Note: Taylor Stitch sent this item for review.

A good hoodie, which is also performant, is hard to find. Yes you can find wool hoodies, but they all lack something. Synthetic hoodies are all over, but they look synthetic. There’s two types of hoodies out there: those that you want to put on to feel cozy and have a quick nap or three. And those you want to wear out and about, to be seen in, as a layer while remaining comfortable and casual.

And it is that latter category that I find the Apres Hoodie in Coal. It’s quietly performant, while looking very sharp.

Material

First this is mostly cotton, as the composition is a 12-oz. garment consisting of: 98% cotton, 2% Spandex. I would have wagered there was far more than 2% spandex as the entire thing is pretty stretchy. It’s a solid 4-way stretch and there’s little chance of restricting movement.

More than the materials composition is the hand feel. This is a dense and heavy feeling hoodie. Neither the interior or the face, is soft and fuzzy. Well, the interior is soft and not scratchy, but there is no pile to the material — instead Taylor Stitch opted for a soft woven texture across it. The outside feels closer to your standard hoodie with perhaps a heavier weave.

The clear advantage here is that it slides over other materials much better, and doesn’t leave behind a lint trail.

Fit and Style

As I mentioned at the outset of this review, this hoodie is full of style. It’s cut trim and modern, and my standard Large fits just fine. If you want a little more of a relaxed look you should size up a full size — I could wear an XL easily and still look fine. But the Large looks more tailored, more put together.

The entire hoodie works well from a style perspective. You could easily toss this on with a pair of swim trunks and hang out near a bonfire on the beach — you’d fit right in. Or you could toss it on with a pair of chinos over a button down and have a great layer for a night out.

And that’s not just the cut, but the detailing on it plays to these strengths. With pockets that a slanted and sit flat, and tiny little leather triangles at either end. It’s a nice touch for the whole thing. The leather grab on the zipper is classic as is the brass contrast of the zipper. And the white speckling throughout the hoodie adds enough of a casual element to keep this feeling like a hoodie.

I love the way this looks and fits.

Performance

Ok, so this is a cotton hoodie. All of the performance here comes from stretch. And there is a lot of stretch in this. What this means practically is that the hoodie can fit trim to your body, while not restricting your movement at all. And not only being unrestricted, you can also lounge in it and still be comfortable the entire time. The stretch really is fantastic and rarely do I see this much in a cotton garment.

The rest of the performance simply comes from the application of cotton. As I mentioned above there is no brushed interior. It’s smooth and soft with a dense exterior. This is cotton done well, but still cotton.

Overall

I only have a handful of hoodies because I find them problematic. It’s hard to find a good performance one which also still looks sharp. And that’s because hoodies are one of those items which is best done with cotton. The stretch here is excellent.

No it won’t dry fast, repel water, or resist odors. But it will look good no matter what you are doing, perhaps better than most. And if you happen to be working at home, well this should be at the top of your list.

It’s not a performance hoodie, but it is the hoodie I want to wear.

Note: This hoodie is currently out of stock in the color I reviewed. It is available in other colors, but note that each color has a slightly different fabric makeup, with many infusing hemp into the mix which should be a nice addition.

NOTE: where possible all product links on this site may earn the site money when you buy using those links.

Since I started on this journey of finding better performing everyday clothing, one of the top fabrics which always catches my eye is anything with merino wool. It’s a magical fabric which is soft, performant, and yet wears well in many conditions. The problem is always price, it is often a very expensive fabric to own. Which is where Uniqlo comes in, with their Long Sleeve Knit Merino Polo.

I have been testing it as my work from home shirt for some weeks now, and I am blown away. So, at a full price of $39.90, and a sale price of $29.90 — is this too good to be true? No, it’s actually a really awesome shirt.

Material

As you might guess the shirt is 100% merino wool, which Uniqlo says is ‘19.5-micron superfine Merino wool’. That’s not really that superfine, but a borderline soft merino in my book. What’s weird is that you could tell me this is 16.5 micron and I would believe you. It is luxuriously soft and really just cozy feeling.

