment measurements checked before you pack.
The workday version, question by question
Several of the office looks above rest on a plain zip-neck rather than a patterned one. Our Belgrave quarter-zip questions answered covers the fit, sizing and colours behind that choice, and the Belgrave quarter-zip jumper (£59.00) is the plain ribbed version used here.
