When you guys say "great fabric"....

[Manton]

Kabbaz's article on this can't really be improved upon, but it is bit long.

There are several factors that affect the quality of shirt cloth:

1) The quality of the raw cotton
2) The quality of the spinning, which determines the quality of the yarn
3) The ply of the yarn (if any)
4) The amount of yarn used in the warp and weft of the weave
5) The quality of the loom and supervision of the weaving process
6) Finishing

Most people would agree that the two things they most want from their shirtings are softness/smoothness/silkiness (or whatever) and strength. The former makes the cloth feel good against your skin. The latter helps it hold up to repeated wearings and washings. These two traits play against each other and in practice it's hard to combine them in one cloth. The best cloths, however, do manage it.

When and how the cloth will be worn is also an important factor. A dense twill weave will be nice and strong, but insulating. Great for winter, not so great for summer. A voile will be nice and airy, but won't have the strength of a twill. Still, voiles make nice summer shirts if you can accept the fact that you probably won't get years of wear out of them.

Personally, the only blend I like is linen-cotton. Airy like a voile but stronger and less transparent.

 

[Film Noir Buff]

Originally Posted by Razeus

What do you mean? I noticed this in alot of posts. What does this mean (I'm a rookie)

I thought a 100% cotton shirt is 100% cotton fabric.

I know there are blends and such.


To get back to your initial question about shirt fabrics. 100s 2x2 have developed as the standard because they offer the best balance between factors of interest to men who wear shirts with regards to both comfort and performance.

Of course, there are different qualities of 100s which is why it sometimes pays to just have shirts made, it keeps you closer to the ultimate source for the goods. There are some other fabrics which offer comfort and softness but none out performs 100s 2x2 for all around basics. In fact, most permutations away from the 100s standard business shirting are simply an endeavor to tweak the softness, the lightness or the beefiness of the shirting.

Some other reading which I hope helps you a little.

http://www.filmnoirbuff.com/article/acorn-shirt-fabric


http://www.filmnoirbuff.com/article/is-paris-burning

 

[Sator]

Originally Posted by Film Noir Buff

Of course, there are different qualities of 100s which is why it sometimes pays to just have shirts made, it keeps you closer to the ultimate source for the goods.

http://www.filmnoirbuff.com/article/acorn-shirt-fabric



Yes, this discussion is relevant only if you are going to have shirts custom made (bespoke or MTM). Otherwise, you only usually know nothing of a shirting other than whether it is 100% cotton or not.

My tailor says he likes Acorn better than any other. It is well woven in an old fashioned way, has firmness, body and great durability. They are to shirting what H. Lesser are to suitings.

 

[Film Noir Buff]

Originally Posted by Sator

Yes, this discussion is relevant only if you are going to have shirts custom made (bespoke or MTM). Otherwise, you only usually know nothing of a shirting other than whether it is 100% cotton or not.

Dear Sator,

There is some truth to what you say but not completely. Several rtw makers use Acorn fabrics. I wish I had an exhaustive list for you but Hilditch and Key, Harvie and Hudson and Turnbull and Asser to name a few.

About how you can find out if a specific rtw shirt is a specific thread count or weave of cotton, I wish I could help out but I don't know how you would gauge that with any surety.

Originally Posted by Sator

My tailor says he likes Acorn better than any other. It is well woven in an old fashioned way, has firmness, body and great durability. They are to shirting what H. Lesser are to suitings.

That's quite well put. I wish I'd said that.

If it helps, Atam at Paris Shirts also considers them workhorse or standard shirt fabrics for comfort and durability.

 

[Razeus]

Any info on Ike Behar shirts?

I love they way they feel. Nice and soft. Wrinkles a bit easy, but looks great.

 

[Faded501s]

I'm no expert but the Behar shirts I've seen seem very well-constructed and the materials seem excellent and they seem to be highly regarded by other members. A little too blousy for my taste and physique though. I believe that Behar has different quality lines.

Also, for those who responded to my previous link, I'm glad you enjoyed it. Alexander Kabbaz (www.customshirt1.com) also put together a couple of other articles regarding shirts you might be interested in (links below). While slightly esoteric, they are very informative. He and Shirtmaven seem to be our SF shirting experts and I read with great interest what they have to say about the subject.

http://www.customshirt1.com/StyleForum_AskAndy01.htm

http://www.customshirt1.com/StyleForum_AskAndy02.htm

 

[Sartorian]

w/r/t your question about Pashmina, it is, as someone mentioned, basically a marketing term.

However, there is such a thing as specific pashmina weave of scarf: a Nepali friend of mine brought me one from Kathmandu after a visit home. It was basically woven with very fine, soft thread. When I held it up, I could see only a few layers of weave, and it was almost sheer. This made it incredibly soft, warm and lightweight. I've not seen anything comparable to it here in New York, and all the stuff that's passed off as being similar is way off the mark.

If you see the real stuff, you'll never wonder what true 'pashmina'-style fabric is, and you'll never take a second glance at such labeling.