Chambray

An american symbol, chambray’s weave goes from 150 to 500 threads. The lowest figure brings it close to madras, with which it is often confused. As a shirt in its traditional workwear form, it often carries a tight and pointed collar, as well as partial buttoning to allow quick removal. Its style suggests a lighter denim: the chambray shirt is then rather wide, to grant space and avoid sweat. The resin of its buttons is sometimes modified to endure heat. 
It is first cambric, a thick weave from linen. The latter was made in the commune of Cambrai in the early 16th century. 
‘Cambric’ and ‘Batiste’ are equivalent terms. They both allude to weaver Jean-Baptiste Cambrai, to whom the invention of these fabrics is sometimes still attributed. It is then worn for its lightness and purity: the fabric is not dyed. 

It is the american use that popularised this french weave. In the early 20th century, the annual report of the American Farmer suggests a light chambray for office shirts and a thicker one for work shirts. The latter lends itself to outdoor work in mild weather - ‘firm enough to avoid sunburn, light enough to allow air in.’ 
It features two weaves: a coloured warp (vertical thread) and often a white weft (horizontal thread). This brings breathability to the body and complexity to the eye. 

It is through the navy in 1901 that chambray leaves a mark as strong as denim. It becomes the fabric of the working class. Work shirts were sturdy, armed with reinforced seams, tabs and strips at the points most susceptible to wear and tear. This is where the expression “blue collar” comes from: as opposed to the office workers’ ‘white collars.’ The association with the navy grew in the 1940s. In Paul Thomas Anderson's The Master, Joaquin Phoenix plays a former marine struggling to integrate post-war America. Beneath his suit, he wears a chambray shirt.

Soon however, Hollywood and the Ivy League latched onto this new staple. Elvis Presley, Steve McQueen, Paul Newman show an accessible face by that choice. Bob Dylan too, both under a black suit, or with his beard, open. Later, wider, Kurt Cobain. If one knows Serge Gainsbourg’s taste for denim, it is often forgotten that chambray was his favorite in later years, for its breathability.  

It even calls to fashion: Issey Miyake uses its lightness and the subtlety of its color. When it remains a shirt, the chambray meets other codes of American folklore. At Ralph Lauren’s, it becomes a western shirt. 

The use of chambray remains quotidian. Lighter than denim, it grants a way of undoing clothing.