Emilia Fox’s signature style in Silent Witness season 28 was all about knitted vests - so now we're shopping them

Emilia Fox definitely had a signature style in Silent Witness season 28 and we’ve been inspired by her most-worn item - knitted vests.

Anyone who’s been a fan of Silent Witness for as long as we have will also have noticed Emilia Fox’s style as Dr Nikki Alexander subtly evolve since she first joined the drama. However, particularly in recent seasons there have been some must-haves in the actor’s Nikki wardrobe - florals, blue jeans and midi dresses. In the latest season the pathologist stepped out in so many enviable outfits as she threw herself into some complex cases and we loved Emilia Fox’s red floral blouse. If we had to pick one item that summed up Emilia’s signature Silent Witness season 28 style, though, it is hands-down the knitted vest and we love this staple for spring.

She wore different vests throughout season 28, including a beautiful green striped one from one of the best British clothing brands, ME+EM. Emilia wore this in early-released pictures of Nikki in the new season as well as in episode 2 and episode 6.

Shop Knitted Vests

Crafted from luxurious cashmere, Emilia’s ME+EM vest is currently almost sold out - and we can see why! It’s slightly cropped and has a blend of khaki, green and charcoal shades which create a striped, camo-style pattern. It has vents at the side and in a practical twist it also comes with a button-in snood that can be removed to leave a classic crew neckline.

In episode 2 of Silent Witness season 28, Exodus 20:17 Part 2, Nikki wore the snood attached to give her outfit extra cosiness. In episode 6, Broken Part 2, Emilia Fox styled her knitted vest with navy blue pinstriped trousers with a wide leg silhouette and a crisp white shirt. She tucked the collar over the vest and left it unbuttoned at the top to soften the look and make it more relaxed.

The combination of the grey, blue and green is something of a favourite of hers and on the many other occasions we saw Nikki in a knitted vest in Silent Witness season 28 they tended to be blue or green. In the opening episode of the series the pathologist wore an emerald green vest with baby blue piping around the arm holes and neckline.

Once again, Emilia’s character styled the vest with a white shirt and tailored trousers and it was the same in episode 5. She wore a plain blue knitted vest with a round neckline here, but in episode 2 she switched things up and wore a Fair Isle-style green, blue and burgundy vest with casual blue jeans. Although the actor tended to style her knitted vests in similar ways throughout the new season, she showed what a staple they can be and they’re remarkably versatile too.

When the weather gets warm enough that you don’t want to wear your best cashmere jumpers all the time, but it’s too cold to go without knitwear, a knitted vest is perfect. You can throw them over shirts, blouses and even dresses to mix things up. Different necklines will give you a slightly different feel and plain knitted vests in a colour that works for your wardrobe can effortlessly be added into your everyday looks.

In Silent Witness, Nikki Alexander was always dressing on the smarter side for work but with a long sleeved T-shirt underneath a knitted vest would naturally look more casual. As a layering piece, knitted vests are hard to beat and as we count down the days until another season of Silent Witness airs, we’ll be putting some Emilia Fox-inspired outfits together for spring.