There’s not much more to say, it is a super soft merino wool shirt. Well one more thing, Uniqlo specifies: “treated with special press-processing to prevent pilling”. I have no clue what that is, it does get fuzzy, but no pilling so far.

Fit and Style

A long sleeve knit polo is a classic — made out of a soft slightly fuzzy sweater material, also a classic. The style is all around great, something you could wear to most offices, or out to drinks and blend in just fine. It also might be the ideal work from home style.

The fit is slim, but I think it is cut well and fits my body well. I could use a touch more length in the sleeves, but that is almost always the case for me. I am also a very big fan of the collar, as it sits nicely and keeps a clean appearance to the shirt.

Performance

It’s 100% merino, so there’s not a lot to say about it which we have not already said. It performs at the same level as all other 100% merino, which is 4-5 wears before washing is needed. It does fuzz up a bit, and the cuffs are good. Not too tight, not loose at all.

Perhaps the best performance feature is the no-fuss nature. Wash it like normal, hang dry, toss it back on for another 4-5 wears, repeat. It dries quickly. It’s not too light, not too heavy. This would work well to layer for a cool night, or on it’s own well into the 70s. Top marks.

Overall

The real selling point is the overall product, not any one feature. Any other brand could sell this for $80-100 and I would tell you that it is worth the price. That it is under $40 is unfathomable to me. This is a steal. Buy this for sure. Even if you only wear it a few times, it’s worth it.

It quickly became my work from home go to. And I really love it.

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Note: Wildly Goods provided these items for review.

Anyone who moves from cotton socks to wool socks, will quickly tell you how much better life is on the wool side of the world. Comfort, odor — all of it is better. I really love testing socks, so when Wildly Goods reached out, I couldn’t wait to see what they had to offer, and I am glad I got these to review — they are outstanding.

Material

These socks are a blend of 80% Extra-Fine Merino Wool, 16% Polyester, 3% Nylon,1% Spandex. I am surprised by the low spandex content as they seem like they would have more than that. But I am not surprised by the high merino content, and the ‘extra-fine’ here is no gimmick — they are among the softest merino wool socks I have ever tried. I can’t find anything detailing out how fine a micron they use, but I would guess it is below 18 micron.

The one downside to this blend is durability, and while the socks are still holding up perfectly for me, they are getting quite fuzzy. Something I will need to keep an eye on.

Fit & Style

When I wrote my notes for this review, I wrote that these are: half hiking sock, half athletic sock. Meaning they are not quite as thick, or compression prone as a true hiking sock, but they are also not quite as ambivalent as a basic athletic sock. Wildly Goods seems to agree, as they note: “hybrid design blends the features of high-end hiking socks with everyday comfortable socks”. That is spot on.

I can easily wear these rucking with boots or any other heavy duty wear, as I can slip them on with a dress boot or sneakers and be comfortable all day. I think these socks strike the perfect balance. They won’t be dress socks for anyone, but if you wear dress boots, you could easily wear these most days.

They will replace athletic socks for just about anyone though, and they will also be the socks you want to pull on to be cozy next to a fireplace.

Performance

Ok, so let’s talk about performance, and with these it is very straight forward. There is a huge amount of merino in these, so they are odor resistant. I would say 3-4 wears and you’ll notice nothing. Soak them in water after each wear and you could go for a very long time.

There’s no true compression. But the socks are padded strategically, and vented on the top. Overall they wear very comfortably no matter what shoe you are pairing them with. Just excellent. But the true standout feature is how soft they are. They are just cozy to have on your feet, they feel like you are cheating a bit.

Lastly, I washed and dried these like I would a cotton t-shirt. They are getting fuzzy looking, but otherwise I have not noticed any ill effects, so you are likely fine to treat them as you would any other sock — which is a must for me.

Overall

When I last did a round up of socks, the now discontinued Outlier Megafine sock was my top pick. These will replace those, since these are available. In a lot of ways these are the same but with less compression.

I would love to get these in solid colors, as I think you could then really get away with them in most situations. As it is, I am going to wear the heck out of the two pairs I have.

