Merino wool Clothing Assortment 2023/2024
Green Rose had news at the start of this Autumn 2023
season.
For the first 10 years Green Rose has offered only base
layer merino wool clothes. Finally, we are able to offer second layer merino
wool clothes too!
100% natural clothes without any synthetic additives have
always been one of our main priorities. This is quite a challenge, especially
when it comes to second/top layer clothes. A lot of manufacturers offer merino
wool base layer clothes with a fabric composition that consists of a mix of
merino wool and synthetic fibres. And when it comes to top-layer clothes,
finding something made from 100% merino wool is exceptionally rare.
We’ve been planning to expand our assortment of clothes for
quite some time; however, we’ve been struggling to find fabrics that would meet
the requirement and values of our company. This autumn we were finally able to
introduce our customers to two new 100% merino wool fabrics that are perfectly
suited for second layer clothes for both adults and children that can be worn
all year round.
Dark melange grey second layer clothes from 100% merino wool
This season we introduced hoodies made from this fabric for children, women and men. However, we have high hopes for this fabric. If our first customers like the clothes made from this fabric as much as we do, if they will feel as cosy and comfortable as we do when we wear these clothes, then we hope that with time we will be able to offer dresses, trousers, and jackets too!
When we are looking for new fabrics for Green Rose products,
we get 1-2 metres of fabric to try it out. This April we made a female jumper
from this fabric.
When we test our clothes, we are not being gentle and
careful. This jumper has seen many things and travelled everywhere. On a colder
day it was worn, on a warmer day it was in a rucksack or in the car. This
jumper came in handy in cold air-conditioned buses in France and provided
warmth when camping. The jumper was worn when climbing mountains and got into a
horrible downpour. However, even soaking wet the jumper did what it was
supposed to do – helped to maintain body temperature.
After 5 months of intensive use, the jumper still looks like
new, soft, pleasant, and cosy.
The fabric of the jumper is dark melange grey. It’s made
from 100% merino wool (no synthetic additives) and it’s 300 gsm thick (for
comparison, Green Rose base layer thermal clothes are 175 gsm). Most of our
orders at the moment receive some fabric samples of this new fabric so that you
are able to see and feel the fabric yourself.
This is a natural fabric that does shrink a bit after
washing. If you look at the width of the jumper, you can expect up to 2cm of
shrinkage. However, we have taken this into consideration when making these
jumpers. The jumpers are designed a bit oversized and will feel a bit bigger
before washing for the first time.
Knitted second-layer clothes from 100% merino wool merino wool
This fabric is available in two colours. One of them is dark
sea blue – a popular and loved colour among our customers. The other one is
natural undyed merino wool white that has a cream tinge.
We offer sweaters made from this fabric for children, women, and men.
We also have a large variety of clothes from this fabric for
little ones:
-
Knitted merino wool balaclava
- Knitted merino wool trousers
Thermal merino wool base layer clothes
These are soft and comfortable merino wool base-layer clothes that you might be already familiar with. This fabric and clothing design has been tried and tested for 10 years. Many children have grown up with these clothes and this autumn we have introduced a new size too - 152/158. It’s an intermediary size between kids and adult clothes and (on average) it fits kids from around 12 years old.
The choice of base-layer clothing colours
Which one should you choose? Which one is the best to wear? Which one handles washing best? Which one is the easiest to look after?
Below we’ll discuss each colour separately and outline its advantages and disadvantages. You will also find out how to look after your clothing so that it last for a long time and the colours stay vibrant.
White merino wool
One of the colour options for GREEN ROSE 100% merino wool is white. This is not snow-white, but rather natural wool white since the fabric is undyed and unbleached. If you’ve ever seen sheep wandering around a pasture, you’ll know what the colour looks like, it has a tinge of grey and yellow. Some people call this colour champagne white.
If you are interested in clothing that is snow-white, then
we would recommend our clothing that’s made of 75% merino wool and 25% silk.
Due to the presence of silk in this fabric composition, the clothing looks
white without any additional shades. This is the only colour that we offer for
our clothing made of merino wool with silk. This is also a natural undyed
colour. What’s the difference between 100% merino wool fabric clothing and
clothing made from merino wool with silk? You can find out about it in one of
our articles: Merino Wool Vs Merino Wool with Silk.
White clothes are slightly transparent (this applies both to the options with and without silk), thus you should keep this in mind when selecting this colour, especially if you are looking for male clothing. However, if you wear a combination of two merino layers, they will no longer be transparent. For instance, a sleeveless or short-sleeved merino wool undershirt and a turtleneck top.
As we’ve mentioned before, white 100% merino wool clothes
are natural, undyed, and unbleached. They have been the least processed in the
manufacturing of the fabric. Thus, these clothes are the softest and the most
pleasant next to your skin compared to other merino fabric colours. Wearing
these clothes, you will experience the true softness and cosiness of merino
wool.
If you have particularly sensitive skin or some other skin
conditions, this is the best option for you. If you are concerned that merino
wool might irritate your skin, then we recommend trying out clothes made from
merino wool with silk first. Silk adds even more softness and cosiness to the
fabric and helps to eliminate the sense of irritation. By the way, the sense of
itchiness when wearing wool can be psychological too. This can often be the
case with teenagers who have had unpleasant experiences when wearing
conventional wool.
