The Twill Dress Shirt

This fabric weave actually consists of several variations, including herringbone on the more formal end of the spectrum and denim on the more casual. You can easily recognize the traditional twill weave thanks to its characteristic diagonal pattern.

Depending on the pattern, thread count, thickness and ply, a twill dress shirt can be ideal business attire or a stylish weekend option. A higher thread count is linked with quality and thus luxury, but ply—referring to how many yarns are used to make a single thread—also has an important role in the look and feel of the final product. These two properties serve as a guideline for deciding where and when to wear a certain shirt. A two-ply fabric with a higher thread count (above 100) will give you something with a heftier, more luxurious feel—making it well suited to formal environments.

Twill dress shirts tend to be thicker than broadcloth but thinner than oxford cloth. This can affect breathability, although it doesn’t necessarily make the shirt heavier, especially when it is well constructed using high-quality materials. As an added benefit, you may find that twill’s thicker construction prevents your undershirt from showing through—an issue that some men find problematic with other, less opaque fabrics.

In terms of style, a subtle sheen gives twill enough visual interest to stand out on its own. The interesting patterns, for example herringbone, a series of diagonal lines that resemble chevrons, take twill dress shirts up another notch by drawing the eye in ways that other weaves don’t. These weave patterns also help produce a more favourable result in the way the fabric sits on your skin; twill drapes more than most fabrics and is relatively immune to wrinkling and bunching.