Plate No. 029 · fabric

Poplin

Poplin is a tightly woven plain-weave cloth with many more warp ends than weft picks, so the fine warp bends around a heavier weft and raises a barely visible crosswise rib. Originally a silk-and-wool cloth associated with papal Avignon, it settled into all-cotton form as the crisp, smooth standard for dress shirts. The high thread density is what gives poplin its clean face, its slight sheen, and its tendency to show wrinkles more honestly than oxford.