Dress Shirt Fabric Thickness
Fabric weight matters
You're probably acutely aware of this if you've been stuck wearing a flannel shirt on a hot day. Not a great experience. Thankfully there are many different fabric weaves and thicknesses to choose from when it comes to shirts.
A quick primer on fabric
Most shirts are made with cotton as a primary source material, and this is spun into yard and then woven into large bolts (or rolls) of fabric ready to be cut into the components that make up a finished dress shirt. The quality of the cotton combined with the particular weave make up the thickness, or the weight, of the fabric. Typically the shirt construction and ultimate function is going to determine the fabric weight. For example, there's a reason why most flannel shirts are long-sleeved and most linen shirts are short-sleeved.
Choosing the right thickness
Shirts come in many weaves, and there's a perfect thickness for each of them depending on how you want to wear it. First of all, our dress shirts are made with two-ply Egyptian cotton which is renown for its superior quality and resiliency.
Poplin. Also known as broadcloth, poplin is a lightweight but opaque weave designed to iron perfectly flat so it retains a polished, professional look all day. The fabric weight is thin enough to let you breath and move effortlessly, but thick enough to not be see-through – the perfect weight for a crisp dress shirt.
Twill. A touch thicker than poplin, this weave can have characteristics such as a herringbone pattern that make it desirable for some shirts with patterns such as plaids and checks, or a "washed" look. The softness makes up for its weight as these two attributes balance each other nicely making twill a comfortable and professional choice.
Oxford. The basket-weave of Oxford-cloth makes this weave versatile and soft. Their slight added thickness over twill make them easy to take care of, as they hardly need any ironing due to their increased weight. A special wash in our finishing process help make Oxford-cloth shirts some of the softest you can wear, and their versatility to be dressed up or down is favored.