Our Glossary
The BUTTON BORDER of the men’s shirt takes us back to the days of the chivalrous knight, who, with his LEFT hand, opens the cape to have his right hand free to hold the sword. We can choose from:
- a border without a placket for elegant shirts
- with a placket for classic shirts
- with concealed tabs for attaching a bow tie.
BUTTONS are not yet in use in the days of our knight, who still fastens his cloak using cords and buckles. Over the centuries, however, their function changed from simple adornment: they’re cut from mother-of-pearl, approx. 3-5mm thick and 16mm and 18mm in diameter.
The YOKE is the section covering the shoulder blades. This element makes it possible to modify the paper model.
The COLLAR comes with the introduction of the tie. It is the most noticeable detail in any shirt. It’s more important to select a collar form that suits your facial and body features instead of following the dictates of fashion.
We carefully hand-embroider your initials into the FRONT left-hand panel of your tailored shirt.
The SLEEVE PLACKET is at the bottom of the sleeve close to the cuff. It’s an opening reinforced by a strip of fabric adjoining the cuff button holes. The other side has a small tuck-in.
The ARMHOLES are generally serged by machine or by hand, either throughout or just along the yoke and sleeve. The only drawback to hand stitching is the extra expense. With hand-stitching, the sleeve is attached to the armhole on the side, and the sleeve and side seams aren’t aligned (as in the industrial manufacture) but moved.
The COLLAR BAND is attached at the base of the collar. The tailor needs to take great care to create the right curve to support the collar model as required.
The GUSSET, or “butterfly gusset” in Milanese workshops, sits at the conjunction of the two front panels and the back panel, and is triangular or pentagonal in shape.
The WARP is the coming together of the vertical threads with the horizontal wefts to form the fabric.
DARTS are seams on the back of the shirt used to give it form.
CUFFS: you can choose from barrel cuffs for classic shirts, mitered cuffs for casual shirts and a French double cuff for formal events and evenings. You can also choose their weight, according to your preferences.
Double TWISTED means two cotton yarns twisted together.
Removable collar stiffeners are inserted into hidden pockets inside the collar leaf, and keep the collar points in the right place.
The THREAD COUNT defines the thickness of a yarn. Starting with a long cotton thread (Egyptian, sea-island) you get a very fine yarn: the finer the thread, the higher the thread count, making for an ever more sumptuous fabric.
The COLLAR LEAF is the part of the collar attached to the collar band.