There are thousands of shirting fabrics to choose from, and the choice can be overwhelming. We’ve put together a few pointers to help whether you are buying ready to wear or bespoke.
Different weaves harness different characteristics, the most common weave is a poplin, which looks plain in texture and comes in a wide variety of colours, checks and stripes. Another familiar and popular weave is a twill, these are often heavier than poplin, and are characterised by a diagonal weave. For a more casual look Oxford weave is the classic cloth, it has a slight honeycomb texture and varies from quite an open weave to a much finer pinpoint oxford. Others include voile, which is a very lightweight summer cloth, end on end – a textured cloth that usually has different colours on the warp and weft (horizantal and vertical threads) it has a sheen to the cloth and irons well too.
The higher the thread count, the finer the cloth, for everyday shirts that need to withstand constant wear and tear we recommend up to 2 fold 140s. For evening/dress shirts the finer 170s etc are a luxurious option. All the cloths we carry are Swiss and Italian, and we frequently visit the mills to monitor new styles and buy cloth by the roll to have on hand at the factory.