Formal Shirt Materials

Finding the Best Business and Formal Shirts for men

Throughout our web site you will see men's formal shirts in a variety of types of material. It's impossible to be shopping for a formal shirt without coming across terms such as poplin, Oxford weave, brushed cotton, herringbone, twill, easy iron, long staples...We know that it can be a little confusing, and complicates what should really be a simple and joyful experience: buying yourself a nice shirt! So we have included this page to help you understand more about shirt materials, and hopefully help you in choosing the perfect formal shirt for you.

Cotton or Poly Cotton?

For us at Formal-Shirts.co.uk, a quality shirt should be made from 100% natural materials. A poly cotton shirt will be made from a blend of cotton and a man made fibre (usually polyester). This may make the shirt more affordable, and some might say easier to care for in washing and ironing, but a shirt made from 100% natural, quality cotton, will always look better and feel more comfortable to wear. Cotton is a durable fabric too, so a shirt made from 100% cotton will likely last and look better for longer. However, pure cotton is lightweight and remarkably soft and comfortable to wear. A quality cotton shirt won't lose it's shape, and should last a good few years. Charles Tyrwhitt shirts, for example, claim their shirts will look as good in 10 years. So now which looks like the better deal: a poly-cotton shirt a few pounds cheaper, or a 100% cotton shirt that will last for much longer?

Poly Cotton

As the name suggests, a shirt made from this material will part cotton, part polyester - the man-made fibre. There are some benefits, such as easier ironing and washing, but generally, a shirt made from 100% natural fibre will be more comfortable. If you do buy a polycotton shirt, always remember to check the ratios of cotton to polyester. Generally, the higher the cotton percentage, the better the shirt. Material can be called polycotton - a blend of cotton and polyester - yet have very little pure cotton included.

Long Staple Cotton

You may also see the term "long staple cotton". This essentially refers to the length of the cotton fibres used to spin the cotton material. Such fibres usually come from Egyptian cotton, which is renowned worldwide as one of the best quality cottons available. Long cotton staples will result in a better quality cotton material, with more shine, a softer feel, yet more strength. So if you see a shirt retailer boasting that a shirt is made from long staple cotton, you know it will be of a high quality.

Two Fold Cotton

The term "Two Fold Cotton" is another term that signifies a quality shirt. Standard cotton cloth is woven with a single thread. Two fold cotton uses, as the name suggest, 2 separate threads which are then spun together. OK, as you can see, we're no textile technology experts, but result is a very fine cotton material perfect for quality shirt making.

Special Weaves

Nearly all of the shirts included in our web site are made from 100% cotton, since these are the best. But you may find a few other terms added, which differentiate the various styles of finish or weaves used for shirt making. For example poplin, Oxford or twill are quite commonly used in the shirt making world. These are not to describe the fibre or material as such, but rather the weave or finish - the style of the cotton. In other words, a poplin shirt is made from cotton, but just that the cotton is woven in a special way. Just to add to the confusion, you might see in the description of the shirt from a retailer something like "Material: Poplin". It's probably just an oversight, or just the standard terminology, but generally speaking, this means 100% cotton material, made with a special weave called "poplin".

Poplin Shirts

Poplin is one of the most popular materials for making quality, smart-looking, formal shirts. It is a crisp fabric, quite dense and therefore durable. A shirt made from quality poplin will look sharper and smarter for longer. Poplin does have a gentle horizontal rib if you look closely, but compared to twill or Oxford weave, is quite smooth in appearance. If you are a fan of the sharp looking shirt, then something made from poplin is likely to be for you. To give you an idea of how tough a poplin weave can be, with a different fibre to soft cotton, it is used in upholstery, rain coats and even ship's sails! See our top choice of poplin shirts here.

Twill Shirts

Twill has a more textured look, and a softer feel when compare to poplin. The weaving process results in very fine diagonal lines, as you can see from the photo below, which when used in making a shirt, can give the garment a slight shimmer where the lines reflect light. So even a plain coloured twill shirt will have depth and shine. A twill shirt is soft and comfortable. See our top choice of twill shirts here.

Brushed Cotton

Brushed cotton is used in a number of garments and things such as bedding, where softness and comfort is important. Brushed cotton takes a cotton weave, perhaps something similar to twill, where the fabric has some texture. It is then lightly brushed during the finishing process, to create a very soft, and very warm material. A brushed cotton shirt is therefore popular for wearing during the winter months.

Oxford Weave Shirts

An Oxford weave shirt is very soft and comfortable, and offer a versatile look for either a formal or "dress down" style. It is usual in an Oxford shirt to be able to see that the weave is fairly visible close up, especially in a coloured shirt. This is because Oxford weaves are made using a contrasting colour in the weft and usually a lighter colour in the warp. This gives any Oxford shirt a gentler colour overall. An Oxford weave shirt is quite thick compared to say a poplin shirt. If you like the Oxford weave style, but not the warmth, then look for something often called a "Royal Oxford" weave, which generally looks the same but the material is more loosely spun, resulting in a lighter cloth. There are other variations on the Oxford weave, such as the Pinpoint weave, which is a denser fabric which appear as lots of tiny pinpoint dots in the final weave construction. It is generally a tougher, crisper material than standard Oxford. Oxford weave shirts are usually considered to be slightly less formal than, say, the crisp, sharp look of the poplin shirts. This isn't to say that they can't be worn for business - indeed they are extremely popular for work wear. But what it does mean is that Oxford weave shirts can be quite versatile, and can look equally well with a shirt and suit, or with an open neck shirt and a pair of Chinos. See our top choice of Oxford shirts here.