Anyone else itch like mad from a wool suit?

[Goldman Sachs]

Ok, so I guess this is a strange topic, but I need to know if anyone else is the same! It has been bothering me for years.

I have quite a few reasonably priced (cheap) suits, due to working in a job where it looks better to still be wearing a suit, and I find it easy to wear suits. Bit like a school uniform, you don't have to choose what to wear day in, day out.

My suits are all from M&S, Next, and I have one from Charles Tyrwhitt as well. I find the fit for my body shape is perfect from M&S and Next, and I feel that a good fit and colour choice is more important than the brand, so here we are.

The cheapest ones, the sort that are a full suit for £99-150, and are made from a blend of polyester/elastane/viscose are so comfortable. Like wearing a soft tracksuit. I can wear them all day and be perfectly comfy. I really like them.

The more expensive 'wool blend' ones (£200+) such as M&S Autograph/Italian range, are less comfortable. They feel more stiff and rough to the touch. When I wear them, I get a slightly uncomfortable prickly/itchy feeling where the material is on my skin, such as the trousers. I don't really like it.

The ones that are more expensive again (£300+), such as M&S Sartorial or Charles Tyrwhitt pure wool are honestly horrible to wear IMO. The wool feeling is awful. It feels like I'm wearing a cactus and I can't wait to take them off.

I almost never wear my wool suits anymore because of this.

Is it just me? Does anyone else feel uncomfortable when wearing a wool-blend suit?

I appreciate I am wearing the cheap end of the market, and none of these are £4000 from Savile Row, but I do wear them very regularly and end up going for after work drinks in them, eating in them, and all kinds of things, so I'm reluctant to buy something expensive and wear it out, ruin it, and all that.

I buy new polyester suit every so often and all is good, but some of the really nice ones I see in the shops are wool. I go to look at them, feel them with my hand, and recoil in horror...

[RC1807]

User name to the topic doesn’t check out….

I don’t have that problem, but you wear what’s comfortable for you.
No point in being uncomfortable because it’s a wool suit.

[Al Gorithum]

Yep. Never been able to wear wool, even as a child.

[Goldman Sachs]

RC1807 said:

User name to the topic doesn’t check out….

I don’t have that problem, but you wear what’s comfortable for you.
No point in being uncomfortable because it’s a wool suit.

Ha, maybe I do work for Goldman Sachs... but just emptying the bins in the office!

You are right, there is no point in being uncomfortable just because I want to wear something perceived as 'nicer'.
I just keep looking at £400+ wool suits and thinking how nice they look, but then can't buy them as I know what will happen.

I was just wondering if I'm some kind of weirdo with overly sensitive skin, or if this was common and people just put up with it?

[Sporky]

My wife knits, but can't wear wool if it touches her skin - always with an under layer.

She describes wool as made of scouring pads and fire ants, which sounds along the same lines as you. So I would venture that it's uncommon, but definitely not just you.

Wear what you're comfy in.

[Goldman Sachs]

Sporky said:

My wife knits, but can't wear wool if it touches her skin - always with an under layer.

She describes wool as made of scouring pads and fire ants, which sounds along the same lines as you. So I would venture that it's uncommon, but definitely not just you.

Wear what you're comfy in.

I know exactly what your wife means.

If a suit could be made entirely out of scouring pads or wire wool, then I'm pretty sure it would feel exactly the same to me as the wool ones you can buy off the peg in M&S....

[jet_noise]

Al Gorithum said:

Yep. Never been able to wear wool, even as a child.

Snap.
I can cope with a thickish layer in between, say sweatshirt but anything thinner and it's itch/rash.
Some/many/most people are able to wear a wool pullover direct to the skin. Makes me itchy just to see it!

[Sporky]

Then I don't know what it is, but I'm strongly confident neither of you is fibbing. I wonder what causes it.

[Zio Di Roma]

Goldman Sachs said:

Ok, so I guess this is a strange topic, but I need to know if anyone else is the same! It has been bothering me for years.

I have quite a few reasonably priced (cheap) suits, due to working in a job where it looks better to still be wearing a suit, and I find it easy to wear suits. Bit like a school uniform, you don't have to choose what to wear day in, day out.