Here’s the thing about these socks: they are $20 for two pairs. That’s an insanely good value for socks of this quality and performance. Get on it.

Highly recommended.

NOTE: where possible all product links on this site may earn the site money when you buy using those links.

This shirt caught my eye first because of the pattern, and second because I have never owned a madras shirt. So I thought I would give it a go, as I live in a state that is nearly always decently warm.

Let’s dive into this shirt, because I do like it quite a bit…

Material

So first, madras itself is an entire thing, not just the material or pattern. It’s like a combination of the two, so I am not going to refer to this as madras cloth. Rather this is a lightweight Taylor Stitch fabric. And, in that case it is an open weave, 4-oz. 55% Organic Cotton, 45% Linen.

The translation here is that it is super breathable and light weight — not see through at all. It’s soft, not super wrinkly, but more rumply. The hand feel is fantastic.

Fit & Style

This shirt is all about style and in fact there is an entire history of it. The pattern — the feel — of this shirt is sublime. The fit is the same as all other Taylor Stitch button-up/downs I have tried.

Which is to say the fit is very trim, with slightly shorter sleeves than you might like. But the biggest issue with the fit is the cuffs, which are generally too narrow to fit most watches under them, and I think that is criminal.

So the style, and design of the shirt is on point, but the cut remains problematic for Taylor Stitch — they need to relax their cuts more.

Performance

Here is what Taylor Stitch says about the performance of this shirt: “…incredibly comfortable, breathable, and rugged shirt”. I can get behind that, the cotton gives you the comfort, and the weave and linen give you the rest of it.

Overall I think it generally stands up to those claims, as air passes through it nicely and it is too thin to stay wet for long. It’s not going to break any records on performance, but it will generally be comfortable in much of the heat you might experience. There are things that perform better, but I am not sure there are many that do it with the style of this shirt.

Overall

So, this is a good lightweight shirt — it’s a good light layer, or comfortable shirt for the evenings. This is a really hard shirt for me to review, because I do really like it, but I have a hard time saying it is on par with most of the performance minded shirts I review here.

So, I’ll sum this shirt up like this: it feels like a late summer sunset — warm, cozy, and something you want to stay in for a little longer.

They are on last call here.

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When Steve ordered his Warpstreme ABC pants, I ordered them with the Tech Canvas — the weather just prevented me from testing them sooner. These are yet another take on a ‘modern 5-pocket’ or, modern jeans if you will. I’ve been testing them off and on for a while now, and overall: meh.

Let’s get into why.

Materials

The material is surprising on this. The make up is 49% Cotton, 45% Polyester, 6% Elastane, but that only tells part of the story. When I sat down to write this, I was surprised it had so much cotton, because it’s not soft like cotton at all. This is a thick, slightly scratchy, very heavily textured pant. ‘Canvas’ is an apt description, but it’s more of an open weave canvas, as they are breathable.

They do feel very durable, but only time will tell on that. They have a rough hand feel, and ample stretch.

Fit & Style

Fit overall was slightly smaller than true to size, so the 34 sized I ordered fits a bit tighter than I would ideally like, but I am not sure the 35 would be tight enough. They also fit very slim (a classic cut is available), and I find that my calves are always pressed on the material. Overall I think the slim on these is too slim.

I typically wear a 32” inseam, and I found these about a half inch shorter than I would like. So no matter which way you cut it, you might want to size up one notch if you generally find yourself on the cusp.

As for style, they are solid. The cut is fine, not the best, but fine. While the material looks ‘normal’ and has no sound while walking to give it away. If you can wear jeans there, you can wear these for sure.

Fit and style: nothing special.

Performance

There are three stand out things on these pants from a performance perspective:

1. The movement/stretch of these pants is fantastic. Even for the very slim fit, they never bind and always move easily. That’s great.
2. They breathe very well, almost airy feeling. So even though the pant is thick in looks and feel, they do breathe.
3. The last one is a weird issue though. They breath too well to work in cold weather, and they aren’t light enough to wear in warm weather. Which leaves essentially transitional weather and greatly limits the pants. They kind of need to make up their mind here.

