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# A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

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(The higher the number, the finer the threads; the finer the threads, the silkier the fabric)

100's Two-Ply Broadcloth (fine)
•A premium shirting fabric made with two-ply threads (two individual threads are twisted together) which make it durable, soft, and lustrous.

140's Broadcloth (very fine)
•A very luxurious yarn, the higher thread count and resulting closeness of weave gives it a superior hand and remarkable luster.

200's Two-Ply Broadcloth (extremely fine)
•Woven from some of the finest cottons in the world, our 200's Two-Ply Cotton offers an extremely silky touch and incredibly fine patterns.

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Basketweave
•A variation of a plain weave in which two or more warp (horizontal) yarns and one or more weft (vertical) yarns are interlaced as one. These yarns are placed into the woven construction flat and continue to run parallel to one another throughout. Resembles a miniature braided basket..

Bengal Stripe
•A wider color stripe that alternates with a narrower white stripe.

Besom Pocket
•A set-in pocket cut into the garment with access through a welted slit-type opening. Found on shirts and trousers.
Paul Fredrick trousers have quarter top pockets or besom pockets.

Bird's Eye
•A weave that is comprised of small repetitive diamond shapes resembling a bird's eye. Usually found on blazers, trousers and socks. This classic fabric also lends subtle texture to fine dress shirts and suitings.

Business Casual Collection
•A Paul Fredrick Collection. Easy, refined garments that are traditionally considered more appropriate in a casual business setting.

Buttondown Collar
•A collar that is secured to the shirt by small buttons on both points for both a stylish and practical look. The buttondown collar was introduced in England during the 1800s fto help polo players keep their collars in place while playing. The buttondown collar is hence considered a more sporty look.
Click here for a visual comparison of our Dress Shirt collars.

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Cable Knit
•A knitting pattern in which cables appear to twist around one another.

Calfskin
•A smooth-surfaced, fine-grained, durable leather from the hide of a calf. It does not scuff easily, stretches only moderately, and cleans well.

Camelhair
•A soft and luxurious fabric made with hair sheared from a Bactrian camel. Camelhair is most often used in the construction of suits and jackets. Similar to wool, it provides excellent warmth, but is lighter in weight.

Camp Shirt
•A button-front shirt with a collar and no neckband. The shirt produces a casual look with its straight hem, boxy cut, and vented sides for wear in or out.

Car Coat
•A ¾ length coat that is historically known as comfortable option for driving since the 1950s.

Cardigan
•A collarless sweater that buttons or zips down the front. Originally used as an extra layer for warmth under military uniforms. A classic piece for any wardrobe.

Cashmere
•An extremely soft and lightweight luxury fiber combed from the undercoat of the long-haired Kashmir goat. Cashmere has a soft and silky finish and is most commonly woven or knit to produce sweaters, suits, coats, and other winter accessories.

Chalk Stripe
•Evenly spaced, soft, thin white or light stripes woven into dark fabric. A classic yet elegant look.

Chevron
•A pattern characterized by inverted V's. In the 1820s Chevron patterns characterized Art Nouveau design.

Chino
•A type of cotton twill that can be finished with a smooth or mercerized brushed surface. Originially used as summer uniforms for the U.S. Army because their durability. Washes and wears extremely well.

Collar
•Click here for a visual comparison of our Dress Shirt collars.

Collar Stay
•A small tab that is inserted inside of the collar, running down to the collar points. Allows for an overall better shape, fit and roll of a collar.

Comfort Waistband
•A waistband characterized by an elastic quality that offers more give and comfort.

Contrasting Collar
•A shirt collar that is a different color or pattern than the rest of the shirt.

Corduroy
•A fabric composed of twisted fibers that lie in distinctive vertical or horizontal rows. Each row, known as a wale, can vary in width. Corduroy wears well, has a soft luster, and is typically used for pants, sport coats, and shirts.

