The Breton striped top
03/2026
We use organic cotton because so-called “conventional” cotton is a disaster for insects, birds, and farmers. Read more in this article.
Density sufficient to resist pitting and deformation.
As is the tradition.
For this sailor shirt, we used “open-end” yarn, a spinning technique invented in the 1970s that tightly intertwines the fibers. The result is a slightly irregular texture and feel, just like the sailor shirts of yesteryear.
This striped shirt is made in Portugal at the Triwool factory, with which we have been working since 2017.
Techniques That Ensure Quality
Dense material
All cotton T-shirts invariably suffer the same fate: over the years, they stretch out (especially at the bottom). We’ve made sure this happens as late as possible by developing a dense knit of about 350 g/m² using a thick 16/1-count yarn. That’s right: with cotton jerseys, the denser the knit, the less it stretches out of shape.
Dense material
Open-end yarn
Pre-wash
Open-end yarn
This type of spinning gives the fabric a crisp feel. Advantages: no pilling (because the fibers are tightly intertwined), and no twisting (because the yarn is not twisted around itself, unlike in conventional “ring-spun” yarn).
Dense material
Open-end yarn
Pre-wash
Pre-wash
This T-shirt has been stabilized and pre-washed at the factory to prevent it from shrinking at home (with cotton clothing, most of the shrinking occurs during the first wash).
Dense material
Open-end yarn
Pre-wash
Set sail
A durable 100% organic cotton sailor shirt, made from a dense fabric that won’t lose its shape. To knit it, we used an open-end yarn that prevents twisting. It’s this same yarn that gives it its lovely texture and its dry, irregular feel—just like the sailor shirts of yesteryear.
In detail
Boat Neck
What better name for a sailor's collar?
Side slits
Reinforced with “grosgrain” ribbon, a beautifully textured ribbon.
Stripes That Aren't So White
The threads are undyed: they have a lovely, slightly off-white hue—the natural color of cotton.
Composition
100% cotton
Origin and Certifications
- Spinning, weaving, dyeing, and garment manufacturing: Portugal
- Cotton: Under Research
...manufacture in Portugal instead of France? Of course, producing in Portugal allows us to sell at lower prices. But it’s also easier to produce high-quality items there: in the 1980s, when France outsourced its manufacturing, Portugal strengthened its own. Still, others besides us manage to make thick sailor shirts that are 100% made in France, such as Le Minor.
How This Product Will Age
How do we know this? We ask our customers for their feedback on the product one year after purchase. And if the product is less than a year old, we provide our predictions based on some unsolicited feedback and our experience with similar products.
Thanks to its heavy weight, this sailor shirt will retain its shape well. Because it’s made from open-end yarn with tightly intertwined fibers, it won’t pill. And since the yarn wasn’t twisted during the spinning process, it won’t twist out of shape.
Care Instructions
Wash it inside out at 30° and everything will be just fine.
Reviews of this product
The standard practice is to send review request emails a few days after the purchase. We wait a month—the minimum amount of time needed to form an informed opinion.
Customer Review Policy
When do you ask customers for reviews?
We’ll send you a review request one month after we receive your order. We believe this is the minimum amount of time needed to have worn and washed an item several times and to form a truly informed opinion. After that, all your reviews are published within a week, whether they’re positive or negative.
Do you request reviews for 100% of the products ordered by customers?
We used to do that at first, but then we realized we were starting to send way too many emails to certain customers who shop with us regularly. In short, we were spamming them a bit. Plus, it was starting to take the team way too much time to respond to reviews—since we want to reply individually and privately to almost everyone who leaves us a review. Today, we no longer ask for reviews on products that meet the following two criteria: 1/ There are enough reviews posted on the site for potential buyers to form an informed opinion about the product. 2/ We on the Loom team have read enough reviews to understand how to evolve the product into the next generation.
Just a quick thought: What proof is there that we aren't manipulating reviews by giving 5-star ratings to everything?
Honestly: nothing—we’re just giving you our word. Just like with everything else, actually: where we manufacture our products, where our wool comes from, our lab test results, and so on. The only times we might edit what you write is if your message contains spelling mistakes (and even then, quite a few slip past us) or if it’s racist, homophobic, etc. (but that’s never happened so far).
Asking for feedback after just one month isn't enough to know if the clothes are really durable, is it?
You're right—that's why we send you another email asking for a review one year after your purchase—we even ask for a photo to see how your garment has aged. We use the responses to improve our clothing and to provide information on “how this product will age” on our product pages. To avoid unnecessarily bothering our customers, we don’t ask for reviews on 100% of the products ordered: as soon as we have enough data to understand where we can improve, we stop asking for reviews after one year.