Do Icelanders think it's cool to wear a lopapeysa sweater out in public?

We’re glad our readers are asking the important questions. Let’s start at the beginning:

What’s a lopapeysa sweater?

Lopapeysa is a knitted garment made from wool yarn. For it to be an authentic lopapeysa, of course it needs to be made with Icelandic wool yarn. The look of the sweaters is always similar but the patterns and styles are very different from each other. Some are made with coarse yarn, others are more like cardigans, made with lighter weight yarn. But what most of them have in common is the fun pattern on the top part of the sweater. Popular motifs are horses, flowers and zig-zag patterns, but some of the more edgy ones have skulls, volcanoes etc.

Who wears lopapeysa?

Pretty much everyone. Babies, children, adults from all walks of life, cats and dogs. We haven’t seen any sheep wearing lopapeysa, but that would just be wrong anyway.

When should a lopapeysa be worn?

Here’s a list of socially acceptable lopapeysa situations:

·         If you’re going camping

·         If you’re a farmer

·         If you’re visiting a farmer

·         If you’re going to a festival

·         If you’re going outside during winter, autumn, spring or summer

·         If it’s Christmas and your mom made you an ugly Christmas lopapeysa

·         If you’re feeling cold at work

·         If you’re in your summer cabin

·         If you’re rowing a boat

·         If you’re fishing

And finally, what you all want to know:

Do Icelanders think it’s cool to wear a lopapeysa?

Like with any kind of fashion, some think it’s cool, some don’t. It’s considered a very normal thing to wear a lopapeysa in Iceland. Brides sometimes even knit their own lopapeysa to wear over their wedding gown. So yes, you can go out in public in yours and nobody will care. But it’s not usually a fashion statement, simply a convenient thing to wear outside in the cold, Icelandic weather.