What does “sweater weather” mean in American English?
How To Hand Wash Wool And Cashmere Sweaters
A2 English listening practice · American English · Picked for people who know a little
Sweater weather is the American (and Canadian) phrase for the early-fall stretch when temperatures drop into the 50s and 60s Fahrenheit (about 10-18°C) and a light knit feels just right. The phrase moved from casual speech into pop culture with The Neighbourhood’s 2012 indie song Sweater Weather, which charted globally and spent years on American playlists. Now Americans use sweater weather to mark the start of fall, the first cool morning, and the moment to pull sweaters out of storage. British English would say jumper weather, but the phrase is much rarer there.
In this clip, a New Yorker pulls out merino-wool sweaters and announces, “It’s about to be sweater weather here in New York.”
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Source: wordfreq 3.1.1 (general) · SUBTLEX-US 2012 (spoken). These numbers are close, not perfect.
- ▸In American fall-and-October content on TikTok and YouTube
- ▸In American clothing-brand fall ads (J.Crew, Madewell, L.L. Bean)
- ▸In American Pumpkin Spice Latte and Halloween marketing
- ▸In American sitcoms with autumn episodes (Gilmore Girls, New Girl)
- ▸In American weather-forecast banter on local news