The Shirt History

Undeniably, shirt is the most important clothing for men. It has intense semiotic interest, because it reflects the personality of the man who wears it, and diachronically his choices, expresses his culture and aesthetics.

Its roots touch upon the Kalaziri of Assyrians and Babylonians, the Kandy of Persians, the Hitona of Greeks, and finally, the Tunica of Etruscans and  Romans, all of whom were the ushers of today’s shirt.

The term Camisas, dating back to the 17th century, signals the beginning of the newer history of shirt. Throughout the years, high quality fabrics, collars and cuffs have portrayed the professional identity of the economic workforce.

Today, more than ever, the world of shirts has to offer the best possible variety of choices.

However, for Oxford Company the shirt is not simply a dress element, but a raison d'être and vision.

The Shirt Fit

Oxford Company has two lines of shirt fits, the Regular and the Slim. The Regular line is suitable for those who do not prefer tight fitting to their body, and the shirts do not have pleats at the back. The Slim line has pleats and flatters the most perfect and thin body types.

COLLARS

The collar constitutes the precious detail of your shirt which determines your personal style.

Oxford Company offers you the option of selecting among a great variety of collars that can accentuate or smoothen face lines.

Classic Collars

City

 It is probably the most recognizable classic collar, ideal for a tie. It balances the preference

 between the strictly classical and the modern customer.

Club

An open collar, slightly tall, equally fit to be worn with or without a tie.

Francese

Semi-hard collar, relatively upturned, which highlights the fitted tie.

Patrick

A collar characterized by the hidden button. It is equally appropriate for both classic and more casual youthful appearances, easily combined with or without a tie.

Button Down

Casual style collar, worn with or without a tie and a jacket.

Sixty

A modern collar, which was dominant in the 60's and has recently made a fashionable comeback.

Smoking

The smoking collar traditionally introduced in the 19th century as a formal wear collar. It is usually associated with black tie events. Along the years evolved a shorter, more comfortable version, known as a more casual, relaxed variant.

Kent

Roxy

Town

Soft collars which can be worn with or without a slim tie.

Sport Collars

Button Down

It is the most recognized sport collar with button; a youthful collar which can be worn during office hours and leisure alike.

Porto

It is a soft collar without a button, ideal for casual appearances.

Brooklyn

Romeo

Another soft sport collar, equally worn with a whale bone, or without. It ideallycomplements sport jackets and casual outfits.

Seventy

A modern collar which was dominant in the 70's and has made a fashionable comeback.

CUFFS

The Cuffs should perfectly hug the wrist, while simultaneously allowing freedom of movement.

When combined with a suit, they should stand out at least 1,5cm under the sleeves of the jacket.

There are two types of cuffs: the Single cuff with button and the Double, which fastens with cuff links.

The Cufflinks are two buttons linked with a common axis that is used for the fastening of double cuffs. The cuff link is considered to be the jewel of the shirt. It lends style, status and good taste, and at the same time accentuates the cloth's uniqueness. An integral piece of sophisticated attire and an essential accessory for important moments of our life.

FABRICS

The fabrics are divided in two main categories related with the way of woven. The

One-Ply and the Two-Ply.

One-Ply Fabric

It is the fabric that is woven with one thread in warp and one in abb.

Two-Ply Fabric

It is made with dual warps (double thread) and dual abbs. It is particularly durable over time and maintains the quality and brightness of its colours. Particularly easy to iron and suitable for daily use.

Cotton remains the most widely used raw material in the buckrams distinguished for their quality and  toughness. Specially designed fabrication processes and various techniques of weaving cotton have been developed, resulting in improved buckram quality. The word Cotton, is a paraphrase of the ancient Arabic word Qutun that means "conquer". It constitutes spinning the fibrous material that is extracted from the cotton plant. It is discovered as a raw material during the expedition of Alexander the Great in India.

Linen

Soft, transparent, with a very thin warp - abb. Historically it was first introduced in ancient Egypt, where it was considered as a gift from the Gods to humans.

Flama

Fabric that resembles linen but is in actuality cotton.

Oxford

A kind of particularly durable, sturdy cotton fabric. Its main characteristic is its peculiar weave. The warp is thinner than the abb. It was manufactured for the first time around 1870, in the city of Oxford, from where it took its name.

Super Oxford

Known otherwise as Pin Point Oxford, it constitutes the refined version of Oxford that was created with the advancements in the development of textile machines.

Poplin

Cotton fabric, soft and diachronic.

Twill

Monochrome, Cotton fabric, made from worsted yarns with a special weave in which the filling yarns pass over one and under two or more warp yarns, to give an appearance of diagonal lines.

Fil a Fil

Cotton fabric with a distinct appearance accomplished when  a light coloured yarn is being woven with a dark coloured one in succession.

Pique

Double faced firmly woven fabric with ribbed,corded or ridged wales.

Zephyr

Fine and lightweight cotton fabric with a basket-like weave. It is named after Zefyros, the Greek mythological God of the western wind.

Jean

Durable, cottoned material, the very well-known denim.

Gabardine

This cotton fabric can be characterized as diagonal.