Have you ever wondered what designers or other fabric experts look at in terms of quality in fabrics? Other than design, it basically comes down to two important characteristics of the shirt: 1. the yarn count and 2. what the fabric consists of.

Yarn count – the technical sign of quality

The yarn count or thread count is a large part of what determines the feel of the fabric. The higher the thread count the softer the fabric is. Yarn count is the number of threads per square inch of woven fabric.

When looking at fabrics for your next tailored dress shirt keep in mind that anything above 100 is highly acceptable and a thread count of around 80 is usually satisfactory for a nice feel and comfort level.

If the thread count is displayed like this 100/2 it means it has a yarn count of 100 but is also two fold or has double yarn.

Type of Fabric – avoid the artificial feel

Good tailored shirts are made from fabric that feels natural on your skin. 100% Cotton has and will always been on the top of the list for feel good fabric.

However, it can also be beneficial to compromise on the cotton. One reason for this is that shirts with only 100% cotton tend to wrinkle, however if there is the right mix of polyester in the fabric those wrinkles can be avoided. So do not run away from polyester cotton blends (but keep cotton in the majority), they are also generally more affordable.

There are many different types of cotton including Egyptian, Pima, Organic, and so forth. Egyptian and Pima are usually top end cottons with a great feel to them.

Spandex is actually an increasingly common shirt material when mixed with cotton. It gives the shirt good flexibility, durability, and decreases wrinkling.

Linen is a good substitute for cotton, but is mainly used for summer and more casual shirts. Linen actually tends to wrinkle even more than cotton.

Silk is a luxurious affair with great a feel to it, the downside is that it fades easily if it is not dry cleaned. As it sounds, silk is also the most expensive fabric available, but can become more affordable if mixed with wool.

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