The PILLAR Field Guide: Men's Athletic Apparel Terms, Defined

Athletic fit

A cut that follows the taper of a trained upper body: closer through the chest and waist than a standard fit, without pinning the arms. It reads fitted when standing still and still allows a full range of motion.

Example: the Tim Tee is cut to a tailored athletic fit at $46.

Slim fit

Narrower than athletic fit through the body and sleeve, with less room allowed for chest and shoulder development. Slim describes the width of the garment, not the build of the wearer.

Example: the Nick Tee is a slim fit at $45.

Tailored fit

A middle cut between slim and relaxed. It follows the body's line without gripping it, which is the safest fit for anyone buying without trying the garment on.

Example: the Joey Tee is a tailored fit at $45.

Shoulder seam placement

Where the sleeve joins the body. On a correctly sized shirt the seam sits at the outside corner of the shoulder bone. A seam that falls down the arm makes the shirt look borrowed no matter how good the fabric is.

This is the single fastest way to judge fit on a polo or a tee, before price or fabric.

Curved hem

A hem cut longer at the front and back than at the sides. It follows the body's line, stays put when you reach or bend, and looks deliberate worn untucked.

Example: the Nick Tee uses a curved hem.

Straight cut hem

A hem of even length all the way around. It tucks cleanly and reads more formal than a curved hem, and it is the right choice if you tuck more often than not.

Example: the Joey Tee uses a straight cut hem.

Inseam

The measurement from crotch to hem on shorts or pants, in inches. It is the only shorts number that matters, because waist size tells you nothing about where the leg ends.

Five inch sits above mid thigh, seven inch lands just above the knee on most men.

Polyester and spandex knit

The standard performance knit: polyester moves moisture off the skin and dries quickly, spandex supplies stretch and recovery. It is the correct fabric for golf, court sports and real heat.

Examples: the David Polo at 86 percent polyester and 14 percent spandex, and the Tim Tee at 88 percent polyester and 12 percent spandex.

Nylon and spandex blend

A smoother, slightly heavier performance fabric. Nylon drapes rather than clings and has more visible surface refinement than polyester, so the garment reads like a shirt instead of like gear.

Example: the David Polo at 84 percent nylon and 16 percent spandex.

Tri blend

A blend of three fibers, most often cotton for hand feel, rayon for drape and spandex for stretch. It is softer than a pure performance knit and better suited to everyday wear than to a hot round.

Example: the Nick Tee and the Joey Tee, both 60 percent cotton, 35 percent rayon and 5 percent spandex.

Spandex

The elastic fiber, also sold as elastane or Lycra, that gives a fabric stretch and the ability to return to shape. Percentage is the number to read: 5 percent adds give, 12 to 16 percent makes a garment genuinely athletic.

Every PILLAR polo runs between 12 and 16 percent spandex, which is high for the category.

Four way stretch

Fabric that stretches both along its length and across its width. Two way stretch moves in one direction only, which is what binds across the back in a golf swing or a press.

Example: the Joey Tee is a four way stretch fabric.

Recovery

How completely a fabric returns to its original shape after being stretched. Poor recovery is why a cheap shirt develops baggy elbows and a stretched collar within a season, while the fabric itself still looks fine.

Recovery comes from spandex content and knit construction, not from softness.

Moisture wicking

The ability of a fabric to pull sweat off the skin and spread it across the outer surface, where it evaporates faster. Cotton absorbs and holds sweat instead, which is why a cotton shirt gets heavy in the heat.

Example: the Tim Tee is a moisture wicking, quick drying knit.

Quick drying

A fabric that releases moisture to the air fast enough to feel dry again during wear rather than after it. Synthetic fibers do this; natural fibers hold water in the fiber itself.

Polyester dries fastest, nylon is close behind, cotton is slowest.

Cotton pique

The traditional polo fabric: a textured cotton knit with a raised waffle surface. It breathes well while dry and turns heavy and slow once it is wet, which makes it a cool weather fabric.

PILLAR does not make a cotton pique polo, on purpose. It is the wrong fabric for Arizona.

Pre shrunk

Fabric that has already been washed and shrunk during manufacturing, so the finished garment holds its size through normal laundering. Without it, a true to size shirt becomes a size small after three washes.

Examples: the Joey Tee and the Tim Tee are both pre shrunk.

Pilling

The small fuzzy balls that form where a fabric rubs against itself or a bag strap. It is caused by short fibers working loose from the yarn, and it is the usual reason a soft shirt starts looking old before it wears out.

Washing cold and inside out, and skipping fabric softener, slows it down.

Colorfastness

How well a dye holds its depth through washing and sun exposure. It is the difference between a black shirt that is still black in year two and one that has gone a dusty grey.

Synthetic fibers hold dye more reliably than cotton, which is why a black performance knit outlasts a black cotton tee.

UPF

Ultraviolet Protection Factor, a rating of how much UV radiation a fabric blocks. UPF 30 blocks about 96.7 percent and UPF 50 blocks about 98 percent. Unlike sunscreen it does not need reapplying, and unlike SPF it is measured on fabric rather than skin.

Tight knits, synthetic fibers and darker colors all raise a fabric's UV blocking.

Blade collar

A polo collar that is cut and fused so it holds a straight line on its own, with no top button needed to keep its shape. It stays sharp worn open and untucked, which is where a soft collar curls.

Example: the David Polo at $34.50.

Ribbed collar

The classic polo collar, knitted in a rib so it has stretch and a soft hand. It needs the top button to hold its line and softens over time, and it reads traditional at any venue.

Examples: the Tom Polo, the Steven Polo and the David Polo.

Placket

The buttoned opening at the neck of a polo. A two or three button placket is standard, and the button spacing decides whether the collar still sits correctly when you wear it open.

A blade collar works open because it does not depend on the placket to stay upright.

Quarter zip

A pullover layer with a zip running roughly a quarter of the way down the chest. It sits between a polo and a jacket: warm enough for an early tee time, light enough to keep on through the round.

It is the one layer that works over a polo without reading like outerwear.

Flatlock seam

A seam sewn so the two fabric edges lie flat against each other rather than forming a ridge. It removes the raised line that chafes on a long run, ride or round.

You can feel the difference on the inside of the shoulder and the side seam.

Gusset

An extra panel of fabric set into a high stress point, usually the crotch of shorts or the underarm of a top, to add range of motion without adding overall looseness.

It is why a well built pair of shorts can be cut close and still allow a full stride.

Skort liner

The built in shorts under a golf or tennis skort. Liner length and grip decide whether the skort is actually wearable through a swing or a lunge, and it is the detail most skorts get wrong.

A compression style liner stays put; a loose liner rides up.

Athleisure

Clothing built to performance standards and cut to be worn in ordinary settings. The test is simple: it should work for the activity and still look intentional at lunch afterward.

Fabric decides the performance half, collar and hem decide the second half.