Glossary
| B | |
| BATIST | Fabric in linen or cotton, very fine and almost transparent used for shirts, handkerchiefs and linens. Perhaps the name derives from it's first producer: Baptiste De Cambrai of the XIII century. |
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| BIAS | The cutting of fabric obliquely with respect to the warp and the weft. |
| BORDER STITCHING | Trimming of the final part of the shirt performed by folding the fabric backwards and fastening it with small internal stitches. |
| BUTTON-DOWN | Collar with buttons on its tip. This shirt has been used since 1800 by English Polo players to avoid that their loose collars could raise and cover their faces during a match. |
| BUTTONHOLE | From the Latin "ansula". Small cut in the fabric with a scalloped edge in which the button is inserted. |
| C | |
| CHECK | Pattern with squares on fabric obtained by the crossing of colored yarns alternated in weft and warp with yarns of a different color. If the checks are full we speak of damier, if they are small they are micro checks, if they are elaborate in design they are Prince of Wales or tartan, if they are big they are called windows. |
| COTTON | From the Arab "qutun". Derived from the hairs that cover the seeds of the plant it is the most important and widespread vegetable textile fiber. There are cottons of various qualities according to their provenance. The most valuable is the Sea Island, with long and silky fibers, which is used for more refined productions. Egyptian cotton also called "Jumel" or "Moho" is characterized by shades of color that go from yellow to brown. Peruvian cottons, as valuable as the Egyptian, resemble wool and are often used in a blend with such fabric. American cotton called "Upland" is of short fibers and gets it's denomination from it's origin: Texas, Mississipi, Georgia, Orleans. |
| CUFFS | A strip of material at the height of the wrist with which the width of the sleeve of a shirt is taken in and fastened with buttons or cuff links. |
| D | |
| DARTS / PINCES | Small folds studied to take in the width of the material. On the shirt they are generally sewn on the back. |
| DOUBLE TWISTED | Adjective referring to threads and yarns that have been subjected to being " twisted twice" in order to join one or more threads or one or more components. This process makes the fabric more resistant thus confering a higher quality. |
| E | |
| ELEGANCE | From the Latin "elegantia" - capability of choosing. It is a characteristic of a person or an item of clothing. |
| EMBROIDERY | Ornamental design obtained through appropriate seaming generally by hand to embellish a garment.
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| ENGLISH ROUND | Very fine transparent and solid fabric characterized by a few threads of warp called "round" because of their curviline direction which move at times to the right at times to the left. Largely used in the clothing industry especially in the production of shirts. |
| F | |
| FIL-à-FIL | French expression which literally means "thread to thread". Light material, generally cotton, with the warp formed alternatively by a white thread and a colored thread suitable for both sport shirts and formal shirts. The optical effect is of vertical microscopic multi-lines or squares. |
| FINE STICHING | Seam, usually handmade, used to decorate or to unite parts of a shirt for added strength. |
| FLY/MOUCHE | French word which literally means "fly". A small triangle of material applied to the bottom of the shirt used as a reinforcement in the joining of the front of the shirt to the back. |
| H | |
| HAND TOUCH | Technical term used to indicate the tactile sensation perceived upon touching fabric, yarn or knits. We can therefore speak of a hand which is soft, fluffy, dry, hard, rigid, gentle, puffy, voluminous, quick, rough, limp, stiff etc. |
| HERRINGBONE | An arrowhead pattern characterized by a balanced zigzag effect produced by first having the rib run to the right and then to the left for an equal number of threads. It was named after a skeleton of the herring as this is what the fibre pattern resembles. |
| J | |
| JACQUARD | Referred to stiches that alternate threads of different colours generally producing a geometric design. |
| K | |
| KASHMIR | Hair of the goat of Kashmir and Tibet also raised in the plateaus of central Asia in Russian and Cinese Turkestan in Mongolia and in India. It's the most requested and prestigious fabric for it's softness and fineness that generates heat only upon tact. The hair is obtained by the combing of the animal and in nature it's color varies from white to light yellow brown. |
| L | |
| LINEN | One of the longest natural fibers with outstanding resistance to wash and wear. Brillant in appearance, although rough to the touch and easy to crease, it is quite pleasant to wear especially during the summer season. There is no fabric fresher than linen. |
| M | |
| MAKO' | Name of an Egyptian locality where a type of very fine long fiber cotton of value is produced for yarns and fabrics. |
| MOTHER OF PEARL | A hard and iridescent material covering the inside of the shell of some lamellibranches also used to manufacture buttons for elegant suits and shirts. |
| MUSLIN | Soft and light fabric, almost transparent, in silk, cotton or wool manufactured originally in Mossul, city of Iraq from which it's name derives. It is widely used in all the clothing industry. |
| N | |
| NECKBAND | The strip of fabric hidden under and sewn to the visible part of the shirt's collar. |
| NEST | Fabric in linen, cotton or wool with a striped embossed geometrical design alternated by diagonally crossed hollows thus resembling a beehive. |
| O | |
| OXFORD | Fabric in pure cotton in which the crossing of the white weft with the warp in another color form a characteristic design of tiny squares. Very popular in the shirt industry it's a classic in menswear. Oxford fabric is particularly indicated in the production of sport shirts (especially button- down) and for formal dress shirts although it is not as elegant as batist or popeline. |
| P | |
| PANAMA | Fabric in wool, cotton or other fibers created with a special framework that equally doubles threads in the warp and in the weft. |
