Whipcord Shirt

25 July 2025 --- Cody, Ralph        Whipcord is a type of durable, tightly woven fabric that has a distinctive diagonal (twill) rib pattern. It's known for its strength, wind resistance, and crisp finish, making it equally suitable for business attire as well as the backwoods.  Our own Whipcord is woven from 100% Worsted Yarn and is also, of course, 100% WeatherWool Certified Fine Wool.   A strong endorsement by an Adirondack Woodsman and former Park Ranger got the wheels spinning on development of this Fabric.  Whipcord was once a standard for uniforms, including those of the British Army, U.S. Army and Marine Corps, German Military, as well as many of the Forest Ranger uniforms in the earlier part of the century. Many old timers will tell you it was the best stuff, but the #1 reason it fell out of favor was the cost of production. Synthetics or blended fabrics are far cheaper to manufacture at scale.    This Shirt is a natural extension of our mission:  to make serious performance gear that looks as good in the field as it does around town.     For a Shirt that is comfortable at room temperature, it offers surprising wind resistance and warmth.   And for a dressy Shirt, it stands up to rough and careless treatment really well.   Grey-collar workers (such as supervisors of outdoor projects, insurance adjusters ...) who need to bridge the gap between typical business suit and warm clothing that doesn't wrinkle or need to be laundered much (let alone pressed!) will find a friend in wool, particularly Whipcord.   I (Ralph) have been testing this for several months, and found it comfortable on bare skin.  Cody found it very slightly scratchy.   I also tested it in the woods, hunting.  For me, it's adequate warmth in 40F/5C, even with no base layer, so long as I was moving a little.  I crashed through some sticker bushes, and it held up pretty well, but that's not really what this Shirt is for and that sort of use is not recommended.   And the Fabric does have a slight sheen, so, at least in Black (the only color we've made so far), it's not recommended for someone trying to disappear in Nature.   For serious woods-wear, such as necessary for Pants, we'll need a different version of Whipcord.   This is a very small test run.   We'll get some feedback, continue our own use, and see how things go.  We like the Whipcord Fabric a lot, and intend to explore other uses for it.   With the help of JR at Factory8, who made the Shirt for us, we were able to locate some appropriately-sized, Slot Buttons!   If we make many of these Shirts, we might actually have to make the Slots ourselves, but LouLou Buttons had some old stock sufficient for this maiden run.   I am pretty sure if/when we make this Shirt again, we'll change the sizing, but this first run is oversized, meaning people will probably be ordering something smaller than their usual.   Key Features: 100% Pure Worsted Wool Whipcord – tightly woven for superior wind resistance and durability Naturally Breathable & Insulating – keeps you warm when it's cold and cool when it's not. Wrinkle Free – Due to the natural wrinkle-free nature of wool, this shirt always looks great. No additional chemicals are applied to this shirt, like many of the "Wrinkle Free" Shirts on the market. Versatile Fit & Cut – tailored for movement. Classic Workwear Styling – equally at home in the wilderness or city Made in the USA – with our signature commitment to craftsmanship and 100% wool natural materials   Model is 5'11" 186lbs wearing a size small.   Last photo shows the Whipcord Shirt paired with our (always 100% Wool Fabric) Denim Chore Coat and Denim Trousers in what we enjoy calling the WeatherWool Tuxedo.            Whipcord Shirt Sizing Info