In terms of fineness, any wool fiber that has a diameter of 20µ (microns) or less will feel very soft to the touch.
Below 17.5µ the wool starts to feel buttery soft against the skin.
Here’s a guide to fineness grading:
- Fine grade (18.6 – 20μ)
- Superfine grade (15.6 – 18.5μ)
- Ultrafine grade (15.5μ and below)
These are the finest wool T-shirts I’ve found:
Men’s Short Sleeve T-Shirts — Ultrafine and Superfine
- 100% Merino 12 Micro T-Shirt by Loro Piana – $2150 (!)
- 100% Merino 15.5 Micron T-Shirt by Outlier — non-mulesed, ultrafine wool from Gostwyck, Australia — 205 g/m2 — $125
- 64% Merino 15.5 Micron Base Layer Shirt by Ino8 — non-mulesed, ultrafine wool from Australia — $75
- 100% Merino 15.5 Micro Shirt by Loov — two-ply compact spun Italian merino — 160 g/m2 — $89
- 100% Merino 16.5 Micron T-Shirt by Lasting — non-mulesed superfine Australian wool — 160 g/m2 — $70
- 87% Merino 16.5 Micron T-Shirt by Proof — superfine wool from Global Merino, New Zealand — $68
- 87% Merino 17.5 Micron T-Shirt by Ridge — superfine wool — 145 g/m2 — $50
- 100% Merino 17.5 Micron T-Shirt by Woolx — superfine wool — 160 g/m2 — $54
- Veilance Frame Short Sleeve Shirt — 100% superfine merino — $150
- 100% Cashmere T-Shirt by Maison Cashmere — Loro Piana wool — $147
Men’s Long Sleeve T-Shirts – Superfine and Ultrafine Merino
- 100% Ultrafine 13.5 micron Wool Shirt by Walking Dapper — made with Jemala wool — $1,780 HKD (about $226 USD)
- 100% Ultrafine Merino Crew Sweater by Jema — ultrafine 13.5 micron Saxon merino (a wool known as Jemala) — $190
- 64% Merino 15.5 Micron Base Layer by Inov8 — non-musled ultrafine wool from Australia — $80
- 100% Merino 16.5 Micron Long Sleeve Shirt by Lasting — superfine wool from Australia — 160 g/m2 — $70
- 89% Merino 17.5 Micron Long Sleeve Shirt by Proof — superfine wool from Global Merino, New Zealand — $98
- 100% Merino 17.5 Micron Long Sleeve Shirt by Outlier — superfine wool — 195 g/m2 — $140
- Veilance Frame Shirt Long Sleeve Shirt by Veilance — 100% superfine merino — $200
Glossary
g/m2 — grams per square inch (the weight of wool in the garment)
wool percentage — the actual amount of ultrawarm fiber in the garment — I don’t feature anything here with less than 50% ultrawarm wool
micron — the symbol “μ”– one million of a meter — the diameter size of the hair in the wool — also known as “fineness”
See also these sweaters made with 12 μ wool from Lono Piana.
Comments 2
How often these soft wool shirts should be washed in a washing machine?
I wash them for years in a regular cycle. They can’t be put in the dryer though.