Plate No. 026 · fabric

Oxford Cloth

Oxford cloth is a cotton shirting in a basket weave, classically with a dyed warp paired two-and-two against a white weft, which gives the cloth its fine checkerboard texture and softened color. It is heavier and more breathable than poplin and wears its wrinkles casually, which made it the cloth of the button-down collar and of American campus dress. Pinpoint and royal oxford are its finer-yarn, dressier siblings.