WoolWeenies Club

[Crankin]

Lisa, I will PM you with more information about 2/3.

Robyn

[sandra]

OK girls, I need wool. We had snow yesterday. We have snow once every 6 - 10 years. I have a good base layer and one jacket, the Cirque Jacket (which was great today), but I'd like to get one more jacket and a pair of bottoms of some sort.

I've not paid close enough attention because I never thought I'd be saying this, but YES, I need more wool. Of course, by the time I order and it gets here, it will probably have warmed up to much to wear it. I still want a couple more pieces for next year while things are on sale.

Soooooooooo. If you were going to get one jacket and one pair of bottoms, what would it be? The Shak? the Carrie Hoodie? or would something else be better suited for weather in the 30's. Favorite bottoms?

Lisa, your thoughts for me please? Sorry for the repetition.

[Triskeliongirl]

Sandra, of all the pieces I've seen recently, I just love my full zip shak. I like it cuz it works for cycling, other sports, casual use, or professional use, in other words its a really versatile piece, and very slim fitting so it layers nicely under all my shells. But, its not a jacket, its a sweater. Its also on sale at Uncle Dans right now. As I mentioned, I have on order the Icebreaker 260 midweight bottom that is at a good price at sierra now (see links in one of my recent posts). I have a 20% off code, I don't know if it is tied to my account but if you PM me I would be happy to send it to you and you can see if it works (min. purchase $75). You could also order an Icebreaker 260 zip T mid-weight base to layer under it. A cheaper option for your top are the nice bases Knott posted about recently at LLBean. Also, if you run searches for merino wool at both LLBean and sierra, a lot of nice things come up. I went with the icebreakers cuz I wanted the zips for ventilation, but the bean tops look nice too.

I hear you, we too are having that cold front, and the rest of my stuff will also arrive wnen its gone!

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Sandra- for you and your situation, i would say yes get a black full zip Ibex shak. It's about $94 right now at Udans.com....I don't see it anywhere any cheaper. It will have a dozen uses and will excel at all of them. It's sleek, elegant, warm, but not bulky or too heavy. You can wear it over base layers and turtlenecks or under jackets and vests...really whatever you want!

Bottoms? I stick with my heavy wool tights and my usual black leggings of various kinds, but most women are not so comfortable walking around in black leggings alone. You might want to try the Ibex Loose Tights. They look so fabulous on my friend but just don't hang right on my figure. They are a great slim relaxed wool pant that is soft and stretches when you move.
A lot depends on whether you want something in wool to wear alone as a pant, or to wear under some pants as a wool long john?

[Triskeliongirl]

Sandra, another idea for your bottom. I picked up some really nice wool pants at amazing prices on sale at Ann Taylor Loft. They just reduced their clearance merchandise by another 40% which amounts to a total discount of ~80%. So, if you have one near you check it out. I am so glad I did.

[sandra]

I have a pair of wool "long john" type bottoms to wear underneath. They are not Ibex, but are Woolskins by Terramar. I got them from Sierra Trading Post earlier in the year. They are very soft and worked great today for walking. I wore a pair of Danskin organic cotton/spandex yoga type pants over them. I need something else to wear on top, but not anything dressy. Something for walking in, etc.

I wonder if the sizing for the Shak is similar to the Cirque jacket that I got.

[Triskeliongirl]

You guys have told me that Ibex will not shrink or pill. What can you guys tell me about shrinkage and pilling of the icebreaker 260 zipT bases and the LLbean merino wool t-necks Knott pointed out yesterday?

[KnottedYet]

My Icebreaker 260 has never shrunk nor pilled.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

You guys have told me that Ibex will not shrink or pill. What can you guys tell me about shrinkage and pilling of the icebreaker 260 zipT bases and the LLbean merino wool t-necks Knott pointed out yesterday?

I don't know nuthin' about Icebreaker or LLBean merino (except that some of it seems to come from China?-which i try to steer clear of).
I can't that Ibex will NEVER shrink or pill. I bet if you abuse it it would- like a long time in a hot dryer, etc. Wool needs to be treated with respect to keep looking good. So far my Ibex has been washed and dryer dried many times without shrinking or pilling. I don't throw my outer wool vests and jackets in the wash so can't say much about those shrinking or pilling.

Sandra- the shaks fit pretty standard. I take a medium if I am wearing it alone or over just a thin base layer. I take a large if I'm using it like a cartigan sweater over something. Like I said before, when it's really cold (20's, 10's) I wear a thin merino base layer, then medium half zip shak and a large full zip shak over that. If I put my dense loden merino wool vest over that, I can walk my 5 miles in 15 degrees (1 1/4 hours or so) no problem as long as I keep moving. Goes without saying plenty of warm stuff on my legs, head, hands and feet as well!

[Blueberry]

You guys have told me that Ibex will not shrink or pill. What can you guys tell me about shrinkage and pilling of the icebreaker 260 zipT bases and the LLbean merino wool t-necks Knott pointed out yesterday?

Haven't washed my Beanie's, but will report when I do. Their cashmere has held up pretty well (but I hand wash, roll in towel, hang to dry).

I can tell you they're SOFT!

CA