About our Shirting Fabrics

Quality is everything to me that’s why I only use the very best fabrics from the finest mills in Italy. I have a library of over 1000 cotton and linens which are all two-fold, meaning that two very finely spun yarns have been subsequently twisted together to form a two-fold yarn which make our cottons much stronger, smoother with a unsurpassed lustre. I’ve compiled a little background on the different cottons and how they come to be.

Cotton is planted in Egypt towards the end of March and harvested around September. The harvested mass of cotton fibres known as stables are placed, combed and twisted into yarns. The raw yarns are dyed into coloured yarns. The weaving process has too sets of yarns called the warp (vertical component) and the weft (horizontal component) are interlaced with each other to form a fabric. This occurs on looms by weavers. The weaved fabric can be treated to give a distinctive finish before being ready to be cut and tailored into garments durability.

The count (or thickness) of a cotton yarn is based on the traditional English system and is equal to the number of 840 yard (764m) skeins (length of yarn) required to weigh 1 pound (0.453kg) Under this system, the higher the number of yarn count, the finer the yarn and thus more precious the fabric will be.

Poplin is a light cotton fabric with a high number of yarns in the warp (vertical component) than in the weft (horizontal component) which makes it especially suitable for striped designs. The name is derived from the french word 'papaline', namely a fabric that was created for the Pope in the Middle Ages. Particularly useful in the warmer months to stay as cool and collected as possible.

A fabric with a twill weave is identified by its pattern of diagonal lines. This structure is created by passing the weft thread over one or more warp threads and then under two or more warp threads and so on. Each time a ''step'' is left between rows resulting in the characteristic diagonal structure. The use of the diagonal weave means its possible to incorporate more threads, creating a heavier fabric more useful in the cooler months. Variations on a twill include baby twill, royal twill and herringbone, all of which we use in our shirts.

Oxfords are produced by interlacing two threads on a colour warp with a thick white weft. The process has been improved in recent years weaving yarns together in complex dobby structures to achieve the typical oxford appearance. Finer versions of an Oxford are referred to as Royal Oxford, Pin Point and Panama, all of which we use. Warmer than poplin, its soft to the touch and is favoured for its durability.

Linen comes from the fibres of a flax plant. It is the only textile fibre that grows in Europe, and it was the first to be cultivated and transformed by man. It is valued for its exceptional coolness in hot weather and is also the strongest natural textile fibre. Linen is also ecological as a plant it requires less water than other crops and requires a minimal quantity of fertilisers.