'Know Your Fabrics' - End-on-End

Still churning through our ‘Know Your Fabrics’ series, we’re back at it this week with a look at ‘End-on-End’, another very popular fabric used primarily in shirting.

End-on-end fabric (also called ‘fil-a-fil’ by the French - translates to ‘thread to thread’) is actually very similar to Poplin in that they are made using a one-to-one square weave, resulting in a nice smooth fabric. However, end-on-end gets a characteristic added visual depth by swapping out the horizontal threads with white, similar to the warp and weft threads in denim (although denim is produced in a twill weave).

The result is a shirt fabric that doesn’t appear as flat and even as a poplin or broadcloth, instead taking on a heathered, or even finely checked appearance up close. This adds some versatility as it makes the shirt easier to dress down (although still wholly acceptable as a formal dress shirt). These fabrics also tend to break in well over time, and can even achieve ‘fades’ like you see in denim as the white horizontal threads become more visible through the vertical colored threads.

The hand of the fabric remains very similar to poplin or broadcloth, as the close weave results in a lighter, smoother fabric, and thus it’s tendency to be used as a shirting fabric (rather than heavier fabrics that can be applied to trousers, outerwear, etc.).

End-on-end shirts are almost always woven with a single color (and the white threads), although sometimes textile producers will swap out the white threads for a second color, or will incorporate some stripes into the pattern (usually thin, white stripes).

Perhaps the most popular variation on end-on-end (at least in my wardrobe, and the modern menswear scene), is chambray, which differentiates from standard end-on-end only in the finishing process, which normally involves some type of ‘glazing’ or ‘calendaring’ to give it that characteristic hint of shine.

As we’ve mentioned, this fabric is almost exclusively used for shirting, although with the experimental nature of evolving fashion trends, I’m sure you can find it used in other applications somewhere. For now, though, we’re sticking to shirts, and have picked out a few of our favorites for anyone looking to add some end-on-end to their wardrobes:

First, about as classic as you get, here’s a solid number from Everlane. I’m a big fan of end-on-end shirts in these lighter, spring-timey colors like mint or this peachy red. I think the white threads help give a bit of a worn-and-washed look that keeps you out of ‘easter sunday’ outfit territory:

Slim Fit End-On-End in Red | Everlane

J.Crew also has some great end-on-end shirts in solid colors, and many are currently significantly marked down. 

We also mentioned that end-on-end shirts often incorporate a fine stripe, like this one from Brooks Brothers:

Blue End-on-End with White Stripe Sport Shirt | Brooks Brothers

You’ll find stripes in other colors, but we think just a subtle white one is the way to go:

While not as popular or widely available, you can occasionally find end-on-end shirts woven in other patterns as well, like this checked fabric available at Proper Cloth:

Thomas Mason Pink End on End Check | Proper Cloth

Because of the versatility inherent to an end-on-end fabric, we think it’s a great choice for a MTM shirt. Beyond the above, Proper Cloth currently has several other options in end-on-end fabric, in stripes, checks and solids.

Last, since we mentioned it’s very close relationship to plain old end-on-end, here’s one our recent favorites in chambray. It's not cheap by any means, but this popover from J.Crew is high on my wish-list:

Japanese Chambray Popover | J.Crew

Do you have any end-on-end fabrics in your wardrobe? Any favorite pieces? Share in the comments!

Addressing the (limited) downsides to sartorial enlightenment

If you ask me, the downsides to becoming more sartorially educated are very limited, but they do exist. Beyond the struggle of knowing what looks really good while not being able to afford to actually purchase it, one ‘con’ stands out among the rest in my mind. And that would be having to watch the way that everyone else dresses. OK that came across as relatively pretentious, so I’ll amend that a bit. It’s having to watch the way that other people dress who really should know better. For those near and dear to you, the biggest downside is probably hearing you point these things out ALL the time.

The worst was probably the presidential election. I’m a big politics buff and followed the campaigns and debates very closely, which mean these politicians spent a lot of time on the TV in my house. I’m also on a crusade to get my girlfriend to be more interested in and attentive to politics, which meant I was forcing her to watch all of the developments with me. You have no idea how tired she got of hearing “Man, Romney’s suit is clearly two sizes too big.” “What was Obama thinking wearing that wide Double Windsor with such a narrow point collar?” “Can’t these millionaires afford a tailor? Or at least a stylist?”

Even beyond the politicians, who we pretty much expect to dress like frat dads, I see fashion flaws everywhere. Red carpet events, where stylists are paid by the boatload to make celebs look nice, constantly have me pointing to excessively baggy or long pants, like no one read any of the zillion articles advocating little-to-no-break (readers take note)! TV shows (like HIMYM, which we mentioned last week) bring out a lot of criticism when it comes to fit, but here it’s not only the bad that I have to complain about….has anyone noticed how damn well those poor penniless kids in Shameless manage to dress? Sure, you aren’t seeing any three-piece suits or designer labels, but everything fits like a glove. Even in Mad Men, one of the most watched shows among the menswear community, there are faux pas that I just can’t help but notice - have you seen how low Pete Campbell wears his tie clips?

Sometimes you just have to turn your sartorial judgement off. Like I said, any politician is basically born with a ‘Zero’ in the style factor (with limited exceptions). Sportscasters are by far the worst, but luckily you can just shut your eyes and listen to them yammer and not miss a whole lot. Anything made in the 90’s should probably just automatically be considered a fashion failure, and move on (see Friends, Dawson’s Creek, etc.) On the upside, it’s that much more refreshing to find pop-culture instances of great fit and style outside of the fashion world and obvious selections like Mad Men. I love the way Ben Wyatt dresses on Parks and Recs, all the while embracing his nerdiness. Quirky shows like Bored To Death let Ted Danson show off an awesome dapper side previously relatively unseen. But I have it on good record that the next time my girlfriend hears “Hey Babe! Come see how poofythis guys shirt is. Go see a tailor, buddy!” while I’m watching TV, she’s going to leave me for a quieter, albeit less dapper man.

Two final points to be made here: First, people do notice! I’m an ass and a creep like this, but I constantly judge people’s clothing, whether you’re a TV anchor or some college kid on the train. Second, as always, pay attention to what we post, as well as the plethora of other menswear blogs that are out there, and it’s really pretty easy to avoid these glaring mistakes. As a matter of fact, I was inspired to write this post in the first place as I prepare Wednesday’s post regarding tie clips and how to wear them, as all I kept thinking was, “I just want to tell them not to wear them like Pete Campbell!”