My suits are all from M&S, Next, and I have one from Charles Tyrwhitt as well. I find the fit for my body shape is perfect from M&S and Next, and I feel that a good fit and colour choice is more important than the brand, so here we are.

The cheapest ones, the sort that are a full suit for £99-150, and are made from a blend of polyester/elastane/viscose are so comfortable. Like wearing a soft tracksuit. I can wear them all day and be perfectly comfy. I really like them.

The more expensive 'wool blend' ones (£200+) such as M&S Autograph/Italian range, are less comfortable. They feel more stiff and rough to the touch. When I wear them, I get a slightly uncomfortable prickly/itchy feeling where the material is on my skin, such as the trousers. I don't really like it.

The ones that are more expensive again (£300+), such as M&S Sartorial or Charles Tyrwhitt pure wool are honestly horrible to wear IMO. The wool feeling is awful. It feels like I'm wearing a cactus and I can't wait to take them off.

I almost never wear my wool suits anymore because of this.

Is it just me? Does anyone else feel uncomfortable when wearing a wool-blend suit?

I appreciate I am wearing the cheap end of the market, and none of these are £4000 from Savile Row, but I do wear them very regularly and end up going for after work drinks in them, eating in them, and all kinds of things, so I'm reluctant to buy something expensive and wear it out, ruin it, and all that.

I buy new polyester suit every so often and all is good, but some of the really nice ones I see in the shops are wool. I go to look at them, feel them with my hand, and recoil in horror...

There is wool and there is wool.

I generally have my suits made, so can choose a cloth that is not itchy. Anything other than cloth that feels silky smooth gets rejected.

You don't have to have suits made to obtain comfort though. Just handle the cloth of any suit you buy, feel it with the back of your hand if needs be. The slightest hint of scratchiness and it will be uncomfortable on your skin.

[Goldman Sachs]

Zio Di Roma said:

There is wool and there is wool.

I generally have my suits made, so can choose a cloth that is not itchy. Anything other than cloth that feels silky smooth gets rejected.

You don't have to have suits made to obtain comfort though. Just handle the cloth of any suit you buy, feel it with the back of your hand if needs be. The slightest hint of scratchiness and it will be uncomfortable on your skin.

I understand that worsted wool is less itchy as it is processed to remove the microscopic barbs that cause wool to be itchy, and I also know that the finer the thread such as Super 120S or above is a lot smoother/softer but the trade off is that much softer wool is often less durable and less suitable for regular all-day wear.

I've felt suits that were supposedly super-fine and worsted, and they still felt slightly prickly to my skin, so I'm guessing that my skin just won't accept wool unfortunately.

jet_noise said:

Snap.
I can cope with a thickish layer in between, say sweatshirt but anything thinner and it's itch/rash.
Some/many/most people are able to wear a wool pullover direct to the skin. Makes me itchy just to see it!

As a present for me, my wife bought me a 'superfine lambswool' jumper from Gant which was about £150, and to be fair it looks beautiful, but I wore it once (with a T shirt underneath) and all I could think about was getting it off and away from my skin. Never worn it again. What a waste.

Edited by Goldman Sachs on Friday 12th April 15:00

[Zio Di Roma]

Goldman Sachs said:

Zio Di Roma said:

There is wool and there is wool.

I generally have my suits made, so can choose a cloth that is not itchy. Anything other than cloth that feels silky smooth gets rejected.

You don't have to have suits made to obtain comfort though. Just handle the cloth of any suit you buy, feel it with the back of your hand if needs be. The slightest hint of scratchiness and it will be uncomfortable on your skin.

I understand that worsted wool is less itchy as it is processed to remove the microscopic barbs that cause wool to be itchy, and I also know that the finer the thread such as Super 120S or above is a lot smoother/softer but the trade off is that much softer wool is often less durable and less suitable for regular all-day wear.

I've felt suits that were supposedly super-fine and worsted, and they still felt slightly prickly to my skin, so I'm guessing that my skin just won't accept wool unfortunately.

jet_noise said:

Snap.
I can cope with a thickish layer in between, say sweatshirt but anything thinner and it's itch/rash.
Some/many/most people are able to wear a wool pullover direct to the skin. Makes me itchy just to see it!

