Note from Benoît: we welcome Paul's first article! He joined the team at the end of 2014 to take care of the “Traffic and Partnerships” part of BonneGueule.
Quite a novice at the start, over the months he has acquired a lot of knowledge about clothing (yes, he is with us every day, seeing us comment on and trying on crazy pieces!).
And so he wanted to get started by writing his very first clothing test. Don’t worry, I personally validated the article and its content 😉
As you will quickly realize, Misericordia is first of all a very beautiful entrepreneurial story (rare are the brands that manage to build a workshop over several years, starting completely from scratch!).
But before introducing you to the brand, its history, and dissecting this pima cotton sweater, I must admit one thing: of all the ones I have worn, this sweater is the one that most intrigued those around me.
Birth of Misericordia more than ten years ago
Twelve years ago now, Aurelyen, then an artist and young Fine Arts graduate, moved to Peru. Accompanied by his friend Mathieu Reumau, he quickly met fashion designers.
Very quickly, the duo embarked on an entrepreneurial adventure (by setting up a project as creative as it was social), with the motto: “ Manos, Espiritu y Corazon ” (namely “Hands, Spirit and Heart”, thank you my Spanish lessons).
A workshop created from all sides
The name of the brand comes from that of a convent of good sisters, where the first workers were trained: “ NUESTRA SENORA DE LA MISERICORDIA” . Subsequently, Misericordia was born in a first workshop in Zapallal, then moved to the center of Lima and became La Cabana de Alta Costura Misericordia .
In this convent, around 45 people of all ages learn new techniques and know-how each season, then produce collections designed entirely by Aurelyen. The term Alta Costura is used because the organization of the workshop remains artisanal and typical of Haute Couture houses. These people use locally sourced materials. Thus, Tanguïs and Pima cottons , Modal , baby Alpaca or organic cotton are the brand's flagship materials.
What can we find today at Misericordia?
The Misericordia wardrobe, for its part, is made up of permanent pieces, as well as seasonal pieces or collaborations. During my visit to the boutique located at 7-9 rue de Charonne (in the 11th arrondissement of Paris), I immediately noticed the design and the materials used.
However, after looking around the store, it became clear to me that an imbalance existed between seasonal pieces and iconic pieces.
If the first offer interesting cuts and colors, like the Geometrico sweater in pima cotton (130 euros) and certain pants or mandarin collar shirts, other pieces such as the Trineo hooded sweater appealed less to me, because I am less fan of purely streetwear pieces.
The Misericordia boutique on rue de Charonne, with its confessional converted into a fitting room.
Outside of the changing room itself, Antoine Leneuf, the brand's Business Development Manager, showed me many photos in his small but very pretty boutique.
They are also the soul of the brand, very well represented in this little video , whose graphic universe is really busy (as always when there is a real story to tell)!
Pima cotton, the silk of South America
As you will have understood, Pima cotton comes from Peru, where it has grown for more than four thousand years. The Incas used it to make sacred coverings.
This “silk from South America” is harvested by hand, in the valleys of northern Peru, where the equatorial climate offers rich soil and an almost unrivaled quality of fabric . Furthermore, harvesting by hand makes it possible to minimize the quantity of accumulated impurities, which is much higher when harvesting by machine.
Beautiful pima cotton flowers, so soft!
This cotton has many qualities:
- it is antiallergic because it does not receive any chemical treatment.
- Its fiber is very long and makes it a flexible and resistant fabric to washing.
- It has real absorbent and insulating power , since it can contain up to 8.5% of its weight in water, it allows the skin to breathe well, while retaining its heat.
- Finally, and this is one of the qualities that immediately struck me, pima cotton is very soft and becomes more and more so with time.
Test of the Geometrico sweater in Pima cotton
As mentioned above, several pieces jumped out at me when I entered the store.
After a few minutes of reflection, the Geometrico sweater seemed to me to be the perfect piece for a Misericordia test. It seems interesting to me to present to you a versatile piece, both sought-after in terms of design and technical level, hence my choice.
Colors and other effects
First, the psychedelic effect, made possible thanks to a set of blue and white lines positioned parallel and at different angles. The pattern is frankly intriguing !
Because of the contrast, we first believe that the lines are blue and white (like on a sailor shirt), a second, more attentive look reveals much finer degrees of color mixing, obtained thanks to artisanal weaving.
Beware of epileptic seizures (or possible hallucinations).
The almost electric piece is surrounded by contrasting ribbing in solid navy blue, which allows for a clear visual transition at the neck, hands and pants.
Very correct finishes and a comfortable cut
First of all, as far as the finishes are concerned, the Geometrico sweater is rather high-end.
We observe that the ribbed edges on the sleeves and the base of the sweater are sewn in the continuity of the sweater, and not added later (i.e. "cut and sewn").
The ribbing tightens just as needed.
The seams are almost all clean , except perhaps one or two threads sticking out here and there on the inside of the ribbing at the bottom of the sweater.
Then, regarding the cut, we are on a not too tight, fairly standard fit . I'm rather thin, but visually, I don't find that the result is too wide.
Fitted at the collar and shoulders, with a little room along the arms.
The mission of combining design and comfort is, in my opinion, completely successful in this piece in which we feel good, especially in mid-season when temperatures vary the most between morning and evening.
With the Geometrico sweater, the softness of pima cotton is really a plus; I sometimes wear it next to my skin. And finally, the big advantage compared to a wool sweater: it goes in the machine without any problem!
A versatile piece
After wearing this sweater in as many ways as possible, I can say that it easily goes with (almost) any outfit.
Combined with well-fitted gray jeans, it gives a slightly more graphic touch to the outfit (and compensates for this slender effect that we find too often), not to mention the comfort when worn next to the body.
A combination that is both simple and colorful (with jeans from the BG III line), perfect for mid-season! Note from Benoit: this is the typical example of a nice and easy daily outfit for a student, even if as usual, I struggle on a daily basis to remove the cuffs on their jeans!
While it goes very well with jeans and worn next to the body, it can also be worn with a chambray shirt and summer chinos. The whole thing plays on different tones of blue, the color of mid-season 2015!
Make no mistake, Luca's photogenic appearance is the result of intense daily training!
Conclusion on the Misericordia brand
My personal opinion
Without going too far into all the products it offers, in my opinion and as it claims, Misericordia is a high-end brand which offers very well finished clothes with noble materials and very pleasant to wear .
I recommend the Geometrico sweater to both connoisseurs and people who, like me, are discovering their style and want to wear pieces that are a little more offbeat than a simple plain sweater (I was only doing that until now).
So go take a look at the store, if only for the intriguing confessional or the history of the brand encrusted in the parquet floor.
Additional remarks from Benoît
I was able to go to the store yesterday to see the collection in detail, because I actually didn't know the brand very well.
They are very competitive on pima cotton (their pique cotton on the polo shirt is great) and alpaca. Their Oxford shirt has a very soft and pleasant feel thanks to this famous cotton.
I was rather surprised by the graphic work on certain garments, there is a real desire to offer pieces that are very distinct from what is done elsewhere. The prices are very reasonable because they have their own production tool (the brand can optimize its costs).
In short, between the rather atypical human adventure, and the products with excellent quality/price ratio, I encourage you to look into Misericordia!
