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How to dress like a gentleman- A guide on the history of the Handkerkcheif and to dress like a true gent
MATERIALS
COTTON-BATISTE
This finely-woven fabric is thin enough to be semi-transparent. It is thought to be named after
Baptiste of Cambrai, a French linen weaver of legendary accomplishment.
COTTON-POPLIN
A shirting fabric with a slight ribbed effect achieved in the warp. Some of the best poplins are known
as ‘sea island’, after a variety of particularly long-staple cotton originating in Egypt and grown on
islands off the south-east coast of the United States and in the Caribbean. As with batiste, a
finishing treatment with a solution of caustic soda adds to its strength and luster. This process is
known as mercerizing. It was developed in 1844 by an English calico printer named John Mercer.
OXFORD
A coloured-woven cotton fabric in plain or basket weave that is often used for hard-wearing sports
shirts.
HARVARD
Coloured-woven cloth with a twill weave and colour effects similar to that of Oxford cotton.
FLANNELETTE (COTTON-FLANNEL)
This cotton shirting material is napped – furred – by a milling process to achieve a soft surface
texture on either side. The result is a warm fabric that mimics all-wool flannel.
CHAMBRAY
A woven cotton with a coloured warp and white weft filling. It is used to make a fine jeans shirt fabric.
LINEN
This was universal shirt fabric until replaced by cotton, which is easier and cheaper to raise. It is
stronger and more absorbent than cotton and its crisp appearance and cool feel make it ideal for
summer shirts. Linen’s notorious wrinkliness can be corrected by impregnating the fibres with a
crease-resistant resin.
SILK
Silk makes a most comfortable and luxurious shirt fabric. Silk shirtings range from coarse and nubby
Shantung, made from the wild ‘tussah’ silk of cocoons gathered in China and India, to the fine gauze-
like crêpe de Chine.
WOOL
Woollen shirts are manufactured from fine worsteds. There are also quality blends, such as
wool/cashmere, wool/silk, wool/cotton (Viyella is a branded wool-cotton blend). Flannel shirts are
also made of wool.
INTERLOCK
The close-knit fabric of polo shirts and T-shirts is created through this process. Machines with alter
nating short and long needles form a mesh-like material of high elasticity. Such knitted fabrics are
highly elastic despite maintaining their shape.
COTTON-BATISTE
This finely-woven fabric is thin enough to be semi-transparent. It is thought to be named after
Baptiste of Cambrai, a French linen weaver of legendary accomplishment.
COTTON-POPLIN
A shirting fabric with a slight ribbed effect achieved in the warp. Some of the best poplins are known
as ‘sea island’, after a variety of particularly long-staple cotton originating in Egypt and grown on
islands off the south-east coast of the United States and in the Caribbean. As with batiste, a
finishing treatment with a solution of caustic soda adds to its strength and luster. This process is
known as mercerizing. It was developed in 1844 by an English calico printer named John Mercer.
OXFORD
A coloured-woven cotton fabric in plain or basket weave that is often used for hard-wearing sports
shirts.
HARVARD
Coloured-woven cloth with a twill weave and colour effects similar to that of Oxford cotton.
FLANNELETTE (COTTON-FLANNEL)
This cotton shirting material is napped – furred – by a milling process to achieve a soft surface
texture on either side. The result is a warm fabric that mimics all-wool flannel.
CHAMBRAY
A woven cotton with a coloured warp and white weft filling. It is used to make a fine jeans shirt fabric.
LINEN
This was universal shirt fabric until replaced by cotton, which is easier and cheaper to raise. It is
stronger and more absorbent than cotton and its crisp appearance and cool feel make it ideal for
summer shirts. Linen’s notorious wrinkliness can be corrected by impregnating the fibres with a
crease-resistant resin.
SILK
Silk makes a most comfortable and luxurious shirt fabric. Silk shirtings range from coarse and nubby
Shantung, made from the wild ‘tussah’ silk of cocoons gathered in China and India, to the fine gauze-
like crêpe de Chine.
WOOL
Woollen shirts are manufactured from fine worsteds. There are also quality blends, such as
wool/cashmere, wool/silk, wool/cotton (Viyella is a branded wool-cotton blend). Flannel shirts are
also made of wool.
INTERLOCK
The close-knit fabric of polo shirts and T-shirts is created through this process. Machines with alter
nating short and long needles form a mesh-like material of high elasticity. Such knitted fabrics are
highly elastic despite maintaining their shape.
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