PFEIFFER WOBST is a womenswear label working out of Crottendorf, a small town in the Saxon Ore Mountains, where the winters are long enough to make a person serious about knitwear. We design and sell two short lists of clothing: soft layers that go over everything, and the tees and tops that go underneath. The range is deliberately small. Eight pieces, four in each group, chosen so that any two of them can be worn together without a decision. There is no seasonal story to learn and no drop to wait for. A cardigan is a cardigan. A hoodie is a hoodie. What changes is the cloth, the color, and how carefully the seams are closed before it is wrapped in paper.
The cloth decides most of it. Our fleece is brushed back on the inside until the loops lie down, which is why it feels like a blanket rather than a sweatshirt, and it is washed twice before cutting so the shrinkage happens on our table instead of in your machine. Jersey is rested for a day after washing. Knit panels are left flat, never hung, because a shoulder that stretches on a hanger never comes back. Seams are overlocked and then pressed open. Each hem is sewn, pressed, and rested overnight; if it has lifted by morning, it is unpicked and done again. We buy in small quantities and accept that some colors run out.
Fit is measured on two bodies, not one. Our sample set runs from a small to an extra large and every piece is checked on a person who actually sits, drives, and carries a bag in it. The cardigan closes over a vest without strain at the button. The hoodies leave extra space through the shoulder so a sleeve slides underneath. Sleeves end at the wrist bone. Lengths are set so a hem shows below a jacket but does not sit on the hip. This is clothing for people who dress in a cold room at six in the morning, not for a photograph. If you are between sizes, take the smaller one for the knits and the larger one for the tees.
Everything leaves from Crottendorf. The building sits a few streets from the church, and the same table has been used for folding since the label began, with a window above it that looks at the hill. Orders are wrapped in unbleached paper with a card that names the person who sewed the piece, and shipped from Crottendorf. The paper is chosen so it can be reused as a drawer liner. We do not use plastic in the parcel. If something is wrong, or if you simply want to know what a fabric feels like before ordering, write to the workshop through the contact page of this store and a person will answer, usually the same one who cut your garment.