Thermal underwear has made huge advances – and needn’t look bulky
Talking about how cold you are is boring. But even if you have been stripped of your winter fuel allowance, there is no need to be a martyr to shivering. Oldie-readers may recall the scratchy Chilprufe undergarments of their childhoods. Adult versions also existed. Vintage Chilprufe vests and bloomers sell for around £40 a set on Etsy. So there is clearly a nostalgia market – despite the discomfort involved in wearing pure new wool next to the skin. But technology has made huge advances in man-made thermal underwear since Damart was founded by brothers Joseph, Paul and Jules Despature in 1953. The French brothers, who had an existing fabric business, had the brainwave of using man-made fibres – first chlorofibre, and then thermolactyl – to make self-heating underwear. For many years, Damart was the only thermal underwear player in town. But Damart was never cool, and today it has a...
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