I wear a lot of wool. Always have. And while I love my merino boxers, socks, and base layers, my favorite woolen top is probably the first one I can remember coveting: a Pendleton shirt.
I was an impressionable teen at a canoeing camp in Wisconsin’s Northwoods; the counselors were the coolest guys on the planet. They taught me the lyrics to Jimmy Buffet tunes and how to do truly remarkable things, like start a wet fire with birch bark and flip a canoe from your knees onto your shoulders. When it got cold at night, they put on Pendleton shirts, like the pictured here. Naturally, I begged my parents for one when I got home—and haven’t stopped wearing them since.
It’s not as soft as merino, but the U.S.-sourced virgin wool is more durable and the tighter weave more windproof. Plus, it reminds me of my glory days in the Northwoods.
From $120,