You may remember the wool of the 50s-60s as I do. Heavy, warm, and oh-so itchy! Well, my current wool clothes sure aren’t those. As they say, things have come a long way! Merino wool is in – big time – and I’ve joined the band.
Merino Wool is naturally able to absorb and release moisture. As wool absorbs moisture from the atmosphere a chemical process in the wool releases heat, warming the wearer. In cold weather the crimp in wool fibers creates tiny pockets of trapped warm air that act as insulators, holding in heat next to the body. And unlike other fabrics wool retains much of its insulating properties when wet, a lifesaving feature in some scenarios. This same process has a cooling effect in warm weather, as wool releases moisture it absorbs heat from the wearer and traps cool air next to the skin. As wool pulls moisture away from your skin to evaporate you feel cool and dry even in hot weather.
Woolx
In my search for clothes and other items for our two month vacation next fall (3 cruises, multiple countries, stays in Barcelona-Rome-Edinburgh, I came across several sites that intrigued me. Wool&, Woolx and Allbirds.
Roughly 57% of footwear and 64% of apparel is made from synthetic materials. The problem with synthetic materials? They’re made from plastics. Plastics come from oil. And oil is a fossil fuel that’s accelerating climate change. What’s even weirder about the link between fashion and fossil fuels is that these materials weren’t widely used in our industry until the 1980s. But we’ve quickly become dependent on them. The reliance on fossil fuels is accelerating climate change, creating negative impacts on waste, biodiversity, and more. Which is why we need to transition back to renewable, natural materials.
Allbirds
Intrigued, I hit up Poshmark to see what I might find to try out merino wool and see what all the hype was about. I mean, who wouldn’t want wicking when hot, warm when cold, non-odor keeping, don’t need to wash every wearing clothes? So, fast-forward several months and I am well on my way to purging my closet of 1) things I rarely wear and 2) things that don’t fit the colors in my capsule wardrobe. Am I done? Not yet…but getting there.
Great day wearing wool. Wool& Everett tunic, Woolx petite Stella leggings, Allbirds Wool Runner shoes.
#allbirds #wooland #woolx #ad @allbirds @woolxwool @wool.and
Now I am participating in Wool&’s 100 Day Dress Challenge (see my posts/images HERE) and trying to stop my addiction to Allbirds lovely wool shoes. I have five pairs..or is it six…no five…LOL! I have high tops Wool Runners as well as low, and Mizzles (water-repellent) as well as regular. In fact, I love them so much, I joined their affiliate program. And that means YOU gain.
Click my link, buy shoes or apparel & add socks to your order. Offer applies automatically at checkout if socks are added to your cart.
Offer valid while supplies last.
But I couldn’t stop there, my favorite t-shirts have come from Woolx as well as my favorite winter leggings (they come in petite!!!). So I joined them as well. I hope you will consider using my link when visiting their site. Oh, and once my 100 Day Challenge is done with Wool&, I hope to join their affiliate program as well.
My husband has joined in as well. He loves his merino polo shirts and wore them several days on our recent cruise. We’ve added merino sweaters, socks, and base layers to his wardrobe (he hates being cold) as well as a nice cardigan. Not a total convert (he’s really hard on clothes and good merino items aren’t inexpensive), but I’m impressed that he’s jumped on the bandwagon. Okay, he’s put a foot on the bandwagon.
How to start? Try it like I did. To keep the initial costs low check out eBay, Poshmark, Mercari, and even Amazon. Of course Amazon wins the returns battle. With the other sites, you would have to resell. Always check out the percentage of wool. Anything less than 40% won’t give you the full benefit of the advantages of wool.
Thank you.