i know where you can find real wool
also, local girl discovers 'fabric shaver' & styling fall transition fits
You know what’s not overrated? I thought as I shaved the piled-up pills off of my favorite sweater. Actually doing the action you’ve been procrastinating that makes something in your wardrobe wearable again.
I recently bought a fabric shaver and left it in the box for a while until finally opening it yesterday, while I was procrastinating doing something else. I didn’t have high hopes for the $12 plastic gadget, doubting how much it could possibly help my old, rough, wool sweaters and coats that have developed tiny snowballs over time and which I convinced myself were charming, like badges of honor for how many times I’ve worn and loved them, but also wouldn’t mind scraping off a bit.
It’s nice to be pleasantly surprised every once in a while, isn't it? Just when you think you know what’s going to happen, something better occurs. Gotta cherish when that happens. It worked, and you probably already knew that because people have been doing this for a while and I’m extremely late to the battery-operated fabric shaver club. Now fabric shaving joins my long list of ritualistic laundry tasks, additional to grating Fels-Naptha into my washing machine, drying my clothes on a rack in the living room, lint-rolling and steaming. Each of these chores helps me feel closer to my clothing and proud of myself for treating them with love and investing in the clothes I already own instead of lusting after newer versions that haven’t had the chance to become muddy or fuzzy or just a little stained.
I also picked up a coat from my tailor today, a navy wool overcoat I thrifted last winter but barely wore because of its garish plastic nautical buttons. After months of procrastinating that too, I finally picked out some buttons on Etsy, some green mother-of-pearl little numbers, and brought them to the tailor to replace the coat’s existing set. Is there a Girl Scout badge for this? Maybe once I learn to sew myself.
When you spend so much time looking at clothes online, it’s hard to stop the momentum of falling in love with and wanting to purchase a new piece over and over again, but that stopping to care for what you already own helps. By focusing my attention on improving the things I have, I rekindle my love for them and feel less green-eyed for newer items I see online. I think of it like other life advice I try to remember: We only ever live the current moment. We can only ever wear one outfit at a time. And we will never actually wear the product photo we fell in love with, just the actual piece of fabric that wears over time.
Since fashion is an ever-changing space, and that’s part of what makes it exciting, there aren’t a lot of sartorial opinions that I’d say I completely stand behind but I feel pretty confident about this guy: we should all be buying our wool coats secondhand. Of course, I can see exceptions to this opinion, too. For example, It would be hard for me to resist a truly beautiful cashmere coat by a beloved designer on DEEP sale, but wool coats are one of the easiest clothing items to thrift as they return to the racks year after year in recycled silhouettes.
The Atlantic’s Amanda Mull recently published a piece, “Your Sweaters Are Garbage,” about the proliferation of synthetic materials in the knitwear industry, both in fast fashion and very expensive designer clothing. YouTube essayist Mina Le also recently discussed the topic. They both explained why a lot of mass-produced clothing feels worse these days, particularly “wool” and “cotton” sweaters, because they’re often made entirely of or blended generously with synthetic fabrics like acrylic and polyester (which wear less nicely over time and don’t breathe like natural fibers. Plus, wool wicks moisture and is less likely to hold onto scent.)
All true! But I also wanted to add another point to the conversation, which is that in a lot of cases, there isn’t really any reason to buy a brand new wool coat from a mass market retailer when so many vintage coats exactly like the one you’re eyeing already exist and are available for a lot less money. (One caveat: I understand buying new nice sweaters, so my point is mainly about coats. I definitely like buying a new sweater from babaà or another small, high-quality brand and wearing it in myself.)
In general, thrift stores seem to be full of wool — wool trousers, skirts, coats and sweaters. There are some things that are difficult to thrift, but wool isn’t one of them. And if you’re willing to spend a bit more money (still wayyyy less money than real wool coats often cost brand new) and expand your search online then the world is your oyster and unique, great-value, designer coats are your pearls. (Just dry-clean them first to avoid bringing any bugs home. Trust me!)
It also comes down to taste. I find the design of a lot of vintage coats to be more desirable than modern cuts, plus coats are real personality pieces and it’s more fun to have a coat that’s all yours, whether it’s a rare find, an old style or something you customized (like with new buttons).
If I were in the market for more wool coats right now, I think all of these look interesting and I’d spend the evening browsing creative search terms while drinking wine and watching “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.” 🎃
This week I wore some of my vintage/secondhand coats out of a commitment to fall transition dressing even in the face of 70 degrees, so here are some fit pics:
Thanks for reading and Happy Halloween! 🧡
xx Francesca
Your mohair coat is such a treasure!
I'm a huge fan of vintage coats, too. There are so many gems in thrift stores! If only I had more space in my closet...
“We only ever live the current moment. We can only ever wear one outfit at a time. And we will never actually wear the product photo we fell in love with, just the actual piece of fabric that wears over time.” !!!!