Collared shirts made of wool?

[Zeph]

Any suggestions on brands or models of collared shirts made of wool?

 

Backstory:

Some years ago a colleague told me about the wonders of t-shirts made of wool. I’d always worn cotton for daily shirts and polyester for golf, working out and other activities.

 

After trying thin shirts made of wool (often merino), I was sold. I’d always thought of wool as way too warm and something I wear during winter. That’s still true, but thin shirts (and jackets) work all year around.

 

The genius of wool is that it allows air and humidity out. It’s not “intelligent”, doesn’t “breathe” or “transport moisture out” as they advertise, but it doesn’t shut it in and soak up sweat like cotton. I now wear wool 99.99% of the time, even in 30 C/86 F and scorching sun.

 

I play golf in wool t-shirts, but would also like to have some collared shirts.

[bellken]

Icebreaker makes one. Wooly is another.

Edited May 12 by bellken

[AzRoger]

What's the maintenance like with these wool shirts? With polyester you can pretty much wash and dry it in any condition and it comes out looking good. With the wool sweaters I've owned the recommendation was always to hand wash them, they can shrink a lot if you're not careful.

[BYK]

interesting

what are the best wool shirts you've found for hot weather?

[JMH1220]

Smartwool? Icebreaker?  Only used for running

[MattM97]

I just searched on Google "Wool Polo Shirts" and these brands came up:

 

- Wool & Prince

- Icebreaker

- Unbound Merino

- Reiss

- Smartwool

- MerinoTech (Affordable)

- Paul James Knitwear (Expensive)

- Johnstons of Elgin (Ultra Expensive)

- Western Rise

 

Just some but there are a lot just have to search google.

[ChaosTheory]

I saw a guy promoting Unbound in a travel video.  They looked promising.

Edited May 13 by ChaosTheory

[Zeph]

15 hours ago, AzRoger said:

What's the maintenance like with these wool shirts? With polyester you can pretty much wash and dry it in any condition and it comes out looking good. With the wool sweaters I've owned the recommendation was always to hand wash them, they can shrink a lot if you're not careful.

It’s possible to shrink and deform, but the risk is often exaggerated. I wash them almost like any other clothes. They can handle 60 C/140 F (and higher) washing temperature and 1600+ rpm spin cycle. I normally use 40 C/104 F and 1600 rpm. The difference is that I use a detergent intended for wool. My clothes has even gone through the dryer unscathed, though I would not recommend putting them in one unless the label says it’s fine. Wool dry up quickly after a wash with a high speed spin cycle for the same reasons it let’s sweat out. Using lower rpm spin cycle or washing by hand means they are very wet and can lose shape if hung up. I hang up all my wool with no trouble.

 

I would not wash by hand. The worst thing you can do to wool is wringing it and exerting force on it when it’s wet. When spinning in the washing machine, it’s just stuck to the inside going around.

 

Depending on the use, how much you sweat, body odor etc. they can also be worn for longer before washing. I’ve used some t-shirts for several months without washing them. I hang them out in fresh air every now and then. During summer with more swear, sunscren etc. I wash them more often, but still way less than cotton.

 

The main downside with wool for me is durability and wear. They wear faster than other fabric and are easier to puncture holes in, that more easily expand to larger holes. This is especially true for very thin shirts, but also thicker sweaters or jackets. I very rarely buy clothes and want my things to last a long time, so it’s not ideal, but the upside far outweigh that issue for me. My wife has patched up some holes in my clothes.

 

13 hours ago, BYK said:

interesting

what are the best wool shirts you've found for hot weather?

 

I live in Norway where we got a few several producers of wool clothing, so Devold is the one I’m most familiar with. What I find is that how tightly they are vowen makes a difference. The more tightly vowen, and higher micron fiber size, the worse job they do of letting sweat out. They still do, much better than cotton, but when it’s really hot I like shirts that are very thin and you can see through if held up to light.

 

I have a pretty narrow comfort zone. Around 15 C/60 F is perfect. During winter I have to take off jackets and even sweaters when entering a store to avoid becoming too warm. It’s currently 25 C/77 F and sunny, which is warmer than what I prefer, but wearing wool makes it a lot better.