Chambray shirts
If chambray is a fabric with a raw look and blue color, it does not have much to do with denim with which it is often confused. Compared to a denim shirt, the chambray shirt is lighter because it is made from linen or cotton and its weaving interweaves an ecru thread with an indigo thread. This characteristic makes it a shirt particularly suitable for summer or mid-season temperatures: its fibers naturally allow air to circulate; The chambray shirt is the shirt you absolutely need to take on your lazy vacation: wear it open over a white t-shirt, with shorts or cargo pants. It is perfect for walks or the beach. For the more intrepid, the chambray shirt can also be worn in the office, buttoned up and paired with chinos or raw jeans.
Chambray fabric
Chambray is a cotton or linen fabric on which one of the weaving threads is white. It is a standard canvas but its particularity comes from this light-colored thread, which gives the fabric a mottled and unique appearance.
Chambray fabric is traditionally blue and of standard thickness which makes it a fabric perfectly suited to a shirt. There are nevertheless significant weight variations between two chambrays, some of which, thanks to their weight or their color, will have an appearance close to denim.
The advantages of chambray
Less known than Oxford, denim or poplin, chambray canvas has many qualities:
It is a soft fabric, more breathable than denim and therefore suitable for clothing worn next to the skin, such as shirts.
The fabric is soft but does not stretch. The chambray shirt will tend to shrink less than other fabrics (note: Oxford shirts are the shirts that tend to shrink the most due to their particular weave. Most Oxford shirt fabrics undergo a pre-wash).
When the weaving is dense, the chambray offers a beautiful drape.
It is a fabric that is easy to care for and goes in the washing machine.
