Over the last week, as announced, I’ve tested a pair of organic cotton jeans in just about every situation of my everyday life, and I’m quite happy with them. My partner was also delighted with them right away: they fit perfectly, make for a shapely rear end, and generally just look great. They’re very comfortable to wear, and perform well in anything I do while standing, as they don’t slip. They also have some nice details (although I find the zippered back pocket unpractical – it’s just too small for me).

Those nice details, for instance the waistband, are a bit of a problem when sitting, however *. Since waistbands tend to be very solid in jeans, especially those with only a small amount of elastic in them, they have no “give” when you sit down in them, and tend to constrict at the tummy. Also, the waistband is not adjustable, like it would be with bib overalls, for instance, which makes pulling them up over hips and rear a bit difficult. I found the jersey insert a bit tight as well, as was the elastic at the top, which was also not adjustable. I thought about getting the jeans a size larger, but then they would have been too wide in the legs and rear.

A different pair of maternity pants is simply not an alternative for me, though; I think the linen trousers and cargo pants will be too cold for me in winter. Of course, because I sit for most of the day, as well as spend a lot of time on a bicycle, the trouble with sitting in these jeans might be more conspicuous to me than to others. Like I said, they are otherwise really great, and you can tell that a lot of attention has gone into the design. It’s just that a non-adjustable waistband isn’t very practical for a big tummy.

In my next article, I’ll let you know how I found the feinstrumpfhose and maternity bra. Don’t forget to comment if you have any questions or some of your own experiences to share!

*As I wrote last week, my adventures into pregnancy actually started this time last year, when I started writing these articles for hessnatur’s German blog. Now that I’m sharing them with the American blog a year later, I’m happy to say that the observations I made in the original articles found eager listeners at hessnatur, who are always looking for ways to make their collection even better, and have worked hard to address the issues I found in my testing.

There are a lot of fashion bloggers out there, out and about in major cities, cameras in hand snapping photos of people on the streets. “The Sartorialist” is one well known example.

The focus of their entries are people dressed in style, however that might present itself. Whether in business look, casual, street wear, or crossover, man or woman, young or old – those photographed usually radiate something authentic, as if they were taking their own personal stand on their individual style.

On Fora MTV’s blog, we discovered this young woman, whose photo was taken in the streets of Toronto, Canada, in a hessnatur coat made of alpaca and virgin wool, combined with an Indian scarf and a fashionable pair of tights.

Very stylish, we think!

Hi! My name is Nora Diesner. This time last year I was pregnant with my baby boy, Jonas. And while I was pregnant, I took the opportunity (together with Jonas, of course) to test hessnatur’s maternity clothes for their German blog. Since then, Jonas has taken the lead, creating an urgent need to test things like diapers and the baby collection. But I thought it was a shame not to share such a great opportunity with hessnatur’s American readers, so I’ve decided to post my not-so-scientific evaluations here on the English blog, in the same order I first wrote them last year. So, without further ado, off we go again- I do hope you enjoy them…!

… let’s get started!

I’ve been connected with hessnatur for quite some time, now. It’s my mom’s fault. She has always been a fan of eco-fashion, and when I was a kid, she dressed me accordingly. During puberty, of course, I just smirked at the “healthy clothes”, but nowadays I realize what the term “eco” really has to offer. I was confronted with a few of the negative sides of the textile world during a stay in India, and began looking into the issue of clothing in earnest after that. I’m a seamstress now, and find myself right in the middle of further training as an apparel production specialist.

In September I wanted to fly to Peru as a hessnatur ambassador. But after finding out that I was pregnant in August, I canceled the trip and began concentrating my full attention on that little someone in my tummy. After all, it’s a bit of shock when you suddenly realize how much of your life is going to change in the very near future. Like for instance, your own body!

I had already been warned: Especially in a colder season, there’s a lot to bear in mind if you’re pregnant. At some point or another, your pants won’t fit. And then your tops get too tight and too short, and everything just gets all pinchy. And then along comes Old Man Winter, and you need something warm to wrap up in, and loose boots to slip into, because your belly’s too fat to tie your shoe laces …

I’m about at the “too tight/too short/too pinchy” stage, which puts me in a shopping mood. But because I consider myself a highly critical consumer, most brands don’t have it easy with me. Each and every flaw is brought to light, and every detail scrutinized. Finding something that suits me 100% borders on a miracle.

Each month, I’ll be receiving a few articles from the baby collection, which I will then test for function and features for as long as I use them, and report my experiences to you here in the blog.

We’ll start with the first test report soon, when I’ll be putting my first order through its paces: organic cotton jeans, a “Feinstrumpfhose“, and an organic cotton maternity bra (click the links to check ‘em out in the hessnatur online shop).

Recently, we introduced the idea here in our blog that natural fibers are also functional fibers. After presenting certified organic wool fleece as an establishing argument, I’d like to put a long standing, traditional fabric forward as a further example, namely boiled wool.

Boiled wool is knitted sheep’s wool, which is then fulled in hot, soapy water. By pulling and kneading it through the combination of heat, water, and soap, fulling alters the knitted structure of the fabric, matting the wool fibers together in a thick felt.

Just like wool fleece, boiled wool creates a textile which is relatively lightweight, but still very warm and wind resistant. And all that without a single synthetic fiber. In our latest Fall/Winter catalog, for instance, we have this virgin wool jacket made of boiled wool. I’ve already had the jacket in service for several weeks, and have found it to be an excellent companion for those cooling temperatures in the Fall. I find the high and wide cut collar especially practical, easily accommodating a scarf underneath it for those extra cold walks.

We also have an attractive boiled wool product in our women’s collection, namely the boiled wool parka from Eviana Hartman’s collection.

… we always mean natural fibers at hessnatur. That doesn’t appear to be the standard definition for the mainstream, however. A common definition that I’ve been running into lately is, “A collective term for high-tech fabrics with innovative material properties, delivering an added benefit to the consumer.”

High-tech, they say. And then only with “added benefit”. Hmm. We see that a bit differently here at hessnatur, and over the next few weeks we’d like to introduce to you a few natural “functional fibers” which have had great “added benefit” for both ourselves and you, our customers.

Wool fleece is one of those remarkable natural materials. Although it has nothing to do with high-tech at all, the fabric inherently provides several extremely useful properties. I’m sure you’re all familiar with wool fleece’s synthetic cousins: polar fleece & co. They keep you warm, dry quickly, and are robust, yes. But they are manufactured from synthetic fibers and therefore an undesirable alternative for those who prefer wearing natural textiles.

hessnatur’s wool fleece is produced from pure, certified organic Merino wool, which has an intrinsic “added benefit” right from the start: sheep’s wool can hold up to 30% of its weight in moisture without feeling wet. It’s a great advantage, especially when you’re involved in sports that get you sweating sporadically. Whether you’re hiking or bicycling, your inner motor is working flat out when you climb a mountain. You sweat. If that moisture stays against your skin when you’re going down the other side, or stopping for a lunch break , you’ll cool down too far and to fast. Pure sheep’s wool protects you from that moisture. Add to that the fact that wool, as an animal product, behaves similarly to our own skin, making wool fleece so wonderfully agreeable. The processing of our fleece, by the way, is done entirely by mechanical means – no chemicals – a real hessnatur breakthrough.

Meanwhile, word is getting around in the sportsman’s scene that natural fibers can also be functional fibers. That’s not “eco” for us – it’s simply self-evident.
What sort of experiences have you had with our wool fleece? We’d like to know.

Make a comment here, or post it on Facebook – we look forward to your own “true life” stories.