Wool & Casual
What a refreshing way to start your day in the wee hours of the morning when the rest of the city is just waking up.
I love casual wear that looks classy and is made for you. One certainly does not need to wear couture.
Joshua starts with a dark brown t-shirt with a pair of grey-black jeans and an olive hoodie. The t-shirt is not tucked in the jeans and is deliberately longer than the hoodie so as tie in with the fabulous two-button wool coat. He wears this with confidence and the way it is all put together draws attention to the beauty in simplicity. He is also carrying a black leather bag with thin straps.
This outfit is a classic example of style in simplicity.
The quality of wool is determined by its fiber diameter, crimp, yield, color, and staple strength. Fiber diameter is the single most important wool characteristic determining quality and price.
Merino wool is typically 3–5 inches in length and is very fine (between 12 and 24 microns). The finest and most valuable wool comes from Merino hoggets. Wool taken from sheep produced for meat is typically more coarse, and has fibers 1.5 to 6 in (38 to 152 mm) in length. Damage or breaks in the wool can occur if the sheep is stressed while it is growing its fleece, resulting in a thin spot where the fleece is likely to break.
Wool is also separated into grades based on the measurement of the wool’s diameter in microns and also its style. These grades may vary depending on the breed or purpose of the wool. For example:
| Merinos | |
|---|---|
| Diameter in microns | Name |
| < 15.5 | Ultrafine Merino |
| 15.6 – 18.5 | Superfine Merino |
| 18.6 – 20 | Fine Merino |
| 20.1 – 23 | Medium Merino |
| > 23 | Strong Merino |
Any wool finer than 25 microns can be used for garments, while coarser grades are used for outerwear or rugs. The finer the wool, the softer it is, while coarser grades are more durable and less prone to pilling.
The finest Australian and New Zealand Merino wools are known as 1PP, which is the industry benchmark of excellence for Merino wool 16.9 microns and finer. This style represents the top level of fineness, character, color, and style as determined on the basis of a series of parameters in accordance with the original dictates of British wool as applied by the Australian Wool Exchange (AWEX) Council. Only a few dozen of the millions of bales auctioned every year can be classified and marked 1PP.