Cotton
•Gathered from the seed pods of the cotton plant, the fiber is most often spun into yarn or thread and used to make a soft, breathable textile. The most widely used natural-fiber cloth in clothing today, cotton fibers have a high degree of strength, durability, and absorbency. There are several grades of cotton; Egyptian cotton is considered to be the finest, with Sea Island as its domestic counterpart. Although less expensive, Pima cotton is also of high quality due to its extra-long staple fibers.

Crystal
•A clear, colorless glass of superior quality.

Cuff
•Paul Fredrick Dress Shirts have 5 different types of cuff or sleeve combinations:

Single Button Cuff	Double Button Cuff	Mitered Cuff	French Cuff	Short Sleeves

Cutaway Collar
•A collar whose points are pulled back to the side to allow full view of the necktie knot. This is ideal for wide and prominent neckwear that requires an unimpeded presentation.

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Dobby
•Refers to the dobby attachment on a weaving machine, or fabric constructed with this attachemnt. Fabric made up of a decorative weave, usually characterized by small geometric or dot designs. Dobby fabrics are perfect for dress shirts as they are generally fine and flat.

Donegal
•Dating back to the 1800s, a knit or tweed with coarse, nubby multicolored yarns that are combined with single-colored yarns to produce a mottled effect.

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Enamel
•Protective and decorative. An opaque, glass-like composite fused to metal, glass or pottery. Used on select Paul Fredrick cufflinks.

End-on-End
•A plain-woven shirting fabric. The colored warp (vertical) threads are are two-to-one to the white weft (horizontal) threads. From a distance end-on-end fabrics appear to be a solid color, but upclose a subtle pattern is revealed.

English Tab Collar
•The tab collar holds the tie perfectly in place using a snap or button that brings the collar points closer together, creating an always neat appearance. Click here for a visual comparison of Dress Shirt collars.

European Straight Collar
•An edge stitched straight collar for a slightly more modern look. Click here for a visual comparison of Dress Shirt collars.

Essentials Collection
•A Paul Fredrick Collection. A collection of business wardrobe classics every well-dressed man should have in his closet.

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Fabric Care
•Click here for detailed fabric care instructions.

Flannel
•A soft woven fabric. Usually a twill weave that is slightly napped, or brushed on both sides for additional warmth and comfort.

French Fly
•Paul Fredrick uses a one-piece fly used in dress pants. The French fly helps to ensure that the pant front lies flat for a neater, cleaner appearance.

Fully Fashioned
•A fully fashioned knit is an indication of a better quality. Compared to a cut-and-sewn knit where the separate pieces are sewn together, fully fashioned is a method of knitting a garment in which the complete unit is shaped and knit on the machine as it is formed. A fully fashioned knit is characterized by fashion marks around the armhole (shoulder) and neckline. The portions of a garment are shaped by increasing or decreasing the number of loops in the width of the fabric, such a narrowing and widening produces the shape of the garment. This results in an overall better fit.

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Gabardine
•A tightly woven combed yarn characterized by vertical twill lines created by using more threads in the warp (horizontal) than weft (vertical.)

Gauge
•A unit of measure abbreviated as GG. Expressed by the number of needles of a knitting machine in a 1"-1.5" area in the production of a knit garment or fabric. As a general rule, the higher the gauge, the finer the fabric, whereas the lower the gauge, the bulkier the knit. Commonly used gauges range from 9GG-16GG.

Gingham
•A plain woven fabric typically of a checked pattern in white and another color. Usually made of cotton, gingham is associated with check, plaid or stripe patterns.

Glen Plaid
•A fabric featuring a design of small and large woven checks.

Guabello®
•Distinguished Italian Mill. The finest materials, refined finishing techniques, Lanificio Gaubello's® over 150 years of experience give their fabric a unique and exceptional quality. Singular comfort. Remarkable softness. Quite possibly the finest wool in the world.

