The Fabric Story: 180 Grams

The first prototype came back too light. The second came back too heavy. We were standing in a sample room in Vila Real, Portugal, sometime in early spring, when our mill owner — a man named Sérgio, third generation — held up two t-shirts and asked, in his quiet way, which one we wanted.

One was 160 grams per square metre. The other was 220. We held them. We pulled at the seams. We tried them on under jackets and on their own. The 160 felt like a Sunday morning. The 220 felt like a workman's vest.

Neither was what we'd come for.

The trouble with most tees.

The high-street basic tee runs around 140 GSM. Soft, packable, cheap. It also loses its shape after eight wears, sags at the neckline by month three, and ends up in a drawer by year one. The premium 'designer' tee tends to run 200–240 GSM — substantial, but often stiff, sweaty in summer, and disproportionately expensive for what's essentially a tube with two holes.

What we wanted was the middle path: a tee that felt like clothing rather than underwear, but that you could still wear in August. Substantial without being heavy. Refined without being fragile.

We held up two t-shirts and asked, in his quiet way, which one we wanted.

180 grams.

It took three more prototypes to land at 180 GSM. We added a small percentage of Tencel — a fibre derived from sustainably-managed eucalyptus — to give the cotton a slight drape and a quicker dry-time. The Pima cotton, long-staple and combed twice, gave the surface its softness. The brushed finish gave it that worn-in feel that most brands try (and fail) to replicate with chemical treatments.

Sérgio washed the prototype 50 times before sending it back to us. It didn't shrink. The collar held. The colour stayed.

What 180 grams means in practice.

It means a tee that drapes from the shoulder rather than clinging. It means a tee you can wear under a sharp jacket without it disappearing, and on its own without feeling exposed. It means a tee you can throw in a washing machine — gentle cycle, cold water — and pull out two years later looking like it did on day one.

That's the entire promise. That's the whole reason we exist.