Dress shirts, while usually consisting of 100% cotton or a cotton/polyester blend, come in many different "cloth styles". I will introduce you to five of the most popular styles of fabric.

Weaving of Fabric
When fabric is weaved there is two types of thread weaves:

• Warp - Vertical threading
• Weft - Horizontal threading

Typically a more casual style, Oxford shirts only have yarn threading in one direction (warp or weft) that is dyed, while the other yarn strand remains white. This gives you a basket weave effect and texture. Oxford is a coarse fabric, but still very soft. Pinpoint Oxford uses a finer yarn, while Royal Oxford is even finer, giving these substyles a very smooth and chic look.

Ever see your grandpa's checkered dress shirt? Chances are it's Gingham. It is a very comfortable and clean looking shirt to wear. While being a very casual style, Gingham is typically not suitable for the office. Gingham Dress Shirts use a checkered pattern.

Most definitely the most formal dress shirt to year, this fabric is composed by interweaving alternating colors for a visual texture that gives the appearance of being solid from only a shirt distance away. A very tight weave, this style uses a high thread count giving it usually a very soft and smooth feel.

A very textured dress shirt, cotton twill is very formal and very solid. The thread composition consists usually of an angled parallel-rib pattern with alternating colors (typically a lighter and darker subset of the same color). This dress shirt is known for looking very sharp.

Descending from the twill style, this dress shirt is very similar. It's difference, however, is the v-shape pattern that looks like it's name, a herringbone. Although not a popular shirt, it looks very good as they are prepared with precision and utmost scrutiny. Perfect for the high ranking official in your office!

The poplin style provides a very solid looking shirt, but with a bit of texture. This is typically achieved by using a solid color with one thread being thicker than the other. This shirt is best recommended for people wanting a chic, but solid look.