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Half Canvas Construction
•The inner canvas layer of the suit that gives it shape, structure, and strength. While you can't see it, this all important part not only shapes the suit from the start, but also has a memory for your shape, giving you a better fit. This feature really does separate one suit from another.

Half-Lined
•A half lined jacket is lined on the top half and sleeve, but the bottom half is not lined and the seams are taped for a clean finish. Half lined is usually done on jackets with lightweight fabric, so the lining doesn't add weight to the jacket.

Hand
•The hand describes the overall qualities of a fabric. Such qualities as softness, silkiness, etc are revealed through the sense of touch.

Heather Yarns
•A yarn consisting of differently colored fibers that are blended together to give a soft, muted look. Heathered yarns got their name because of the purple color they portrayed when used in early tweeds which resembled heather-covered moors.

Herringbone
•A variation on a twill weave fabric, in which the twill is reversed, or broken at regular intervals, producing a distinctive V pattern resembling the skeleton of a herring fish.

Hidden Buttondown Collar
•Similar in appearance to the straight collar, buttons hidden underneath the points hold the collar in place.

High Twist
•Fabric with the sense of cool touch and superb surface by using high twist yarn; good drape, excellent elasticity.Unparalleled drape and wrinkle resistance.

Houndstooth
•A fabric with distinctive broken checks that resembles the jagged back teeth of a hound. This staple pattern, once popular with hunting clothing, is often found in shirts, sportcoats, suits and trousers.

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Imperial 100's cotton broadcloth
•A premium shirting fabric made with two-ply threads (two individual threads are twisted together) which make it durable, soft, and lustrous.

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Jacquard
•A fabric with a design woven into it. The word jacquard comes from the nineteenth-century French inventor of the special loom this elaborate fabric is woven on, Joseph Marie Jacquard. The jacquard attachment allows for any pattern, no matter how large, small or intricate to be woven in a fabric.

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Knit
•A process of making a fabric or garment with hand- or machine-made interlocking looped stitches, first used for making stockings. Although knitting was not a common use for making clothing until the 19th Century, they are now a comfortable, easy wardrobe staple.

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Lambswool
•A soft, smooth, resilient wool yarn from the first shearing of a sheep younger than eight months old. Fine grade wool.

Lapel
•The turned-back front section of a jacket or coat that connects to the collar and forms a "V" where the jacket or coat closes.

Leather
•A material created through the tanning of the skin or hide of an animal. There are many different finishes which can be used including sueding, glazing, embossing, etc.

Linen
•A natrual fiber produced from the stem of the flax plant. Stronger, stiffer, and more lustrous than cotton, it yields cool absorbent fabrics that wrinkle easily. An easy and ideal summertime fabric with its breathable qualities.

Lining
•Jackets can be fully lined or half lined. A fully lined jacket is lined on the entire inside so no seams show. A half lined jacket is lined on the top half and sleeve, but the bottom half is not lined and the seams are taped for a clean finish. Half lined is usually done on jackets with lightweight fabric, so the lining doesn't add weight to the jacket.

Long Staple Cotton
•Cotton whose fibers are over 1 1/8 inches long. Longer staples cottons create increased durability and hand (how pleasing the fabric feels) of the garment because they can be spun into finer threads than shorter lengths of cotton.

Luxury 140's Cotton Broadcloth
•A very luxurious yarn, the higher thread count and resulting closeness of weave gives it a superior hand and remarkable luster.

Lycra®
•A trademark DuPont fiber that has incredible flexibility and recovery. Lycra® is a brand-name spandex that is usually woven with other fibers to provide ease of movement in fabrics.

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Madras
•A bold plaid plain-weave fabric. This lightweight fabric was originally hand woven in Madras, India from cotton yarns dyed with native vegetable colorings.

Melange
•Refers to two different color threads twisted together, creating a heather effect.

