The Style Maven: Aran knits

With a name like Finnigan it would be a crime for me not to have at least one Aran knit in the wardrobe. Actually, I have two. My daughter has three - one for every winter of her life so far. My husband is yet to be persuaded but we're working on him. These are genuine Irish garments, mind. Not quite hand-knitted by a fisherman's wife from the Aran Islands (where the famous cable-knit styles originated in the early 20th century as a means for the island women to make some cash) so I can't be too cocky, but they were produced and purchased in Ireland, which adds a certain whatever the Gaelic is for je ne sais quoi - for me, anyway.

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However, you don't need to go as far as Ireland or Aran for a jumper this season as Aran has come to fashion. The things are all over the place. Plenty in the traditional báinín (pronounced 'baw neen') colour - try APC, Michael Kors and Asos - and even more in brights (Crumpet's orange is nice). Stella McCartney has produced cable-knit jumper dresses that are both curvy and cosy, while Derek Lam's black fisherman's sweater is the perfect Christmas gift for the sexy beatnik girl.

Given the beleagured state of the Irish economy right now it seems rotten to be directing you to designers who don't work in Ireland. JW Anderson, current darling of the London fashion scene who has done directional cable knits in black, cream and red, was at least born in Northern Ireland but his knits are, erm, made in England. If you want to support Aran's country of origin there are good commercial websites selling the genuine article.

Many are directed at the US market - Americans have been mad about Arans since 1961 when the Irish folk band the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem performed in them on The Ed Sullivan Show - but you can usually buy in pounds. And not many of them. At blarney.com traditional sweaters are around £80.

At the Aran Sweater Market ( aransweatermarket.com ), which has stores all over the west of Ireland including one on Inis Mór, you can find your 'clan's' very own cable-knit pattern for about £120. No Finnigan, though. My clan's in uproar.

From left: Mohair-blend, £925, by Christopher Kane, net-a-porter.com , Wool, £248, by APC apc.fr , Wool, £53.16, by Aran Sweater Market aransweatermarket.com