Sweater Weather

What a blustery cold winter it's been thus far! When the high for the day is 19 degrees with a "feels like" temperature of 6 due to the wind, my daily outfit is usually three layers: an undershirt, a long sleeve t-shirt or button-up shirt and then a nice, cozy wool sweater on top. That's just for time spent indoors obviously. A heavy parka, hat and gloves are always on when venturing into the tundra. There are sweater people and then there are folks who never wear them. I know few people who will only occasionally wear a sweater, and among the sweater wearers of the world, there's two sub-groups: wool sweaters or anything but wool. I'm primarily a wool wearer but once in a while I'll put on cotton or some sort of blend. I can understand people's aversion to wool. Some just find it too scratchy feeling and I always wonder if they'd just try a fine merino wool garment, they might change their mind. Many years ago, when the Keene YMCA was still on Roxbury Street downtown, I had changed into shorts and a t-shirt for a workout, stuffing my street clothes and gym bag in a locker. I just so happened to be wearing one of my prized possessions that day — a big, bulky wool rollneck sweater from J. Crew. It was a signature piece of the brand's and ordering one was a big deal for me on my small salary at the time. When I finished my workout and went into the locker room, I was shocked to find the sweater gone from my locker. At the time, I never bothered to put a lock on a locker. Someone had swiped my sweater! It was at least a handful of years before I bought another J. Crew rollneck sweater, and you can be sure I've padlocked my lockers ever since. I still like the J. Crew brand very much but they're oh so expensive. And, though I can afford to buy new, I actually enjoy scoring good deals on previously owned J. Crew and Ralph Lauren clothing, particularly sweaters. eBay is my go-to for used clothing. I like the breadth of descriptors, photos and seller reviews. I've found that about 80% of the time I'm pleased with my purchase. The other 20% I usually just pass along to someone else or donate. My latest J. Crew sweater arrived in the mail just a few days ago. It's a camel-colored cable knit crew neck in large. I almost didn't buy this one even though it pleasantly reminded me of hippy dippy college days. When I looked at the fabric content label, it contained angora. Angora wool comes from angora rabbits and I'd always assumed the animals were killed to harvest their fur, much like minks. Before pulling the trigger on the sweater, I did a little research. Angora rabbits are one of the oldest breeds of rabbits to be domesticated. They are originally from Turkey, along with angora cats and goats. The incredibly soft angora fur has been highly prized for centuries. When done correctly, the harvesting of angora wool does not harm the animal. The two methods used are either "plucking" or shearing. Plucking is gently pulling the loose long strands of hair that the rabbit is naturally shedding seasonally. Plucking produces the highest quality, longest fibers. Shearing is similar to traditional sheep shearing with blunt-nosed scissors. If done humanely, the loss of fur can be a relief to the animals as the hollow fibers of angora are even warmer than sheep wool. Some Asian families generate their entire income from farming angora rabbits. Rabbits don't need a lot of room so a profitable farm of 200 angoras can exist on as little as a half acre. I did order the sweater, hoping that J. Crew would source their angora wool from reputable, ethical farms. Unfortunately, it's not quite as roomy as I'd hoped. A J. Crew large is usually plenty big with good sleeve lengths and I've found the same to be true for Ralph Lauren. I'm a little suspicious that someone may have washed the sweater rather than dry cleaned it. It's not bad, though, and I've added it to the sweater collection. It landed on the weekender/work-around-the-house pile. That's not a bad thing, though; some of my favorites are in that pile. I just probably wouldn't wear them when meeting with real estate clients. So, go on now. Go grab a sweater and get cozy!