Mid-October. Official reintroduction of winter weight wool. When the cold comes my dress code is dictated by the idea that whatever I wear must be versatile enough to work as my permanent post-apocalyptic/nuclear winter outfit (think Fred Astaire’s safari suits and gentlemanly neckwear in On The Beach). I’m working out the details but the basic gist for my survivalist get-up is a pair of Filson whipcord trousers (substitute Levi 501s), layered Icebreaker or Ibex zip-ups and an outer layer of Filson “tin cloth” or Barbour waxed cotton (to which I would add crucial internal pocketing for matches, a manual camera and my make-do cuisine of unpeeled carrots). Still shopping from the movies (Flight of the Eagle, Indiana Jones, Alphaville,) for my shoes.
I absolutely agree on the whipcord, tin cloth, and 501s. I wonder if the exclusively Ibex/Icebreaker is too soft to survive nuclear winter. I propose a seriously scratchy, durable woolen layered over a pendleton button-up, layered over an Ibex undershirt. Mountaineering companies sometimes have interesting vintage offerings of chunky, scratchy sweaters, often with buttons. Check Sierra Designs and patagonia. Maybe the filson/mcalister sweater/waxed canvas combos merit a close look. I’ve also had good luck with thick cotton flannel. Woolrich and LL Bean have superb flannel button-ups.
True. For logistical reasons, I should locate post-nuclear winter manufacturing in the US. I think the icebreaker stuff is made in China and ibex relies on “imported fabrics”. Need to be able to rough sheer a sheep and knit wool up into protective garment shield within a same state radius.
In that case, you’ll have to talk to my friend Julie, who (seriously) shears sheeps, cleans and dyes the wool, spins it into yarn, and knits sweaters. Amazing.