They don’t dry fast, or have any other outstanding performance features — unless cuffing your pants and seeing a reflective stripe is a must for you.

Overall

Overall: they are fine, not great, just fine. The best comparisons are to Outlier Slim Dungarees ($198) and Western Rise’s Diversion Pants ($138). Given that these ABCs come in at $128, I don’t see anyway to justify the over the only slightly more expensive Diversion pants which perform better and are more comfortable.

NOTE: where possible all product links on this site may earn the site money when you buy using those links.

Note: this item was sent free of charge for review.

I’ll admit, I was skeptical of this shirt when Fisher + Baker reached out to see if we would be interested in looking at their clothing. All of it looks very nice, but cashmere + polyester — can that be better than some of the merino wool we normally test and wear? Why not though, learn something new every day. The pitch for this shirt is simple: “You deserve to wear cashmere, Everyday.”

Sounded fancy, so I’m in.

Materials

This shirt actually has a really interesting blend: 88% drirelease® Polyester and 12% Cashmere Wool. I have experience with both fabrics on their own, but never together. The combination of both makes the entire unit machine washable as well.

The entire shirt is luxuriously soft.

And I don’t mean that in a ‘soft for wool’ way. I mean it is soft. The hand feel is soft. Against your skin, soft. Against your face, soft. It feels like a soft cashmere blended with your most washed and loved cotton t-shirt — and yeah it feels great. It’s a heavy material, I would peg it around 170+gsm but not more than 200gsm. It’s thick so there is a nice drape and a substantial feel to it.

Performance

Ok, Fisher + Baker claims:

• Fast Drying: I would say it is faster than cotton by a large margin, but not quite as fast as thinner fully synthetic or merino wool shirts. I have no complaints, it will dry overnight without issue.
• Breathable: I thought this would fail on this front, but it doesn’t. It’s not the most breathable shirt I own, but it’s on par with most of my merino wool t-shirts and did decently in heat where the “feels like” was spiking to 105°F. Again, on par with merino wool — which is to say: well done.
• Odor Control: better than cotton, but not as good as pure merino wool. You can get a couple days out of it, but it’s not the most odor resistant. This does bring up one other small odor related thing: this shirt smells funky when you pull it from the washer. Very wet-wool smell. This goes away quickly as the shirt dries, but do note this.
• Easy to Care For: So, they say machine washable. They sent it to me to test, and as part of the packaging it came with some wool detergent. Seems like they would prefer you use wool detergent. But I wouldn’t know because I don’t read instructions well and Steve didn’t tell me not to do harmful things to the shirt, so I just washed it with all my other stuff in normal detergent. I hang dry all my shirts already, and I did the same here. The shirt survived it all, and it should, as drirelease has been very durable with my other shirts made from it. I didn’t detect any shrink or outright damage. I’ve washed it nearly 8 times now, and all I can see is minor fuzziness on the fabric. So, check.

To sum up the performance of this shirt, I would peg it at: above average. If you wash your clothing daily to begin with, you’ll find the performance great, but if you want the most wears out of your t-shirts then you could find more odor resistant options. Generally it performed far better than I expected and in line with the claims.

Fit and Style

I normally write this before the performance section, but thought it was best after. Because there are two aspect to this shirt: first it looks stellar. Second it is cut really well, and also cut in a way where it moves well too.

I tend to find most t-shirts either a little boxy, or a little to form fitting. Fisher + Baker really nailed this cut. There’s not annoying rub from any seams, they aren’t in the way of even shoulder straps, and the entire shirt just fits me very well.

As for style, it’s a t-shirt. A nice t-shirt, but still a t-shirt.

Overall

When I wrote up the review about Outlier’s Ultrafine Merino T, I ended it by saying “these are the most luxurious feeling shirts I’ve ever owned.” That statement is now obsolete. Those are the best merino shirts I have ever seen.

But the Fisher + Baker Everyday Cashmere Short Sleeve Crew is easily the most luxurious feeling shirts I’ve ever owned, while still performing well. At $98, yeah, these should be top of your list.

NOTE: where possible all product links on this site may earn the site money when you buy using those links.