How do you describe the sensation of wool in your skin? For some, the sensation is cozy and soft. Others remember a tingling feeling.
But would you describe wool as “healthy,” “comfortable,” or “pure”?
This is how wool was marketed a century ago Foy & Gibson mail order catalogsan Australian department store and manufacturer.
I browsed through catalogs from the primary 4 a long time of the twentieth century (although Foy & Gibson printed catalogs longer and lots of other shops also distributed catalogs) to know what attracted Australian customers to wearing wool – goods that were so popular, that Foy & Gibson spun an astonishing 8,100,000 miles of yarn by the top of the Nineteen Twenties.
Foy & Gibson
People have worn and traveled with wool for hundreds of years thriving wool trade before marketing got here along to sell much more natural fibers.
As a serious manufacturer of woolen fabrics and clothing in Australia, Foy & Gibsons “two miles of mills“ dominated the Melbourne suburb of Collingwood within the twentieth century.
State Library of Victoria
The wool spun at these mills was made into fabrics and clothing sold at Foy & Gibson's flagship store on Smith Street. Further stores have opened in Melbourne's city and suburbs and further afield including Perth, Brisbane and Adelaide.
Country customers used Foy & Gibson's mail order catalogs to make their selections. Clothing dominated the pages, but tableware and dolls, hair tonic and horse harnesses, medicines and manchesters, strollers, pumps and way more appeared.
State Library of Victoria
Women's coats, with descriptions starting from “practical” to “fashionable,” were available in tweed, velor, and more. “Pretty” dresses were made based on the “fanciest styles from abroad.”
Ready-made or tailored men's suits – the second, accessible remotely through the careful completion of a self-measurement form – were available. This also applied to boys' knickerbocker suits.
These and lots of other Foy & Gibson garments were comprised of wool, although other natural fibers – cotton, linen and silk – also appeared within the catalogs. Viscose, the primary “artificial” fiber, also did this.
University of Melbourne Archives
Foy & Gibson proudly promoted Australian manufacturing, with some goods described as “thoroughly Australian – from the greasy wool to the finished article”. Foy & Gibson assured that this wool was the “purest and best” available. It was the “finest Australian wool”.
Purity and quality were necessary when many wore wool directly on the skin.
Healthy in wool
In the later a long time of the nineteenth century Clothing reformer Gustav Jaeger had introduced his Sanitary wool system.
Wool draws sweat away from the body, he emphasized, while other cloths stick wet – and unhealthy – to the body. Jaeger believed that wearing wool from underwear to the outer layers would allow “harmful odors” to penetrate the skin.
State Library of Victoria
Jaeger's system relies on an extended history of pure, natural fibers linked to good health. Linen underwear has been worn for hundreds of years for hygienic reasons as people were concerned with cleanliness and the frequency of washing the body.
Pure fiber and health remained closely linked throughout the twentieth century. Foy & Gibson seized on this trend and guaranteed its customers of “better health” in wool. It kept the body “at a natural, comfortable warmth,” conducted fresh air, absorbed sweat, and prevented overcooling.
University of Melbourne Archives
Some wore wool as a mixture: undergarments fastened on the waist and increasing from neck to ankle. Others preferred to wear wool “undershirts” with long or half sleeves and a single row of buttons on the neck or with a double-breasted front. Foy & Gibson sold undershirts in superb, medium, heavy or extra heavy weights for various seasons.
Comfortable in wool
This feeling of wool on the skin – and its healthy properties – prolonged to costumes worn on the beach.
The growing interest in physical culture in the primary a long time of the twentieth century led to an overlapping of ideas surrounding fitness, vitality and sweetness. Training programs gained momentum and Beach bathing enjoyed increasing popularity.
University of Melbourne Archives
Swimming costumes modified dramatically. Australia's beaches offered fresh sea air, invigorating water and warm rays of sunshine that encouraged naked, wool-clad beachgoers to reveal their bodies.
Foy & Gibson made swimsuits in all club colours for lifesavers identical to them national icon.
These wool swimsuits might sag when wet or stick uncomfortably and unflatteringly, but manufacturers like Foy & Gibson tried to enhance fit, stretch and luxury yr after yr.
New swimsuits were designed for leisure or energetic use. Foy & Gibson's streamlined “Siren” swimsuit was introduced in 1930 and was available in a “Speed” or “Suntan” cut. Both, customers were told, provided “the much-desirable tight-fitting effect” while allowing “perfect freedom of movement.”
These costumes were comfortable out and in of the water.
Wear wool today
When searching for sustainable clothing options, we concentrate to this the results from fast fashionWaste and pollution from synthetic fibers, wool made into underwear and swimwear is experiencing a resurgence.
And not only that. As the Foy & Gibson catalogs show us, wool might be made into fabrics and garments of various weights and textures: a few of them are thin and lightweight, others make the warmest wools for winter.
Out of Wedding dresses And Wool denim Jeans too Activewear and athleisureToday, as then, wool might be worn in many various ways. Australia superfine merino wool ensures its softness on the skin.
image credit : theconversation.com