What Makes A Great Fabric

By October 22, 2014 Romear No Comments
what makes a great fabric

We spend a lot of time talking about our fit and construction, but the materials we use are just as important. The fabric is what a shirt is actually made out of after all.

WHAT MAKES A GREAT FABRIC

cotton

Cotton

Cotton is grown in only a few places in the world. It is renowned as some of the best in the world. It has an extra long staple, which means it has longer fibers, resulting in a silkier, more durable fabric.

Some of our shirts are 100% pure cotton. Our fabric costs are a little higher, but we think that you can truly feel the quality.

Ply

The Ply

Fabrics are either 1-ply or 2-ply. This is the number of yarns twisted together to make a single thread. 2-ply fabrics are generally finer with a tighter weave than 1-ply fabrics.

All of our Professional dress shirt styles, and the majority of our Work/Play and Smart Casual styles are 2-ply fabrics because they lend a smoother, more crisp hand feel. Occasionally we use single-ply fabrics on some of our more casual shirts when we want a lighter, more breathable fabric.

Count

The Count

The number you see on shirt fabrics (80s, 120s etc.) indicates the size of the thread in the fabric and therefore how many threads per square inch. Higher numbers mean that the threads are finer which results in a softer, smoother and lighter fabric.

Our shirts run a wide range of thread counts. We prefer 100s, 120s and 140s for our classic dress shirts because of the silky texture and lightweight. We use lower counts when we want more weighty fabrics.

finish

The Finish

Often overlooked, the finish of the fabric is the production process used to actually mill the fabric. A 2-ply 200s fabric sounds impressive but if it’s made with low quality cotton by a dubious manufacturer then it is no better and probably worse than a 1-ply 50s fabric made by a reputable mill.

All of our fabrics come from high-quality mills in India and are certified to be carefully produced with no harmful chemicals or additives. All of our fabrics must pass our “hand check.” No matter how impressive it looks or sounds, it if doesn’t feel just right, we don’t use it.