What weave/fabric of dress shirts do you like?

I am assuming fabric is mostly cotton, but the thing people might prefer would then be the different weaves.

So which do people usually wear?

Oxford, Poplin, Pinpoint, Twill, etc...

Any that you would consider specifically for business/formal type occassions and others for casual and some that could pass for both?

Just curious...

And also, what exactly makes the fabric differ so much from place to place. Say it is all cotton, I assume cotton isn't THAT different in from each shirt, is it the quality in the way it is weaved? Just curious as to what about a fabric/weave you might like or dislike.

cotton is different in the yarns density and thickness. the higher the yarn number the thinner the fibers, and the most "luxurious" the cotton will feel. yarn counts also play a big part in threads per square unit of measurement, especially in the ply counts (2x1, 2x2, 1x2). here is a link if you want to learn all about it: http://www.askandyaboutclothes.com/T...irtFabrics.htm

Originally Posted by Jay687

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And also, what exactly makes the fabric differ so much from place to place. Say it is all cotton, I assume cotton isn't THAT different in from each shirt, is it the quality in the way it is weaved? Just curious as to what about a fabric/weave you might like or dislike.
Well to complicate matters a bit there are grades of cotton like anything else and some specific types of cotton: Pima. Supima. Egyptian. Sea Island. etc.

The best and most comfortable shirts I have are Kiton and Finamore Sea Island cotton, plain weave.

Fabric and trim determine the price as much as construction.
Carl

Curious, can u tell about the quality of the cotton when buying a shirt though? Without wearing it first I mean... I assume companies don't go letting you know about it.

The stores seldom tell the yarn count or the less important thread count but for finer shirt you might get them to tell you. It is important to get the right information, many people confuse the different terms (including me some times) and you can offten read in big magazines that even they can make these mistakes. Button line is:

Thread count:
number of threads per squere inch. It is not that important for shirts but they do play there part.

Yarn count:
Fineness of the yarn, thickness and strongness. The higher number the better. It goes up to 200 but I recomend that you stay between 80-120, lower than 80 is the common shirt type you find in your everyday store and above 120 I dont think that the quality is worth the money, unless you have lots and lots of money or you have a fetisch for extreem quality stuff...

Singel or 2 ply:
single or double strains of garn. If double it is often marked 2 ply or /2 (100/2 meaning yarncount 100 and 2 ply), it means that the strain has been twisted together two and two.

Other quality checks on shirts:
The tighter stiching the better quality
mother of pearl buttons
loose collar pins

One of my favorites for white shirts is twill. I like the look and feel of a slightly heavier, beefier material even in the summer. It is a bit more interesting than oxford or poplin.

Originally Posted by pocketsquareguy

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One of my favorites for white shirts is twill. I like the look and feel of a slightly heavier, beefier material even in the summer. It is a bit more interesting than oxford or poplin.

I have to agree but it depends on the shirt, for example: embroided shirts could look strange with twill and I think that poplin works great as a classic working shirt with a suit...

I have a lot of favorites but Royal Oxford is at the top.

Agreed, twill makes for a great point or spread collar white shirt.

For everyday, 100/2 or 120 pinpoint makes a great dress shirt. Basic oxford cloth for casual buttondowns. The beefier the oxford, the better.

Seems you guys actually like the thicker style shirts then? Obviously casually I think these work better (I hate thin shirts when wearing jeans... it feels... wrong), but what are you guys usually wearing twill, oxford and royal oxford (though royal oxford is thinner?) with?

Is it okay to wear these slightly thicker shirts with a suit? I seem to usually see thin (poplin/broadcloth?) weave fabric as dress shirts to wear with suits.

Thicker works well though? I mean, how often can you tell? Also, why is it that it's harder to find various colors in twill/oxford? I am trying to look for a bunch of solid colors, but can't find a lot:

Looking for: light and dark blue, crimson red, grey, white, black, olive.

Seems poplin always has a better color selection...

I like Oxxfords, End-on-Ends, Broadcloths, and Pinpoints.

I don't like poplin or twill for plain shirts but they're OK for stripe or check patterns (especially, twill + stripes is a great combination IMO). There's no fabric I dislike more than a white poplin shirt though... ugh

My favorite shirt fabrics are oxford (royal or not), herringbone and interesting dobby patterns

I prefer chain mail.