Mercerized Cotton
•A special kind of cotton yarn that is more lustrous than conventional cotton. It is also stronger, takes dye easily, makes the yarn more resistant to mildew and reduces lint. Mercerized yarn stays shiny through washing and gives a nice, somewhat fancier look to finished items. Mercerization is named for John Mercer, who developed the process and received a patent for his work in 1851. Mercer found that adding caustic soda or sulfuric acid to cotton made the fiber swell and straighten. However, in 1890 Horace Lowe developed a process by which caustic soda was added to the yarn under high tension, which added the luster that mercerized cotton is famous for today.

Merino Wool
•A better-quality wool yarn made from the fleece of merino sheep. Merino sheep are said to have the finest and softest wool of any sheep.

Microfiber
•Continuous filament fibers that can be spun to be thinner than a silk thread and therefore allows manmade fibers to have an array of aesthetic and performance qualities. Microfiber is used to make non-woven, woven and knitted fabrics. The combinations of synthetic fibers can add specific characteristics, such as softness, durability, absorption, wicking abilities and water repellency.

Mock Neck
•A knit pullover finished at the neckline with a short, fitted knit band that does not fold over. An abbreviated version of the turtleneck.

Modal
•Fiber made by spinning reconstituted cellulose from beech trees. Textiles made from Modal have soft, smooth surfaces are water-absorbent and resistant to shrinkage and fading.

Mother-of-Pearl
• The lining of an oyster or type of mullusk which is iridescent and lustrous. This high quality, luxurious material is often used in cufflinks.

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Non-Iron Cotton
•Enjoy the comfort of cotton without the wrinkles for a clean, crisp presentation. Garments which are 'non-iron' have seams which are taped to prevent puckering. The completed garment is [then] treated with an ammonia process, pressed and baked to make the entire garment wrinkle free. Paul Fredrick dress shirts are machine washable and should not be dry cleaned.

Nylon
•A synthetic fiber that is silky, strong and higly resilient. Nylon was originally introduced in the 1940s by DuPont for women's stockings. However, it is widely used today and is often combined with other fibers to increase durability. Nylon has definitely paved the way for easy-care garments.

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Parquet
•A diagonal twill dobby woven in a pattern of squares resembling a parquet floor.
See Dobby

Patch Pocket
•A flat, outside pocket stitched onto a garment with a straight hem opening. Paul Fredrick offers four types of patch pockets: Triangle Round, Straight Round, Mitered Pocket, and Button-Throught Pocket.

Performance Collection
•A Paul Fredrick Collection. Travel-friendly, easy care. Polished good looks withstand the rigor of travel with style. Wrinkle-free and stain resistant garments are a staple of this collection.

Pick Stitching
•A large stitch that simulates a hand stitch. The pick stitch is done around the lapel and pockets of a jacket.

Pima Cotton
•A high-quality, very strong, exrta-long staple cotton named after the Pima Native Americans, who first cultivated the plant in Arizona in the early 1900s. Pima cotton is considered one of the most superior blends of cotton.

Pinpoint Oxford
•A finer yarn and tighter weave than oxford. A weave in which the warp (horizontal) has two fine yarns paired together and one heavier softly-spun weft (vertical) yarn, which gives the fabric a subtle basket-weave look and a lustrous finish.

Pinstripe
•A pattern of very thin, crisp lines, usually in gray or white, evenly woven into fabric. The pinstripe suit has become associated with conservative business attire, but is easily updated for a more refreshing look.

Piping
•A narrow fold of fabric in a seam to provide decorative embellishment. Usually seen in sport coats, suit jackets, and blazers in a contrasting color.

Pique
•A durable woven or knit fabric that is characterized by an allover textured pattern of raised parallel cords or fine ribbing. Generally cotton yarn, the most popular patterns are birdseye, diamond, waffle and honeycomb.

Placket
•A strip of fabric running along a closure, used to provide support for fasteners such as buttons, snaps, or a zipper. Almost always used to facilitate putting on or taking off of a garment, but are sometimes used as a design element as well. Paul Fredrick uses three different types of plackets: Top Center, Double Press Turnback and Covered.

