Lemaire Relaxed Shirt

Viscose and wool is an unusual blend to build a shirt from and a very good one, because each fibre supplies exactly what the other lacks. Viscose is a regenerated cellulosic, which is to say it is made from wood pulp rather than grown as a fibre, and it is prized for fluidity: of the fibres in common use it drapes closest to silk, and it has a soft cool hand. What it does not have is memory, so a pure viscose garment goes limp and holds creases. Fifteen percent virgin wool is the correction. Wool is naturally crimped and springy, so even a small proportion of it gives the cloth resilience, a little loft, and the ability to shed a crease by hanging, without adding the weight or the warmth that a majority-wool shirt would. The result is a shirt that flows rather than hangs. The cut is deliberately loose and it is genuinely unisex, which a shirt can be in a way a fitted garment cannot: no waist shaping, no bust darts, and volume through the body. Two pockets, one patch pocket on the front and a smaller one inside, and ample sleeves gathered into buttoned cuffs so the volume is released along the arm and collected at the wrist.

Why we selected it

The blend is the reason. A shirt that drapes like this in pure viscose would crease badly and in pure wool would be a different garment altogether, and 85/15 is the ratio that gets both. The interior pocket is a small, genuinely useful thing.

Loose, unisex, fluid shirting is close to the centre of the Lemaire wardrobe.

Materials and construction

85% viscose and 15% virgin wool. One front patch pocket and one smaller interior pocket, with ample sleeves buttoning at the cuffs. Made in Tunisia, in cream.

Fit notes

Loose fit, cut without shaping, and intended to be worn by anyone. The sleeves are full and are controlled at the cuff rather than along the arm, so the volume sits between shoulder and wrist. We do not hold measurements, and there is no Lemaire size chart on this site.

Styling

A fluid cream shirt is at its best where the drape can be seen, so it wants to be worn loose rather than tucked tightly, and it goes over the denim in the collection as easily as under a jacket. The ample sleeve is the detail to leave visible.

Care

Viscose is much weaker wet than dry, which is the single most important thing to know about it: a viscose garment can be distorted or torn by handling that a cotton shirt would survive, so it should never be wrung, and it should be supported rather than hung dripping. The wool content means heat is the other hazard. Cool water, gentle handling, dry flat, or take it to a cleaner. Our fabric care guide has a section on viscose and other regenerated cellulosics, and one on garments that are more than one material.

Related pieces

In viscose, the Seamless Top. The Double Pocket Shirt in misty lilac is the crisp cotton alternative, and the Embroidered Collar Shirt carries a detail. Everything we carry from Lemaire is listed together.