| PARTRIDGE | Fabric design created by alternating two light threads in warp and weft with two dark ones. Tiny almost round dots are formed with a central light dot on a dark base, vaguely similar to the eye of the partridge. |
| PATTERN | Fabric with designs that are not printed but created by intersecting threads of various colors. |
| PIED-DE-POULE | French phrase which literally means "hen's feet". Small design on fabric preferably of two colors which resembles the scaly skin on hen's feet. It is obtained with a cloth loom by alternating four dark threads in the warp and in the weft. |
| PIN-POINT | Pin-point is an evolution of oxford and presents itself with a granular effect. It's weft appears to be made of tiny pinholes and like oxford fabrics only the warp yarns are colored. |
| PIQUET | Fabric in cotton generally white or fair in color characterized by an elevated surface formed by small ribs. |
| POCHETTE | Is the French word for the handkerchief which is placed in the jacket's breast pocket, a further sign of elegance. It is generally white or of the same colour of the shirt. |
| POPLIN | Very compact ultra-fine and light fabric characterized by a finer warp than weft. It is manufactured with different yarns but the most popular in mercerized cotton is widely used in the shirt industry. It is the typical fabric for formal shirts. |
| PRINCE OF WALES | Famous teased and combed fabric of the characteristic Scottish design of small squares inside bigger squares with added numerous variations that go from multistriped combinations with star effect to pied de poule to grisaglia with damier design. The yarns used are usually black and white or white and brown with an added color like red or blue to delimit the design of the larger squares. The effect is both sporty and elegant at the same time. Launched by the Prince of Wales, future Edward VIII of England from which it got it's name. |
| R | |
| ROYAL OXFORD | Royal oxford fabric originated in England in the late 19th Century and is the " Regal version " of classic oxford as it's ultra fine weave confers exceptional texture, softness and luster to this superior subtle basket weave cloth. |
| S | |
| SARTORIAL | Indicates, as opposed to garments produced in mass , the cutting and manufacturing of made-to-measure articles. |
| SEA ISLAND | Genuine SEA ISLAND cotton only flourishes under perfect climatic conditions, and is cultivated exclusively on the British West Indies islands in the Caribbean. West Indian SEA ISLAND cotton is picked by hand and processed gently. This rare and costly raw material contains the longest cotton fibres in the world - up to 52 mm long! The extraordinarily fine fibres are distinguished by their purity and by an extremely great tear resistance. A rigorous quality control system and a network of contractual partners built up over many years guarante the 100-percent purity of this costly raw material. The specialist organisation WISICA (West Indian Sea Island Cotton Association) inspects every kilo of cotton produced locally and issues it with a Certificate of Authenticity. The final result: the perfect yarn structure guarantees that shirts made from SEA ISLAND fabrics are as soft as cashmere with minimum hairiness, lightweight and cool and yet withstand frequent washing. |
| SEWING | From the Latin "consuere". The operation with which fabrics and other materials are joined by crossing them with a needle and thread. |
| SHIRT | From the Latin "camisia" or the Greek "kamasos"- tunic. Underwear garment with two parts which were generally visible, like the collar and the cuffs. This basic wardrobe piece has undergone various transformations during the years in all of it's parts. Wide or narrow sleeves, small or large collars, ample or fitted volume but always an indispensable item for both men and women. |
| SILK | The most noble of the natural fibers. Costly for the type of production
and valuable for it's characteristics of shine, elasticity, lightness and freshness, it is, although fine, a very resistant fabric with good thermal protection. It has always been considered a product of high quality. |
| SOLID | Fabric or yarn of a single color. |
| STRETCH | The English word used in the textile field to indicate the elasticity of a fibre, yarn or fabric. |
| T | |
| TAILORING | Cross between the Latin "confectio" - realization and the French "confection" clothes industry. |
| TEXTILE FABRIC | From the Latin "fibra" and "textilis". Filamentous material of various quality and consistency, its origins are classifiable as natural (from the animal or plants) and chemical (artificial or synthetic). Its general characteristic is that it is thin and flexible so that it is possible to spin and, therefore, work in the textile field. Examples: wool is a natural animal fiber, linen is a natural vegetable fiber. Rayon is an artificial fiber, nylon is a synthetic fiber. |
| THREAD | Group of continuous twisted or untwisted fibers. |
| TWILL | General name of twill, or rather of all twill woven fabrics, characterized by thin diagonal lines and by a good elasticity.
It holds it shape and stands out for it's interesting reflections.
Fabric not very indicated for the summer season. |
| TWISTED | Adjective referring to threads and yarns that have been twisted to join one or more threads or one or more components. |
| V | |
| VOILE | The "veil" is obtained by using very thin and twisted threads that are weaved with a cloth framework. Fresh and transparent it is suitable for summer shirts in solid colors. |
| W | |
| WARP | Vertical group of threads which are fixed to the loom on which the material is formed by the consecutive passing and interlacement of threads on the weft. |
| WARP YARN | Thread of the weft of a fabric used as a reference during the cutting phase. |
| WEFT | The mass of threads in weaving proceeding horizontally which intertwine at the warp. |
| Y | |
| YARN | Group of textile fibers joined through twisting in order to form a continuous long flexibile body suitable for being interlaced for the production of fabric. |
| YOKE | Upper reinforced part which corresponds to the shoulders of the shirt. In French it is called "carrè". |
| Z | |
| ZEPHIR | The name, deriving from the zephir wind, immediately evocates a sense of freshness. The cloth framework with more threads in warp than weft and arranged loosely makes this precious fabric particularly suitable for the summer season. |


