This year, women of all sizes and ages can be sweater girls, in chunky knit cardigan coats that are hefty enough to balance out the season's hoof-like heels and weighty bags. In rich neutrals with texture galore, the fall crop of woolly wonders is replete with colossal collars, goregous buttons and all manner of belts. Tie one on.

1. White + Warren’s Orient Express coat combines heavy-gauge cashmere with intricate hand-sewn embroidery and closes with giant whipstitched snaps.( (in black or brown, $790 at www.whiteandwarren.com).

2. A black bouclé wool cardigan by Goat stands out with its eye-catching oversize irregularly shaped horn buttons and flap pockets; its celebrity following includes Nicole Kidman and Sienna Miller ($798 at Searle stores).

3. Alice + Olivia’s superthick wool sweater coat has a black-and-white chevron pattern and a hook closure ($440 at Alice + Olivia in New York, 212-840-0887).

4. Tibi’s sunny yellow wool cardigan jacket has a tie-neck, three-quarter-length sleeves and a retro 50’s-style appeal ($282 at Tibi in New York, 212-226-5852).

5. Autumn Cashmere’s soft cashmere bouclé sweater coat is half the price of most of its cashmere counterparts; look for gorgeous horn toggles (in brown, black or gray, $414 at Gatsbys in Great Barrington, Mass., 413-528-9455).

6. A belted middleweight cashmere cardigan in an intense blue-gray called carbon. By Inhabit, it looks sharp with an asymmetrical fold-over flap collar ($595 at www.ronherman.com).

7. A cream-colored wool cardigan coat with a cowl neck, part of the new McQ line by Alexander McQueen, is adorned with intarsia skulls and has a primitive longhorn steer’s head on the back. The effect is oddly spooky yet snuggly ($845 at Saks Fifth Avenue stores).

8. A plummy mohair cardigan coat by DKNY is extra-long for maximum coverage, coziness — and drama ($495 at DKNY stores).

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/15/fashion/15pulse.html?_r=1&ref=fashion&oref=slogin