The Best Fabrics In The World For Tailored Men’s Dress Shirt

The fabric of choice in dress shirts is cotton.

The natural breathability, comfortable feel, and overlay of cotton is what makes it so popular for shirt making. Polyester/cotton mixes can be found on occasion for dress shirts that need specific characteristics such as extra strength or wrinkle resistance. Though the polyester is usually the smaller ratio in the blend, otherwise the fabric will lack in breathability. Some dress shirts have silk blended in with the cotton, and this gives the shirt a strong sheen, though it loses some breathability. Colour is used in dress shirt fabrics. White dress shirts were the only colour found in the Edwardian era, thought colours and patterns quickly emerged. Checked patterns became popular in the country, while stripped and more plain colours were found in the city.

In this section we cover the various types fabrics found in use for dress shirt making.

The most common fabric in fine dress shirt making is Egyptian cotton. Grown along the Nile River in its moist and fertile conditions, Egyptian cotton forms a extra long staple.

The staple of the cotton, or the length of the cotton fiber, is what gives a cotton strength. At the same time the long staple maintains the fabrics breathability and natural draping, thus making is a sought after characteristic. This extra long staple has another beneficial characteristic, which is that is absorbs liquid well. Thus the cotton retains dye very well. This allows Egyptian cotton to be dyed in colours brighter that many other fabrics are not capable of absorbing to the same vibrancy.

In dress shirt making, Egyptian cotton can be considered the king.

In the 19th century the modern founder of Egypt, Mohammad Ali Pasha, brought Gossypium barbadense, a species of cotton, to Egypt to be cultivated. This turned out to be a huge success as the fertile moist lands just around the Nile were perfect for the cotton. During the Civil War in the United States there was a lack of cotton growth, so Egypt filled the demand and made it's cotton famous around the world. Another cotton used in luxury shirt making is Sea Island Cotton.

It's varies from Egyptian cotton only slightly in that it has a silkier feel to it.

It comes from the same species as Egyptian.

The Sea Islands are located just of the coast of Georgia, in the United States.

The cotton sometimes has silk woven into it for an appearance and feel even more like silk. Cotton growers from the Sea Islands attempted to grow Gossypium Barbadense in Burmuda at a time when growing could not be done in America due to the Civil War.

There attempt was unsuccessful as the climate in Bermuda did not match that of the Sea Islands.

The American Cotton industry took a large blow during this war, but since has made it's recovery and Sea Island cotton is renown around the world to luxury tailors. One of the most widely used cottons is Pima. From America, cultivated in the southwest states, it is the most widely used cotton. Despite lacking the prestige of Egyptian or Sea Island cotton, it is still incredibly strong and commonly used amongst luxury shirt tailors.

The Pima Native Americans first grew Gossypium barbadense species, thus it was named after them.

The United States Department of Agriculture began an experiment to develop Pima cotton.

They eventually released a seed that provided an increase of yield, and an stronger cotton.

The industry exploded and Pima because the most popular cotton in the United States.

The most common cotton in this day in age is Upland cotton. Not often used in luxury shirt making, this fabric now accounts for the majority of production in America.

It comes in long and short staples. Gossypium Hirsutum is the species that Upland cotton is from. Originally cultivated in Mexico, for almost 5000 years.

In Mexico it's referred to as Mexican Cotton, though you would be hard pressed to hear this term used in the United States. Polyester is often used in small ratios blended with cotton due to its wrinkle resistance characteristics. This is because the synthetic polyester fiber is much stiffer than cotton, which also makes it feel stiffer. Unfortunately polyester does not have the breathability of cotton, thus it feels very warm when worn. Due to this fact it is used in smaller ratio blends- such as 80 percent cotton and 20 percent polyester. This ratio will provide wrinkle resistance while keeping the natural feel and breathability of the cotton. A hundred percent polyester is virtually wrinkle free, though this is not practical as the fabric is very uncomfortable- out of the question for luxury shirt makers. Another alternative to polyester is viscose. Unlike polyester it had breathability qualities, often better than cotton.
www.upTailor.com is the worlds premier custom clothier focused on fine dress shirts and the art of tailoring. Find your custom shirt designed and cut for you.

Trending Articles