As a present for me, my wife bought me a 'superfine lambswool' jumper from Gant which was about £150, and to be fair it looks beautiful, but I wore it once (with a T shirt underneath) and all I could think about was getting it off and away from my skin. Never worn it again. What a waste.

Edited by Goldman Sachs on Friday 12th April 15:00

It could be that you have an allergy of some sort. I am a sensitive little cherub and, whilst I have to be careful, I can pick out wool that doesn't itch. You may just be experiencing the joys of retail grade wool.

You can buy suits made of all manner of stuff that isn't wool, though. I was picking fabrics a few weeks ago and one of my favourites was 100% bamboo.

My children have school suits that feel like flannel but are in fact 100% synthetic. I am told they are quite warm, but they are soft and durable. They were also economical - House of Cavani or Remus Uomo.

[Fallingup]

Old issue British Army battle dress top and bottoms complete with woolly shirt in the school cadet Corp. Itchy as fk. Horrid stuff.

[Alpacaman]

It may be that you are allergic to the lanolin in wool or it's just the coarseness of the fibres. Alpaca is hypoallergenic and softer and warmer than wool, but I doubt you would get a suit made from it, but if you are looking for a jumper that doesn't make you itch.

[languagetimothy]

I used to get some suits from Next but once Zara appeared I preferred them as the style and fit was ok for me. Perhaps your talking about the thicker and heavier material, something that I might hv worn in winter particularly in a navy or grey chalk stripe. They could get hot and uncomfortable in warm situations.

Many financial institutions allow smart casual these days if not client facing, so chinos and a plain collared shirt with shoes and a tie in the draw just in case. So still easy to dress for the working week.

Oh..and I did work for GS back in the day for just over ten years. Good place to work .

[Radec]

Alpacaman said:

It may be that you are allergic to the lanolin in wool or it's just the coarseness of the fibres. Alpaca is hypoallergenic and softer and warmer than wool, but I doubt you would get a suit made from it, but if you are looking for a jumper that doesn't make you itch.

I think you're correct

My alpaca suit doesn't itch at all.

[Nethybridge]

Fallingup said:

Old issue British Army battle dress top and bottoms complete with woolly shirt in the school cadet Corp. Itchy as fk. Horrid stuff.

I had to leave the Cubs because of the itchiness of the demonic dark
green jumper, I'm sure it was knitted with dyed pubic hair.

[Mobile Chicane]

I can't wear anything 'woolly' next to my skin - not even cashmere.

I think it's a Aspie thing, as all my senses seem to be heightened compared with other people. Finding cleaning products and toiletries I like can be a challenge as to me they all stink.

[OzzyR1]

Fallingup said:

Old issue British Army battle dress top and bottoms complete with woolly shirt in the school cadet Corp. Itchy as fk. Horrid stuff.

Those shirts were horrendous.

Back in the day, quite a few of us in the school CCF went down to the army surplus place near the old cattle market in Nottingham and bought the German cotton ones - still didn't stop the full horror of the jumper coming through to the skin but at least the shirt didn't feel like you were wearing fibreglass.

[Goldman Sachs]

OzzyR1 said:

Fallingup said:

Old issue British Army battle dress top and bottoms complete with woolly shirt in the school cadet Corp. Itchy as fk. Horrid stuff.

Those shirts were horrendous.

Back in the day, quite a few of us in the school CCF went down to the army surplus place near the old cattle market in Nottingham and bought the German cotton ones - still didn't stop the full horror of the jumper coming through to the skin but at least the shirt didn't feel like you were wearing fibreglass.

I went to Woodbridge school in Suffolk, which was big into CCF, and I promise I am not making this up, I left the RAF CCF as soon as i could because I couldn’t stand a minute longer of wearing the uniform.

Wool trousers, wool jumper, wool beret. It was absolutely horrific, and like you say, it was like wearing raw fibreglass all over you, I couldn’t even concentrate on what we were supposed to be doing because of it.

I even tried wearing a tracksuit or pyjamas under it, but it was still awful.

When the visiting RAF personnel tried to talk me out of leaving I told them straight up it was mostly because if the horrible uniform and how it it was almost painful.

The guy looked at me like I was mental!

[Mr Penguin]

Some wool is scratchy, some wool is not - if your suit scratches then you should try suits from elsewhere. I also have my suits made and it's worth the price to pick the wool and get a better fit.