The wool blend in my favorite blazer shrank after a rain - now I pre-treat everything

Honestly, I used to just toss my vintage wool sports jackets on after a hike without thinking about moisture, but last fall my go-to 1960s plaid blazer shrunk 2 inches in the sleeve after a drizzle. Now I spray all my jackets with a waterproofing mist before I even step outside with my custom folder. Has anyone else ruined a good piece of outerwear by ignoring the weather?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_sarah17d ago

WAIT, hold on. I'm going to be the one person who says it: all this spraying and pre-treating is a RACKET. You're adding chemicals to wool that was designed to handle weather just fine for centuries. That vintage blazer maybe shrunk because it wasn't made with modern tight weaves, but most wool can take a little rain if you just let it dry flat and brush it out when it's damp. I've got three uncoated wool coats from the 80s and they've been rained on, snowed on, everything. They're totally fine. You're basically putting a rain jacket over a rain jacket and this whole waterproofing trend feels like a way to sell you a $20 spray for something that's not even broken.

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robinson.paul17d ago

OH man, my friend had a vintage Pendleton from the 60s that he literally never treated and it's been through rain, sleet, and a full day in a wet car trunk - still looks GREAT. That "waterproofing" spray is just throwing money at a problem that doesn't exist for REAL wool.

the_morgan17d ago

Hold on, so you're telling me I've been wasting twenty bucks on spray that just makes my coat smell like a wet dog and a chemical plant at the same time... Great, now I feel like a sucker for trying to "protect" something that's been handling rain since before spray cans existed.