Mens shirt jersey half sleeve

The distinguishing feature of these shirts, well-known as “Henleys”: They are made without side-seams in the same circular knitting process dating back from the 1850s. This type of shirt has initially been the choice for oarsmen (hence the “Henley”) and became the standard shirt for heavy-labouring workers in the 1920s. The shirt, including the popover placket, is made of cotton. It comes with the original Merz b. Schwanen label sewn-in.

The knitwear manufacturer Merz b. Schwanen had existed since 1911 in the Swabian Alps, once a traditional textile-producing region. In recent times, a Berliner, Peter Plotnicki, revived the tradition. Once more, the company is manufacturing shirts and sports trousers in the area – for the most part on original knitting machines dating from the 1920s or at least the 1960s. Their slow operational speeds are an advantage: They provide for the high density, characteristic structure, and substantial feel, as well as the excellent shape retention of the knitwear. A small but remarkable detail: Plotnicki has the clothing labels with the original Merz b. Schwanen logo and lettering crafted on an old weaver’s loom for jacquard ribbons.

Merz b. Schwanen does not use an additional industrial pre-wash for these shirts. They therefore go in the first wash about three percent in length. This was already considered in the cut as extra length.