Go beyond the expected as you layer up for brisk mornings and cool nights around the bonfire. Sure, while every style rotation can assuredly use rich and hearty fabrics like denim, chambray, and cotton flannel, there’s a fabrication out there with every bit as much utility, texture, style, and performance. And that would be hemp. It’s the most underrated fall layer you can find.
Derived from the hemp plant, as the name suggests, hemp helps regenerate soil even as it grows, and when it’s turned into menswear, it takes on a texture feel that’s close to linen. When blended with organic cotton, the fiber is highly sustainable and a bit more substantial, making it a prime move when used in durable henleys and t-shirts.
Although it might not seem like the first fabric to spring to mind as companies build out rugged fall gear, companies like Jungmaven have made the material their M.O. in recent years.
Even larger producers with instantly recognizable names like Buck Mason and Taylor Stitch are following suit and using the fibers in buttondowns and knitwear (more on these selections in a moment).
Photo via Taylor Stitch
Taylor Stitch Cotton Hemp Long Sleeve Tee
There’s a sense of easygoing appeal to Taylor Stitch’s lineup of cotton-hemp knitwear, the kind of expertly lived-in pieces that you’d do well to reach for on a brisk fall morning, cup of coffee and a Hemingway tome in hand. This pocket tee has enough style points to pair with a Taylor Stitch leather jacket, and the 70 percent organic cotton-30 percent hemp blend is both soft and durable.
Photo via Buck Mason
Buck Mason Wool Hemp Traveler Crew
It’s a wonder all the things that hemp can do. In addition to working well on its own in a T-shirt, it can add softness and breathability to traditional knitwear. This crewneck sweater in a stylish shade of Heather Oat is as versatile as it gets, with multi-season weight and Mid-Century-inspired design.
Photo via Jungmaven
Jungmaven Jung Long-Sleeve Tee
It’s like I said earlier, Jungmaven is among a crop of brands (pun very much intended) hanging its hat on ultra-sustainable hemp fiber in its silky-soft menswear. Like this layering-friendly long-sleeve tee. It’s perfectly comfortable and broken-in right out of the box, making it a super-soft layer beneath your favorite denim jacket or flannel shirt. For as simple as hemp might seem, the difference is in the details.
Photo via Smartwool
Smartwool Merino Hemp Long-Sleeve Tee
There really are benefits aplenty to hemp fabric, recognized by sustainably committed producers like Smartwool, which aims to use “100% regenerative, responsibly sourced, renewable, or recycled materials by 2030,” says Neil Baker, the company’s senior director of global design and brand. He added that, “by blending hemp with merino, we’re creating high-performing apparel,” and it’s hard to argue with the super-soft, moisture-wicking, performance-friendly results.
Photo via Patagonia
Patagonia Iron Forge Hemp Canvas Ranch Jacket
Hemp can lend structure, sustainability, and durability to even the toughest fabrics on the market, like traditionally stiff cotton canvas. It makes for a tough-as-nails, outdoor-minded jacket with a proprietary build from the famously eco-conscious producers at Patagonia.
Photo via Todd Snyder
Todd Snyder Hemp-Cotton Overshirt
A wear-with-anything shirt jacket is a must-have in your autumn style rotation, and one made with a blend of hemp, cotton and merino wool promises standout warmth and easy wearability, whether atop a pocket T-shirt, a henley or an Oxford shirt for a blend of high-low style. Hemp makes this ‘shacket’ breathable and supple, and your wardrobe is better for it.