Plaid
•A fabric with a pattern of bars and stripes that cross each other at right angles. Plaid fabrics may be printed or woven and come in a variety of colors.

Plain Weave
•A basic weave, utilizing a simple alternate interlacing of length and crosswise yarns over and under, alternately. Any type of yarn and fiber can be manufactured into a plain weave fabric.

Pleats
•A fold of fabric made by doubling material over on itself. Pleating provides more volume to a garment and is often used as a decoartive feature. Different types of pleats can be seen on Paul Fredrick trousers and shirts.

• Trousers:
  Double reverse pleats and single reverse pleats on trousers open to the pockets. Box pleats are formed by two folded edges facing away from each other.
• Shirts:
  Back pleats are on woven shirts to allow ease of movement. Paul Fredrick offers two types of back pleats: box pleat and side pleat. Box pleats are in the center back of the shirt and are used on all buttondown collar dress shirts (except trim fit) and all sportshirts, as it is a more casual look. Side pleats are located on each side of the shirt back. They are used to allow greater ease of movement in the shoulders compared to a box pleat. All trim fit dress shirts and all other dress shirts, except the buttondown collar styles have side pleats.

Polyester
•A man-made fiber resistant to shrinkage and wrinkling. Polyester is often combined with other fibers such as wool and cotton as a way to provide low-maintenance dressing options.

Poplin
•A plain-weave, tightly woven, durable fabric with a crosswise rib, creating a slight ridge effect.

Print
•A fabric or garment with a dyed pattern that has been pressed onto it. Prints date back thousands of years, but technology has allowed prints to be developed more simply and in a variety of effects. A printed garment always helps to bring an outfit to life.

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Rhodium
•Rhodium is a silvery-white element that does not tarnish. It is a hard metal and is a member of the platinum family. It is one of the most valuable precious metals. Often used in cufflinks.

Rib
•A knitted fabric characterized by lengthwise ribs formed by wales alternating on the face and back of the cloth. Rib knits have greater elasticity in the width than in the length and tend to fit to the body. They are durable and do not stretch out of shape after wear.

Rise
•Distance from the crotch seam to the top of the waistband in pants.

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Sandwashed Silk
•A process by which the silk is treated to give it an even softer surface, almost suede-like in feel. This fabric is incredibly soft, has a matte surface and drapes beautifully.

Satin Weave
•A basic weave, characterized by long floats of yarn on the face of the fabric. The yarns are interlaced in such a manner that there is no definite, visible pattern of interlacing and, in this manner, a smooth and somewhat shiny surface effect is achieved. The shiny surface effect is further increased through the use of high luster filament fibers in yarns which also have a low amount of twist. A true satin weave fabric always has the warp yarns floating over filling yarns.

Seersucker
•A mid to lightweight fabric that has a characteristic permanent puckered striped effect created through releasing the tension on the loom during weaving.

Serge
•A 2x2 twill weave characterized by a pattern of diagonal ridges. Soft, smooth hand with great drape. Durable, serge is known for being extremely sturdy and resilient.

Shadow Stripe
•An easy stripe pattern composed of elegant, tonal hues. Shadow stripes create an interesting pattern that easily pairs for dressy or casual occasions

Sharkskin
•Smooth wool in a twill weave that has a characteristic alternating black-and-white pattern for a grayed effect. The surface is said to resemble a skin of a shark. Commonly found in suitings.

Signature Collection
•A Paul Fredrick Collection. Exclusive. Distinctive yet timeless. Polished elegance with a more singular attitude.

Silk
•A fiber produced by the silkworm Bombyx mori, also known as the mulberry silkworm, with which the worm weaves its cocoon. Silk is soft, has a brilliant sheen, and is very strong and absorbent. A luxurious fabric, silk is lush to the touch.

Suede
•Suede is a type of finish which creates a napped surface on various types of materials such as wool, cotton, leather, and various synthetic materials. The short, close nap provides a smooth, soft hand.

