The Armour Archive

Has anyone else noticed this?

I recently received a pair of their chausses, grey wool, and they were suprisingly scratchy. Not fiberglass scratchy, but still rougher in texture than I expected.

I guess I'm spoiled by wool flannel or worsted wools fluffed in the wash before cutting and sewing, but most real wools are softer to me.

Does Historic Enterprises use a blend on some of these?
Do they just need a cold water wash?

I own 6 pairs of wool chausses and 2 pairs of joined hose (1 is boiled wool) from H.E. and I have noticed no such issue with any of them.
Some of their material is a wool blend, but Gwen will usually notify you or mark the material as such, as is my understanding.
-Cian

I'll be.

I just called and come to find out, almost ALL of their wool chausses are actually a wool blend.

Pamela at HE recommended a cold water wash to soften them up, and she wants me to call her back and see how that works, but I gotta admit, this surprised me.

When I buy an item advertized as wool, I have an expectation of that. I don't want to buy an item listed as wool, only to have it arrive and be marked "Blend".

I'm also a little surprised a company of this caliber isn't using real worsted wool or flannel as a standard for separate leg chausses.

I'll try a wash and let you guys know how it works out.

From Historic Enterprises Fabrics and Weaves section. It seems as though if you take the time to peruse the site, you'll discover most of the ingredients for their products in detail. If you ordered wool chausses and received blend, that may be problematic. Perhaps you can ask whether or not they still carry "wool" leggings, and if not why they don't edit the heading? For my part, I've owned two pairs of their wool chausses and have had no problems with itching. I've also found their costumer service to be good, so if you take your issue to them regarding the blended product, perhaps Gwen or her employees can help you out.

-Gerhard

Wool
Our wool fabrics come from all over the world. Tunics, trousers, chausses, gowns, doublets and the like are made from light to medium garment weight material. We do not use heavy coating wools for these garments. Hats, hoods and other accessories are often made from heavier weight wools which have been fulled. Every effort is made to use the historically correct colour and weave for each garment according to period and social class.

Most wools are 80-100% pure and cannot be machine washed and dried. We recommend dry cleaning for wool garments, although some pieces may be carefully hand washed and dried flat.

Wool Blends
We offer wool blends as a service for those with serious wool allergies and/or a desire to machine wash their garments. Washable blends have been carefully chosen to have a natural wool look and colour. We screen these fabrics so carefully that many have passed Regia Anglorum authenticity standards. Washable blends are clearly marked as such and may be machine washed in cold water on a short/delicate cycle.

Unfortunately, wool or wool blend is almost a no win situation for us.

When I use 100% wool the cost is higher, and the garment is more delicate. Delicate in that it has special requirements for wear and cleaning, not that it isn't sturdy.

You have to be a bit careful about wearing wool when it is wet, as it can stretch, shrink or bleed.

Most good wools require dry cleaning. Sometimes you can hand wash and flat dry, but you can't definitely can't throw the garment in with your jeans.

Some people are put off if a garment is 'dry clean only', and they can't throw their clothes in the washer after every event. The only way to make wool washable is to blend it with something else. To satisfy those people, we offer some of our garments in wool blends.

We offer this information in the 'Fibres and Weaves' section of our website:


Wool Blends
We offer wool blends as a service for those with serious wool allergies and/or a desire to machine wash their garments. Washable blends have been carefully chosen to have a natural wool look and colour. We screen these fabrics so carefully that many have passed Regia Anglorum authenticity standards. Washable blends are clearly marked as such and may be machine washed in cold water on a short/delicate cycle.

Since this has come up, I have altered the product description (change noted in red) to make the use of wool blends more transparent.

A note on colours: We often use heather, tweedy, or mottled fabrics for our wool chausses. These fabrics may incorporate different coloured threads or specks, or have an interesting patterned weave. We also offer wool blends for those who have wool allergies, or want to be able to machine wash their clothing. All fabrics are carefully chosen to replicate historical fabrics and colours. Please refer to the Fabric Colours, Weaves and Information section for more on the fabrics we use for our clothing.

We will always choose the chausses which best complements other items in your order. If you have a specific request regarding fibre content, colour or weave, please make a note in the Order Comments section of the Order Form. You can also email or call us at 760.789.2299 to discuss your order. Model is wearing burgundy

Regarding the scratchiness issue, in the past, we have sold our washable garments pre laundered. The rising cost of water in Southern California has created skyrocketing laundy costs. Rather than pass the rise along to our customers, I have decided to stop pre laundering our garments as a means of cutting costs.

We have enclosed a sheet detailing this change (printed on neon paper) in each order shipped since I changed the policy.

I have washed the fabric the chausses are made of, and it comes up nice and soft.

If you are not satisfied with the garment before or after laundering, we will be happy to exchange the unworn items within the 14 day return period.

Please indulge me here and allow me to say that I find it extremely confusing and discouraging when a thread like this pops up.

Confusing, because I always wonder why the poster didn't contact me -first- with a question like this. I'm really the best person to give them the correct answer, since I'm the one buying the fabric and selling the garment. Contact info is all over our website, so I'm not hard to find.

Discouraging, because it sounds a lot like I'm being accused on a public forum of trying to dupe people by misrepresenting what we sell. For someone who really cares about being honest and straight up with my customers, it's really disheartening.

Gwen

Like I said, I did call and speak to Pamela.

If you look at the wool chausses page, it doesn't indicate you will likely receive a wool blend (or didn't before the edit you just indicated).

I did.

I am surprised.

I wasn't "offered wool blends as a service", I just got a wool blend when I thought I was getting a wool product.

You actually spoke to Paula.

I am happy to accept a return on the chausses if you are unhappy. If you would like to do so, please email me privately, as I'm not comfortable conducting business on forums.

Thank you.

Gwen
gwen @ historicenterprises.com
760-789-2299

i have a bunch of em

non of mine are scratchy

I have three pair of the wool blend. I live in Florida and I still wear them during the summer, albeit rolled down ala the "aggro peasant" look.
I think when they were brand new they MIGHT have been a little rough but after about the second wash I've never even noticed.
And I completely and utterly prefer them to my linen chausses.
I wish I'd bought only the wool, actually.