Stevenson Overall Company

[rmc]

are these thermals dry clean only or can i actually cold wash and hang dry to keep its structure/minimize shrinkage?

Edited December 25, 2020 by rmc

[goodrain]

1 hour ago, rmc said:

are these thermals dry clean only or can i actually cold wash and hang dry to keep its structure/minimize shrinkage?

A machine wash will yield a full size of shrinkage, dry cleaning will retain original sizing

 

https://www.selfedge.com/stevenson-overall-co?product_id=2758

[owlofminerva]

On 12/24/2020 at 10:20 AM, Broark said:

Some photos of the wool thermal I just got from SE, like I mentioned this is one of the nicest things I've bought in a long time.
The honeycomb knit detail is really nice and the merino wool used is very soft and not at all itchy.
I'll try to get some fit pics up, I'll definitely be dry cleaning this one to avoid any shrink.
 

Broark is this the light grey or the dark grey?  I already have the charcoal, and it is in regular rotation, but I think I may like this shade even more and might just pick it up.

By the way, I have hand washed mine in cold water twice and there was no noticeable shrinkage...  That said, it was already pretty form fitting and stretchy, so I'm not sure I would have noticed if it did.

[Broark]

@owlofminerva this is the dark grey version that was just released, lighting is a little overexposed so it looks a little lighter in my photos than in person. Good to know on the shrinkage, it is pretty stretchy and forgiving. I still think I’ll probably dry clean just to be careful (although I don’t think I’ve ever had anything dry cleaned in my life?). 

[youngofthesoonest]

23 hours ago, goodrain said:

let's see some fit pics @youngofthesoonest @Broark

I am thinking of getting the gray or black one too....

[lee porter]

Really nice fit and on the jeans too what are they? 

[julian-wolf]

Have a linen Unionist shirt up for sale in Large: http://soc-la.com/item.php?c=1975

Don't know of any US stockists that carried it, but it's a really lovely shirt—great construction and fabric, as you'd expect from SOC—my main issue is that the arms taper down to be very slim, which is no good for me

Let me know if you think you might be interested—happy to post more photos, measurements, etc., on request

[AnOldFolkSong]

1st wash, 24 days, @24 wears
2nd wash, +10 days, @34 wears
3rd wash, +12 days, @46 wears
4th wash, +7 days, @53 wears
5th wash, +54 days, @107 wears
6th wash, +75 days, @183 wears

6mos of daily wears, Stevenson 220 Carmel

edit: from a comment that got buried on reddit almost a year ago 

Stevenson 220 Carmel...so far

TL;DR: https://imgur.com/a/Gw4lWwI Bought these on August 12 of 2019. Six months have passed.

My secondary New Year’s resolution was to hit the year mark in these to see if I should join the Indigo Invitational II(2)(Part Deux).So far, so good.

No repairs so far. Daily wear, wash when needed. I do run pairs through a soak/washer/dryer initially, inside out, on hot to prevent shifting and settle the fit early, followed by hot washer/dryer, inside out washes when necessary or the fit feels off.

Not sure if there’s another version of this pair but it seems to look a little different from another Stevenson 220 that I’ve been keeping up with.

Fabric is beautiful, sanforized; wasn’t sure how well it’d compare with Stevenson signature “green river” selvedge id, but I’m impressed. Really vintage-feeling custom long staple U.S. cotton Nihon Menpu indigo/natural 14oz, fades to a gorgeous, uneven but not overly engineered texture. I’d say zoom in, but I’m probably going to try and find a better camera at some point instead of relying on my phone. Available in other fits, including 210 Big Sur. Worth checking out.

Sizing can be tricky for most Stevenson products, so checking size charts is absolutely necessary. These are a size 32, I am usually not. Relaxed Taper and Straight Taper are the two descriptions I’ve seen for this pair, not sure which is correct, but the thighs have a measurement that made sense since I’m coming mainly from Straight fits. The back and front rises were high enough to prevent immodesty.  I do stack the 34.5 inseam.

It’d be difficult to point out every detail that stuck out but the construction is very solid, the flying arc a little nod on the pockets, the crossed center back belt loop, very nice branded leather backed iron donut button fly, copper rivets, slanted belt loops, beautiful roping from the factory chainstitch, which I’m hesitant to alter in most pairs, deerskin patch. Amazing (cotton/polycotton?) stitch work finished with a twin needle stitch.  I’d definitely consider another pair of Stevensons if my current stock allows.

Anyway, it’s been a journey.

Edited January 17, 2021 by AnOldFolkSong

[youngofthesoonest]

nice! I'm still wearing mine regularly too. There has only been one version of the 220 and the same fabric which is the same as the 210. Different wear and wash habits make a big difference!

[southofnonorth]

Anyone interested in a pair of 727 ‘La Jolla’ in size 30?

[ColonelAngus]

Is SOC still putting stuff out? Haven’t seen anything new from them in awhile 

[julian-wolf]

I have a shirt from S/S 2020, but I guess that's not that recent anymore…

[youngofthesoonest]

Stevenson has a collection coming out in 2022! There is a lot of great new stuff and some reworked existing styles. 

[julian-wolf]

Really excited that Self Edge got Stevenson to make up a batch of those merino thermals in XXL—always wanted one since trying them on a few years ago, but the XL would have def. been too small after a wash

[mpukas]

I just ordered my first one, an XL in Khaki. After my fiasco w/ the TS merino sweater, I do not plan on washing it, only dry clean. @julian-wolf now you've got me thinking maybe I should have gotten a XXL...