Super Wools
•The story of this thread is the numbering system used to describe the new breed of super-lightweight, high-twist wools. Pioneered by Italian mills, these fabrics are made using high-tech machines that spin wool lighter and finer than it's ever been spun before. The various grades of cloth are referred to as Super 100s, Super 120s, Super 150s and so on, up to Super 200s. Make Super 100s and Super 120s the mainstay of your wardrobe. They are durable, resilient, and today's fabrics are superb. Treat the Super 150s and Super 180s as caviar, wonderful, but not to be worn every day, for these really are connoisseurs' suits.

Swarovski® Crystal
•The luxury brand name for the range of precision-cut lead crystal glass and related products produced by Swarovski® AG of Wattens, Austria.

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Tencel / Lyocell
•Tencel® is the trademarked brand name for Lyocell, a cellulose fabric that is achieved through an organic solvent spinning process. Lyocell has good moisture absorption and static resistance. It is also very durable and provides as subtle luster.

Traditional Straight Collar
•A universal collar; the most versatile, easy to wear style. Click here for a visual comparison of Dress Shirt collars.

Trim Fit
•Also referred to as a slim cut, the body of the shirt is 5” narrower in the chest tapering to 6” narrower at the waist. A perfect fit for those who do not need the full body cut of a regular fit dress shirt.

Tropical Weight Wool
•A smooth wool fabric made from two-ply yarns in an open plain weave. Lightweight and airy, this fabric is great for summer wear.

Twill
•Fabrics created by interlacing the warp and weft so that the fabric has a diagonal slant or twill line. Twill fabrics have a front and a back side, unlike plain weave, where the two sides are the same. The face side of a twill fabric is the side with the most pronounced wale and is usually more durable, more attractive, and used as the fashion side of the fabric.

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Varsity Spread Collar
•A shorter version of the Windsor Spread, updated with slightly curved lines. Click here for a visual comparison of Dress Shirt collars.

Vent
•A vent is a slit in the bottom rear (tail) of the jacket. There are three vent options in a jacket: center vent, side vents or no vent.

Vermeil
•A durable and tarnish-resistant overlay of gold on sterling silver.

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Warp
•Lengthwise threads of a woven fabric.

Water Resistant
•A fabric finish that allows the garment to resist the penetration of water. This finish is commonly found in Paul Fredrick performance garments.

Weft or Fill
•Thread that is woven across the warp at a right angle.

Windowpane
• A pattern of thin lines forming large squares on a background of a different color. Windowpane was a very popular pattern at the height of Savile Row style and is very common today for men's suits, trousers, and sport coats.

Windsor Spread Collar
•A conservative spread collar appropriate for any occassion. Click here for a visual comparison of Dress Shirt collars.

Wool
•A fiber obtained from the fleece of a sheep. It is a resilient and wrinkle resistant fabric. Wool can hold up to 30% of its weight in moisture without feeling wet. A great fabric for keeping warm in the cold winter months.

Worsted Wool
•A carded, combed, tightly twisted yarn that produces crisp, smooth woolens.

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Yarn
•A strand of textile fibers joined together, used for weaving or knitting into fabric.

Yoke
•The shaped section at the shoulders that connects all the other parts of the shirt. One-piece yokes allow for greater ease of movement where split yokes provide a more tailored look. Paul Fredrick one-piece yokes are 4", starting at the neckband and are found on all sportshirts and European collection dress shirts. Paul fredrick split yokes are 2½", starting at the neckband and have a seam in the center of the yoke. All dress shirts, except the European collection have a split yoke. Paul Fredrick also offers a mitered yoke on select dress shirts. Similar to a split yoke, a the side panels of a mitered yoke are cut on the bias (diagonal) creating a mitered effect along the center back seam on of the yoke.

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Zegna Baruffa Yarns
•A wide range of yarns that appear clean and smooth, flowing and extremely light. Zegna Baruffa is an Italian firm with a long tradition of high quality and excellence.