WoolWeenies Club

[Triskeliongirl]

So, Lisa how was the sizing on the ribbed shirt? Do you have your standard medium? Is it dressy enough to wear by itself or only as an undershirt? I was definitely a small in the Kate and it even fits a tad loose but it is described as semi-fit whereas the ribbed shirt is described as fitted. I noticed this after I ordered, I hope the small is OK. My problem is that while I have a slender waist and hips, I have serious boobage (34D), but if the ribs stretch without pulling I'll be fine. I probably should have waited till morning and phoned the order in so I could chat with them about it. I just thought if I made the damn order already I could get wool off my mind and get back to work.

This wool thing is driving me crazy. WHO KNEW? This is not the same wool I tried to wear 20 years ago. In fact I am sitting here now in a 20 year wool sweater that is fine with a wool base, but itches me with a silk base. WHO KNEW? I even made a post on this thread a year ago that I was allergic to wool. Now I feel bad that I spent all that money on cotton stuff that won't keep me warm. It doesn't help that we are in the middle of our coldest days ever stuff (lows in the 30s). I actually think that its worse for me since my house lacks central heating, than being in a place where its cold all the time but at least the interiors are properly heated.

[Triskeliongirl]

OK, woolweenies. I need your help to choose one outerlayer to bring on my trip up north in early february. I don't want to buy another coat for what is a once a year trip for me so these are my choices:

1. My daughter thinks I should bring what I call my big puffy coat. Its one of those coats that covers me from head to toe, waterproof nylon on the outside, stuffed with some man made stuffing, and has a huge furry hood. Yeh, its hideous looking and several sizes too big on me (I bought it 35 lbs ago in a rush to wear to my mothers funeral.....) but I remember being toasty warm in it burying my mom in a blizzard. If its way too big do I have to worry about all that air in there, or will it all just get heated up by my body and work great, even if I look like an elephant in it. DD thinks this is the one cuz she worries I'll get sick easily from the drastic change in temperature like she did upon returning to school from the holidays.

2. I was thinking to bring a heavy leather jacket, with the zip out lining zipped in. This comes maybe mid-hip in length. Looks the sharpest and is what I wear here in our 30-40 degree days, only a little big but good for accepting layers. My daughter worries it won't be good if it rains or snows.

3. I have a ski jacket, synthetic and insulated, very cute looking, but again on the short side (maybe even shorter than the leather jacket in terms of the insulated portion, cuz its designed to wear over ski pants and no hood), but at least can handle wet weather. This is probably the best compromise between style and warmth. It does fit me cuz I bought it 20 years ago, pre-children.

4. I have a Columbia 3 in one jacket (ski type shell with zip out fleece jacket), just covers my hips and butt, has a hood, only a little bit on the big side, but also very puffy looking.

5. I have a WOOL dress coat, 3/4 length, but fairly open in front and also several sizes too big for me.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

So, Lisa how was the sizing on the ribbed shirt? Do you have your standard medium? Is it dressy enough to wear by itself or only as an undershirt? I was definitely a small in the Kate and it even fits a tad loose but it is described as semi-fit whereas the ribbed shirt is described as fitted. I noticed this after I ordered, I hope the small is OK. My problem is that while I have a slender waist and hips, I have serious boobage (34D), but if the ribs stretch without pulling I'll be fine.

The medium ribbie fits me perfectly, and is form fitted. The medium shak fits me perfectly, but is not quite as form fitted. The large ribbie and large shak both fit me nicely too, but with a bit more roominess so I can wear another layer under them. I think if the small shak fits you nicely, the small ribbie will too. The "ribs" on it are so tiny they are almost not visible, so there won't be any weird stretched rib look over your boobs, don't worry.
I think the mulberry ribbie will look cute enough to wear at work with nice pants. It doesn't have any longjohn cotton waffle look. The color is pretty and won't look like longjohns either. If the small is too snug for work, then you can exchange it for the medium- the difference in sizes seems slight. Ibex will give you a credit, maybe $6? for shipping, *I think*, if you are merely exchanging sizes on something.
Can you post a picture of you in it if you like it? I'd love to see that mulberry Ribbie in a photo on someone. I keep thinking I should get one in mulberry before they are all gone, but hard to know about the color without seeing another photo.

This wool thing is driving me crazy. WHO KNEW? This is not the same wool I tried to wear 20 years ago. In fact I am sitting here now in a 20 year wool sweater that is fine with a wool base, but itches me with a silk base. WHO KNEW? I even made a post on this thread a year ago that I was allergic to wool. Now I feel bad that I spent all that money on cotton stuff that won't keep me warm. It doesn't help that we are in the middle of our coldest days ever stuff (lows in the 30s). I actually think that its worse for me since my house lacks central heating, than being in a place where its cold all the time but at least the interiors are properly heated.

Yes I remember your "allergic" post back then.
Indeed, WHO KNEW? The nice thing is that your wool will last many years if you treat it fairly kindly.
When I first got turned onto merino/Ibex/Smartwool in Fall 2006, I was so excited that I bought some things that maybe weren't the ideal things for me. Good stuff, but not ideal. As I read and tried on and evaluated more items over the months, I got more familiar with the goods and slowly got a feeling for what worked best for me and my particular lifestyle. Lucky for me I have 4 girls (2 daughters and their 2 girlfriends), 3 of whom are my size- so I was able to pass a few of my early purchases on to them and they were thrilled. (I also bought them a few new things for xmas etc, and got to examine more items firsthand that way too!) Now I have more of an idea for what works well for me.
Often i found that an item i loved at first just didn't work well after a month or so. Other items that I was ok with at first, later became my most favorite worn things. Don't be afraid to take your time and wear things for a while to get to know them. That experience in wearing the stuff really helps you when you go to plan your next item.

What area are you going to "up north"? Freezing Canada? Rainy Seattle? Milder PA? That can help us give you advice. All I can say now is that I would feel pretty nasty if I had to wear a coat down to my ankles that was puffy and 3 sizes too big for me.

[Triskeliongirl]

Thanks Lisa, sorry if I have been monopolizing this thread, but there is so much to learn! I will post some pictures, maybe when I visit my daughter in Boston, since she is the only one that I can ever get to photograph me. So, where am I going. First I am going to Wash DC. Here I will be mostly indoors at meetings in a hotel. I will only need an outer layer to perhaps walk one evening to a restaurant, and perhaps I'll metro it there from the airport, but if its nasty out I can get take taxis (I am kind of cheap, you wouldn't know it by my recent purchases, but I get a per diem so if I don't use taxis I get to keep more $, so they sort of pay for taxis, but reward you if you don't take them if that makes any sense). Then I will fly to Boston to visit my kids for the weekend. There we will be car free, so will be walking around a lot, and perhaps waiting in the cold for buses. My daughter has snow boots ready to give me just in case, otherwise I will plan to wear leather ankle boots. I also have leather gloves and a nice wool thingie (?cowl) I got 20 years ago that is sort of a scarf/hat combo, a knitted tube that I can use to cover my neck, face and head as much or as little as necessary.

I think my new purchases will work great for the inner and mid-layers. I bought one charcoal grey wool suit, as separates, with a second pair of matching pants, and two pairs of black wool pants at a really good after xmass sale at ann taylor loft (these pieces cost nothing compared to my ibex!). To get variety, I can either wear the suit jacket, my shak, or if I like it and keep it (which now I am hoping I will) the organic sweater, with my base layers, and if that isn't enough I have lots of nice mid-weight cotton sweaters to fit in between. I may wear my old terry cycling tights with the very thin chamois as a lower body base if I feel the need. The chamois is so thin its not noticeable and the pants fit fine over it.