When you buy your bespoke dress shirt you undoubtedly will find out that fabrics are sold also based on thread count. Different thread counts cause different levels of softness for your shirt.

What is a thread count?
A thread count is simply the number of threads per square inch on the dress shirt fabric. For example a 150 would mean there are 150 approximate threads in every square inch of fabric.

How does 2-ply affect this?
When fabric is woven you have vertical threads (warp) and horizontal threads (weft). Some textile factories during the weaving process will twist 2 different yarns into the fabric creating a 2-ply. When buying a 2-ply fabric you should be cautious of the thread count, as bigger isn't always better and could result in a bulky dress shirt that traps in heat. We find 120 makes a very decent 2-ply shirt.

Higher thread count: softer, finer and high quality (usually)
Typically the bigger the thread count, the softer and finer the dress shirt. This works very good for customers in milder climates as they find them more comfortable.

You should proceed with caution, however, if you see "high quality" shirts in the 180's or higher, we recommend you check the shirt first as thread counts this high can at times be associated with manmade techniques to boost their marketing, while providing a substandard shirt.

That being said, Modern Tailor strives to pick only the highest quality fabrics for your bespoke dress shirt and you will find picking a higher thread count with us will provide a shirt that gets softer after a few washes that you will savour for years.