Afuzzyox Warmshirt

A serious oxford cloth, sanded into a fuzzy cotton softness by Albini in northern Italy. At 200gsm of pure cotton this in on the heavier side for a shirting fabric, thick enough to prevent your sweat from showing through, with a nice stand off the body structure. Like all good oxford clothes it’s characterized by a dynamic unbalanced/rebalanced weave structure. The warp threads are thin (80/2) while the weft is four times thicker (10/1), a disequilibrium that is offset by using nearly twice as many yarns per mm in weft. What this means in practice is you get a plain weave with a lot more depth and dimension than a standard poplin or broadcloth, which in turn allows for a heavier shirting fabric without getting too hot or clammy. A good oxford cloth is a shirt fabric that can take a beating and should break in and age beautifully with wear.

The Afuzzyox differs from your standard oxford cloth partly due to Albini’s legendary attention to detail and vertical cotton supply chain and partly by being heavier than average, but mostly due to the fact that it is emerized (sanded essentially) into a smooth but fuzzy state that is halfway to a flannel but with a lot more structure. Soft and protective with a modest warmth, it’s a simple fabric that is a joy to wear.

Alpha 60 is a midweight insulation characterized by its extreme breathability, an absolute essential when trying to create warmth without overheating. Designed by Polartec for US Special Forces to use in cold wet conditions, it is a knit insulation created by splicing a spacer mesh into two faces. The result is a particular combination of warmth and openness but most importantly it is a non-migrating insulation, which means it can be paired with far more open face and lining fabrics than most traditional insulations.

For the Alpha60core setup we combine Alpha 60 with a 170gsm top capped, 17.5 micron nylon-core merino lining. Merino is nature's finest performance fabric, characterized by its ability to suck up humidity creating drier microclimates around the body. It also has a wider thermal comfort range than almost any other fiber, retains its insulation capabilities when wet and resists odors exceptionally well. The nylon core of the yarn adds strength, allowing it to be used as a liner.

The combination of the nylon core merino and Alpha 60 provides an excellent dryness and mid level insulation while still allowing lots of air flow away from the body. We find this combination pairs with a wide range of face fabrics making for wide range of exceptional midlayer and light outer layer insulation pieces.