We particularly recommend our white clothing (both 100% merino and merino with silk) to premature babies, newborns, and children, and as base layers for adults. The choice for the second layer can then be based on taste, colour preference and other clothes that would be worn together.
Occasionally white clothes that are worn under other
clothing can gather a bit of lint and fluff from the layer above. Normally, these
can be easily brushed off by hand or using a special brush or roller.
Merino wool clothing is not usually prone to getting dirty
quickly, however, if it does get stained by food or dirt, some stains can be
difficult to get rid of. We’ll discuss how to best clean such stubborn stains
in a separate article.
If you will be primarily wearing merino clothes as a
base-layer under other layers, in some rare cases they may still get stained.
However, even if a piece of clothing is stained, this does not reduce its
functionality and thermal regulation properties.
White colour clothing can be washed together with other
merino clothing of light colours, this way it will stay white for longer.
However (as with all white clothing) when white clothing is washed separately
from all other colours, it remains truly white for significantly longer.
Light merino wool clothing colours
Grey and light blue – these colours are the
next in line for the least amount of processing in the dyeing of the fabric.
They are soft and pleasant. Mums often choose these colours for their babies.
These colours can be washed together.
If the clothes that you wear tend to pill, it will be least
visible on clothing of lighter colour. If you would like to find out more about
pilling on merino wool clothing, you can read about it here: Does merino wool clothing tend to pill?
One disadvantage of these colours is that stains caused by
children can be quite visible and difficult to remove.
Dark blue/petrol merino wool
This is a colour that has been offered by GREEN ROSE the
longest and it’s still the most popular colour among our customers. It’s also a
colour that has caused the most discussions. Some call it blue and some call it
green. We have also received many suggestions for alternative names for this
colour – sea blue, navy blue, emerald blue, and others. One of our customers
has described it this way:
‘What makes your blue colour particularly beautiful is that
it has this lovely tinge of green and it looks great on my child.’
In our online store, we refer to this colour as ‘petrol blue’ or ‘navy blue’ and this is the option that you should select if you would like to get something in this colour.
This colour is dark and thus we would recommend washing it
separately from white colour merino clothes and other light colours. However,
you can wash it together with khaki dark green and black colours. We recommend
washing your merino wool items in a washing machine in a wool mode. If you
prefer to wash them by hand, you may notice that when you wash clothing of this
colour it might slightly stain the water blue during the first few washes. It shouldn’t
do that in any consecutive washes.
If the clothes that you wear tend to pill, this will be more
visible on dark blue than on lighter colours as mentioned above. You can read
more about pilling in a separate article; however, we can assure you
that pilling on GREEN ROSE merino wool is minimal. We’ve been wearing merino
wool clothing for many years and we have a number of clothes (most of them navy
blue) that we’ve been wearing for 4-5 years and they still look great without
any pilling. Nevertheless, even if your clothing does pill, it still maintains
its functionality, keeps you warm, helps to regulate body temperature. There
are also lots of remedies and tools to remove lint caused by pilling.
Khaki dark green merino wool
This colour has replaced our light moss green and is also
sometimes referred to as khaki. This colour is particularly suitable for
children, top layers for adults, and turtleneck tops. It also matches with
yellow clothing.
This is a darker colour and thus should be washed separately
from light colours. The tips for washing, care, and wearing navy blue merino
wool apply to this colour too.
Brown merino wool
One of the most practical colours. We receive feedback from customers that it wears very well, washes out stains well, looks very nice with other colours, and is easy to match with other colours. Gentle, cozy, and pleasant to the body.
Rose wine merino wool
Rose wine merino wool clothes wear very well and are practical.
If you like pink, we definitely suggest you try it.
Black merino wool
This colour is the most popular among men. It’s practical
and matches any other clothing.
If you compare black merino wool with white (undyed) merino
or other merino wool of light colours, you will notice that white feels softer
and more pleasant. As we’ve mentioned before, this is because of the processing of
fabric when it’s dyed. However, we would like to draw your attention to the
fact that even black merino wool clothing is still soft and pleasant compared
to conventional wool. Nevertheless, if you have sensitive skin or you think
that you might find wool irritating to your skin, choose lighter-coloured
merino wool.
Black clothing is very functional, however, if you have a
cat or a dog, the hair that might stick to the clothing will be much more
obvious.
Which colour should you choose?
Our recommendation would be this, for the first layer of
clothing that will be worn next to your skin, choose white or lighter colours,
and for the second layer – choose darker colours.
We also recommend white or lighter colours for your little
ones. Of course, you can always choose darker colours for newborn clothing
(even black), just keep in mind the information we’ve provided above so that
you know what to expect.
One more thing we would like to mention is that merino wool that we use to make GREEN ROSE merino clothing is made in Europe and is certified according to Standard 100 by OEKO-TEX. This means that the manufacturing of fabric does not include any processing that might be harmful to human health. In addition to that, fabric dyes do not include harmful substances that could cause skin irritation. GREEN ROSE merino wool items are suitable for babies and people with sensitive skin.
Which colours have worked best for you? What has been your
experience so far? How do you look after and wash your merino clothing? We
would love to hear from you in the comments. Every opinion is important to us
and other customers will appreciate your tips when choosing the colour that
would work best for them.