Mister Rogers' Cardigans

When we hear the song "Won't You Be My Neighbor?" there are very few of us that don't drift back into the caverns of our memory to find Mister Rogers slipping on his house shoes and a zippered cardigan sweater invariably of some earthy tone.

The knit cardigan sweater had a certain crusty charm for us viewers who with one glance at this homey garment knew it was time to kick back and let a soft-spoken older patriarch teach us a thing or two about friendship and good company.

Mister Rogers's gentle mark on American culture was so profound that one of these cardigan sweaters is displayed at the Smithsonian Institution.