@kiya - how do these merino thermals fair with a wash? Recommendations, as some merino garments wash well and others do not. Thx! 

[kiya]

14 minutes ago, mpukas said:

I just ordered my first one, an XL in Khaki. After my fiasco w/ the TS merino sweater, I do not plan on washing it, only dry clean. @julian-wolf now you've got me thinking maybe I should have gotten a XXL...

@kiya - how do these merino thermals fair with a wash? Recommendations, as some merino garments wash well and others do not. Thx! 

Considering they're made of fine merino wool I highly recommend dry cleaning them.  

If you do decide to wash them use Woolite in cold water, and air/line dry, and expect a full size of shrinkage or so.

[julian-wolf]

@mpukas I’m planning on machine washing mine gentle like everything else & air drying, so I can report back in a week or so on how much shrinkage I see

I’ve found that when I say I’m only gonna dry-clean clothes I just never end up wearing them, & that seems like a waste—I’ll happily shrink it some & cut its lifespan a little short if that means wearing it as much as I want in stead of letting it sit in the hamper for weeks at a time while I forget to take it to the cleaners—to each their own, though

[ATWM]

Serious question: What's the utility of an expensive ass thermal that one has to baby at the dry cleaners? I get that I'm asking about utility on a fashion forum, but still. 

[goodrain]

It's really a fine merino wool sweater that takes the form of a thermal. Its utility is that it keeps you warm and makes you look fly af.

[youngofthesoonest]

22 hours ago, goodrain said:

It's really a fine merino wool sweater that takes the form of a thermal. Its utility is that it keeps you warm and makes you look fly af.

I was about to reply with the same response. FWIW, atsu from stevenson said he made this thermal specifically because he wanted a merino sweater/thermal he could wash without needing to worry that he'll ruin the fabric. The shrink isn't too bad...From what i've heard from people who've washed it, they saw about a size shrink and then it stretches some. 

[mpukas]

I'm not as worried about it shrinking in a wash (as I could size up to account for shrinkage). I'm more concerned about how the texture of the wool fibers would be affected by washing. As I've said, in my experience some merino wool garments wash just fine, others do not. I'd much prefer to wash - even hand wash - than take it to the dry cleaners. 

[goodrain]

wash it in one of those mesh laundry bags and you should be good

[mpukas]

ima wait for @julian-wolf to wash his before I do anything 

[ATWM]

16 hours ago, youngofthesoonest said:

I was about to reply with the same response. FWIW, atsu from stevenson said he made this thermal specifically because he wanted a merino sweater/thermal he could wash without needing to worry that he'll ruin the fabric. The shrink isn't too bad...From what i've heard from people who've washed it, they saw about a size shrink and then it stretches some. 

That's cool - but it sounds contradictory to the dry cleaning instructive. I guess it's just my associations with both merino and thermal. I have a few merino thermals and they're great but I use thermals to work in which means they get sweaty and dirty and need to be washed - and I do wash them a lot. It would be similar if someone made dry clean only blue jeans, only these jeans need to be washed every few wears at most. 

[goodrain]

On 11/29/2021 at 10:56 AM, mpukas said:

ima wait for @julian-wolf to wash his before I do anything 

Might take him a while to get back to you. He is either working on his PHD dissertation or buying his 40th pair of jeans.

[julian-wolf]

Gave it a wash last night, will take some measurements & write up a few thoughts when I get home

[julian-wolf]

Having put it through the wash, I’d say this acts more like a fine-knit sweater than like other cut-and-sewn merino tops that I’ve worn. It shrunk probably around a size and a half, and felted just slightly. I think this’ll make washing it down the line a little more annoying than I was hoping (& I’ll probably end up wearing tee shirts under it, to keep it a little cleaner), but all things considered it still seems to have taken it fairly well.

The upside it it acting more like a sweater is that it can be blocked like one when drying. The body and sleeves looked a full 2–3” longer than I wanted when I pulled it from the machine, but laying it flat to dry and pulling everything to the size that I wanted easily got it to a nice state.

Since I did manipulate it while drying, I don’t think it would be very useful for me to post before and after measurements, but: before a wash, the XXL was extremely baggy, and the XL that I tried on in Self Edge a couple years ago fit just about perfect; after washing, blocking, and drying, the XXL fits similar to the raw XL, but a little tighter at the neck and in the armpits. Overall, very pleased with the results.

[goodrain]

25 minutes ago, julian-wolf said:

Having put it through the wash, I’d say this acts more like a fine-knit sweater than like other cut-and-sewn merino tops that I’ve worn. It shrunk probably around a size and a half, and felted just slightly. I think this’ll make washing it down the line a little more annoying than I was hoping (& I’ll probably end up wearing tee shirts under it, to keep it a little cleaner), but all things considered it still seems to have taken it fairly well.

The upside it it acting more like a sweater is that it can be blocked like one when drying. The body and sleeves looked a full 2–3” longer than I wanted when I pulled it from the machine, but laying it flat to dry and pulling everything to the size that I wanted easily got it to a nice state.

Since I did manipulate it while drying, I don’t think it would be very useful for me to post before and after measurements, but: before a wash, the XXL was extremely baggy, and the XL that I tried on in Self Edge a couple years ago fit just about perfect; after washing, blocking, and drying, the XXL fits similar to the raw XL, but a little tighter at the neck and in the armpits. Overall, very pleased with the results.

did you use a mesh laundry bag for sweaters?

[julian-wolf]

Nope, never have, but the machine at my current place is pretty gentle

[goodrain]

mesh laundry bags help a lot