Kendall and Desmond Brooks, who opened Shopboy tailors on Walker in 2017, have a new family project: Acres Knitwear, elevated, wearable base layers inspired by the long johns and union suits of the past.

It started when the young family — their son, Dries, is 2 and a half — were visiting Kendall’s sister in Norway in the dead of winter.

“There were so many options for baby clothes in merino wool but it was hard to find that for babies when we got back to the US,” Kendall said. “So we did some research and ran the idea past our business partner, who said, ‘I love this baby thing, but how about base layers for adults?'” A big adventurer in all seasons, he wanted something in natural fibers, and merino is ideal: odor resistant, temperature regulating, moisture wicking and you can put in the machine.

That started a process of testing mills around the globe. Kendall and Desmond settled on a manufacturer from Peru to make a baby onesie, men’s and women’s long johns and a union suit for babies and adults. (That’s Desmond modeling the cream, everything also comes in brown and charcoal.)

“The Peruvians developed this fabric that is extremely soft — it almost feels like cashmere. It’s buttery and soft,” Kendall said. And wearable. It’s a base layer, but it’s not technical — it is knitwear that can be worn on its own. “It’s an actual functional product that is elevated. Until you try it, you really don’t know. This can change your winter.”

The new company — this is their first season — is selling direct to consumer and is also in a couple stores here and in Colorado. And they *may* consider another product — they are experimenting with a cashmere/cotton blend — but only if they find a real niche.

“It’s always been for us about organic growth and slow growth,” Kendall said. “There’s too much out there already, so I want to be really proud of the product and know we are offering something of value.”

Have a business partner who’s an adventurer type and he said I love this idea of the baby thing, but I have never found a base layer I love that are all natural fibers

So we took this one piece suit for a baby and applied it to adults as well. We applied it to the old vintage union suits — which started as women’s pieces in the Victorian era and then changed over to men’s work suits/