Bare Knitwear has you covered this fall and winter
The colder months call for warm sleepwear and ultra-cozy layers
After the heat waves and soaring temperatures of summer 2021, we thought we might be able to expect warm weather all the way through October. So far, though, fall is looking pretty average—which means now’s the time to get your cold weather gear sorted. Luckily for you, we’ve got just the thing: a new pop-up with fellow Canadian brand, Bare Knitwear.
A SHARED BELIEF IN TIME-HONOURED DESIGN
Founded in 2012, the same year The Sleep Shirt was launched, Bare Knitwear also shares our values: an appreciation for high-quality, well-made goods that are designed and crafted to last; small-scale production that honours and respects those who put the time in; and natural, sustainable fibres. In fact, the brand is also rooted in history: where our first nightshirt was fashioned after an 19th century one found in Spitalfields Market in London, Bare Knitwear brings heritage craftsmanship and techniques to life through its partnerships with modern-day artisanal communities.
Its signature alpaca, wool and pima cotton collections are made in Ayacucho, Peru, where Bare Knitwear first forged a relationship with small producers and local groups in 2014. It continues working with these artisans to this day.
THE IMPACT OF COVID ON COZY FABRICS
Like most businesses, Bare Knitwear was impacted by COVID-19. “Raw material shortages throughout the last year in Peru pushed us to be innovative with our design and find new ways to work with the materials we had access to,” says Kelsey Adair, owner of Bare Knitwear. Indeed, those innovations meant using the brand had to devise new ways to use existing pima cotton yarn from their spring collection—an internal pivot, if you will.
The result? “Our partners wove the yarn into a cozier weight fabric suitable for autumn/winter before cutting and sewing the garments,” continues Kelsey. “Ultimately, this led to less un-used yarn, a diversified product range and has opened the door to new possibilities for us and our partners in the future." Sounds like a pretty good pivot to us.
WINTER-READY SLEEPWEAR & LOUNGEWEAR
Not surprisingly, we are pretty pleased to be selling three styles from Bare Knitwear on site, including the lounge sets made from the repurposed yarn. “The lounge sets are exciting for us as they mark the first cut-and-sew styles for Bare Knitwear,” says Kelsey.
Of course, each style is also an ideal layering piece for sleepwear by The Sleep Shirt: the house coat is an excellent alternative to a housecoat or robe, especially if you find you’re always cold (or the central heating in your house just doesn’t do the trick on those coldest winter days). Throw the crewneck sweater on over one of our nightshirts, or team it with jeans for an easy, at-home (or working from home) look. Finally, there’s the Bare Knitwear Lounge Pant, which, of course, goes well with one of our T-shirt by The Sleep Shirt styles or the matching crewneck sweater for a head-to-toe look.
Each piece is ethically made, in small batches, and comes in either graphite, a dark grey, or fawn, a creamy beige. They’re investment pieces, but like The Sleep Shirt, we know you’ll wear and love them for years to come.