Whilst they’re both made of cotton, denim is constructed with a twill weave, and chambray a plain weave. The difference being that a twill weave contains double the amount of threads, woven into a more diagonal pattern, compared to the straight one-times-one weave of chambray. The work shirt, in a form that would be recognisable today, appeared in the late 1800s, with brands such as Levi’s providing the clothes worn by workers in places like California, Nevada, and Colorado during the mining of the latter years of the 19th century. Miners wearing denim shirts, probably late 1800s

Quite often chambray will be marketed as denim, and vice versa. They are, though, two different fabrics.All main seams are triple chainstitched so you an be sure that your Heracles shirt is tough enough to deal with anything you can throw at it. Garment workers tag on the Heracles Perhaps most commonly known from their use by US Navy from 1901 all the way up until the Second World War, chambray work shirts having seen somewhat of a resurgence in recent years thanks to heritage and reproduction brands as well as a renewed interest in vintage workwear. By the end of the 1930s the cut and details of work shirts had become relatively standardised with brands refining their models to a point where they would remain familiar when compared with work shirts of today. Staying with stitching, higher quality shirts will feature double or even triple stitched seams. This, unsurprisingly, is to provide as much durability as possible, to prevent tears and to prevent any individual stitch being put under too much pressure. The nature of a work shirt means that it has to be tough enough to withstand being pulled and twisted for long periods of time, day after day, so reinforcement is critical to longevity.

For buttons, again, this depends on era and preference. For us, the mid-blue painted metal buttons on the USN chambray shirt always look good against the lighter blue of the shirt; particularly when the paint begins to chip. Brands Who Produce Notable Chambray Work Shirts Some brands and their customers prefer 100% authentic reproductions, while others prefer to take influences and inspiration from different vintage pieces or periods of time to create their ideal interpretation of the shirt. There’s a huge number of variations in chambray and even more so in denim, but typically the result is that denim is a heavier, rugged fabric, with more give and stretch than chambray. The History of the Work ShirtBy 1910 work shirts started to become more refined and details such as triple stitching and curved yokes became popular. Milton Goodman workshirt advertisement As with everything, the details that go into the ideal chambray work shirt are subjective and down to personal preference of both the designer and wearer. Typically, the higher quality shirts will have some details and characteristics that lesser shirts, won’t meaning there’s things a few things you can look out for when choosing the perfect shirt. Although many of these workers in the 1920s and 1930s did wear denim and chambray shirts, and therefore have blue collars, it wasn’t nearly as widespread as the white shirt was in the office. Chambray Work Shirts in the US Military Chambray today is manufactured all over the world but, as with so many things, the highest quality versions originate in Japan. The Differences Between Chambray and Denim