"Wool" is a very broad category that pretty much means "material made out of some kind of animal hair". And since there's quite a few animals with hair, there's quite a few types of wool. I suggest trying high quality cashmere (note: cheap cashmere is typically mixed with other types of wool).

It depends on the wool. Finer wool like Merino wool tends to be nicer to wear directly on your skin. But you don't have to do that. You can and should wear cotton underwear. The extra layer keeps you even warmer and means you won't have to wash your outer wear all the time (wool should not be washed more than is absolutely necessary and ideally not at all). You'll also find heavier garments encase the wool in an outer material like cotton. You can get cotton duvets like this and they are wonderful. You can use them all year round. I will never go back to polyester again.

Have you tried pashmina? If there existed a real invisibility cloak, it would be made of pashmina! Soft, thin and magically warm

Wool socks are amazing. Warm and more importantly dry.

In a similar way down comforters are wonderful (get the right weight).

Don't you find wool not stretching is a real problem? I struggle to get well-fitting wool socks that I can also get around my ankle, as they have no stretch.

Did you know people used to use sock suspenders to keep their saggy wool socks up before we started to use synthetic fibres for socks?

I think my wool socks have a little synthetic fiber to help with that.

I tried less expensive wool socks, like from costco, and they were too warm and moist.

Then I tried darn tough wool socks and they are always warm and dry - even in summer.

It's not a problem if you find appropriate quality and thickness. One example is Icebreaker Ultralight socks. I use them in summer and they are rather thin.

> One example is Icebreaker Ultralight socks.

The website says they're actually 38% polyamide and 2% elastane. I think they're 'wool mix' socks rather than wool socks.

Indeed. I think that is to allow them to stretch. If you take something like a shirt, for example, it'll be all merino wool.

EDIT: Also I see that the proportions differ based on the type of socks.

Try bombas wool. Great everyday wool sock

I've never tried bombas wool, but I have a pair of bombas socks which were gifted to me, and other than being quite tight, they are serviceable. Make sure you get a large enough size.

Bombas are one of the few brands I would recommend to anyone because they donate one pair of socks for each that you buy.

Even more importantly: wool still insulates really well when wet.

I thought so too. At some point, I realized I'm allergic to wool and that was why it made me itch.

FWIW.

Wool with short fibers thick tends to be. Wool with longer thinner fibers like merino is much better.

This used to bother me, but it doesn't anymore. Somehow, I got over being bothered by wool's scratchiness, and even began to see it as a good quality.

I think this is an unintended consequence of my meditation efforts to dissipate my annoyance reaction.

Always use cotton as a first layer, because you can just put it in the laundry. Cleaning my woollen coat is more difficult than changing a cotton shirt underneath it.

Also: most “wool” is polyester because it’s like 10 times cheaper.

Cotton remains damp after you sweat and eventually also stinks of sweat. It's not a good base layer in cold weather. A lot of merino wool products are easy to clean and maintain. I have never seen polyester called wool.

No don't, you're going to be in for a bad time if you wear cotton as a base layer in -10C weather.

If you wear cotton socks and they get wet you might lose tour toes.

Most wool is definitely not polyester. At least not in Scandinavia.

This is good - potentially even life saving - advice if we're talking about doing serious activities outdoors. And in that case, even wool is probably best replaced with synthetics that are lighter and dry quicker when wet.

For around town, though, a cotton base layer and wool works pretty well.

I must side with the other replies to your comment.

I have been wearing cotton as my top base layer for a while, and it is not great at staying dry or drying out while damp.

I'd certainly choose it over any synthetic fabric, but once you go over that low mark, just about anything is better, e.g. wool, linen, help, silk, etc.

maybe they mean "grow wool", not "wear wool"