Things I learned from Reddit fashion
acesounderglass.com
acesounderglass.com
The best thing you can learn is how to treat clothes, as you mention.
One pattern I noticed that was missing: the classic reddit experience of saying "I'd like a new shoulder season jacket, and I want to spend less than $100" and having some know-it-all try to convince you that what you really need is an ultra-nano-pore down puffer made by a blind Italian artisan that costs $950, and that anything else is Wal-Mart-tier garbage.
wool will keep you warm and comfy
wool is the difference between happiness and tears
ignore at your own risk
My carpets are 80% wool (with wool underlay). My base layers are wool. My jumpers are wool. My curtains are wool. Much of my mattress is wool. My next sofa will be wool.
The only thing better than wool in a duvet (comforter?) is down. My duvet is down lol
When wool gets warm it expands, which cools you slightly. It seems to have a much better range of temperatures you can be comfortable in.
Synthetic jumpers and sweaters get stuffy quickly and after a few washes can end up itchy.
And no, good cable knits from non designer brands go for $100-$200 and will last many, many years.
True. But I hate synthetics on my skin. Merino base layers and then layered synthetics/more wool works for me for low-activity cold weather. Feels much better. I like wool hats too as they seem to deal with odour better.
I only tolerate a synthetic breathable top for the gym. Though when they misconfigure the A/C I have to wear a heavy cotton tshirt to not freeze!
Synthetic socks can be dangerous too - slippery as hell on a smooth floor! Nearly came a cropper the other day when I forgot I wasn't wearing cotton lol
Modern merino is quite affordable. £20-50 per base layer item. My 100% wool hat was like £15 or something. My modern merino jumpers are £40-50 ish, and they look very posh too
Wool still has its place and isn't going anywhere
I asked claude to remind me of what Sir Peter Blake had to say about merino underwear:
>> Sir Peter Blake wore Icebreaker merino prototypes during his record-breaking round-the-world yacht race. After returning from the Southern Ocean, he claimed the fabric was "superior in every way to anything I had ever worn before" and revealed he'd worn his Icebreaker for 43 days and 43 nights without changing. He also reportedly greeted Icebreaker's original merino farmer, Brian Brakenridge, as "the sheep farmer responsible for stopping my undies from smelling."
Synthetic fibres such as polyester and acrylic absorb little water, as such they are good insulators but poor at thermal buffering. They have minimal heat of sorption (about 5–7 J/g) [7], and are limited to moisture wicking. There are also more likely to develop odors and are much more flammable.
Synthetics definitely have their place. Uniqlo's Airism is a game-changer in the tropics and lots of outdoors activities like hiking or skiing are much more comfortable with modern technical fabrics, but natural fibres are far from obsolete.