Falling in love with a garment?

This is more of a Romeo and Juliet tragic...

You ever just become infatuated with a shirt? A pair of pants? A hat? It’s insanely stupid how that happens. You’re minding your own business, doomscrolling (on Substack, I’m sure), and you see it. Your pupils dilate, your hair stands on end, your heart pounds.

“This is the one,” you think to yourself.

…No? Just me? Damn. It happens way more than it should. It’s the age-old conundrum of “If I get [insert jawn here] and I’ll finally be happy!” Only to repeat the process five days later.

Let’s face it, I go through that all the time. I’ve even documented my journey with sweaters and loafers on Substack!

And to tell you the truth, it’ll probably happen for the rest of my life.

You may be wondering where this is coming from, and it all stemmed from this post by Vacations On.

Here he is talking about the insanely expensive fleece made by Rier. Brodie is not wrong, the price of the real ones is completely ridiculous… but I fell in love.

(Ironically, he’s actually making fun of the people who obsess over the fleece, but that doesn’t stop someone who is as determined as me!)

I had (literally) heard of this fleece from the Throwing Fits podcast before they jumped ship to Substack (only to leave Substack a year later), but I had never seen it. And honestly, after doing my own research on the fleece, I confirmed my infatuation with it, knowing;

• They’re 100% wool

• They’re self-cleaning — meaning you just need to air it out, and you’re pretty sweet to go

• The Silhouette looks beautiful

• They’re made to order, so more sustainable than most brands

I did look for cheaper alternatives, but honestly, when an original garment has its copycats, they’ll never be as good as the real deal. The biggest downfall for these dupes is usually the silhouette can never be replicated.

I think that’s what makes this garment so painful. THE PRICE, and the fact that you can’t find it cheaper. At a whopping $1600 AUD, this is one I can only love from afar.

That said, there’s always the possibility of finding them for sale, or secondhand, but I would still be paying a cool 800 bones. Definitely not feasible for a jawnsmen on a budget — which I wrote about late last year.

So naturally, you have to pivot, and by stupid chance, I found the one.

Introducing Natalka. These are 100% cashmere-wool fleeces with a very interesting silhouette.

There’s a lot to unpack with this fleece that I can’t stop thinking about.

Firstly, the cuffs. The elasticated cuffs that bunch like this have recently become more on-trend over the last couple of years, but it’s honestly the only reason why I spent way too much on my Satisfy hoodie. I love the elasticated look, and it’s nice to see more of these.

them good cuffs.

The pockets are equally cool. I like this more than your standard kangaroo pouch. It seems to be heavily inspired by the Navy sweatshirts from years ago. There aren’t many of these around, but when I see one, I always appreciate it.

Not a vintage hoodie, but you get the idea.

Lastly, it’s actually an interesting silhouette.

The U-shape collar was a design choice that, at first, I wasn’t a big fan of… but the more I looked at it, the more I enjoyed it. Too long have we been offered a crewneck or a V-neck. A different offering to help us tweak our wardrobes ever so slightly and help them stand out from the rest.

Now, for me, I like a collar that I can fold over, and in all the promo and model shots, they were worn popped up — not my preferred method, but I can confirm from the brand themselves, you can fold it and wear it like a normal collar!

By comparison, this is much more affordable than most (especially the one from Rier, yikes), at 150 euros (roughly $250 AUD). I think for the made-to-order craftsmenship, you’re getting a great deal. I’m not saying this is a ‘dupe,’ I’m just saying, hey, there’s other gear out there, and it looks fantastic.

If you’re in the market for a fleece, but don’t want to get fleeced (ha ha so funny), definitely check out Natalka.

Look, the point is, this doesn’t matter… But it does. To me, deeply.