280, 380, 420: What the Numbers on Our Product Pages Mean
On almost every one of our product pages, you will find a three-digit number followed by g/m². Most other shops don't list anything there at all. There is a reason for this — and it isn't because nobody cares.
What this number actually means
The grammage is the weight of one square meter of fabric. 180 g/m² means: One square meter of this material weighs 180 grams. Sounds like a technical specification. In reality, it is the only number that lets you gauge how a piece will feel before you buy it.
Roughly speaking, the scale works like this:
- 130–160 g/m² — the kind of stuff sold in triple packs on the high street. Translucent if you stand in front of a window. Loses its shape after ten washes.
- 180–200 g/m² — a solid summer shirt. Nothing wrong with that when it’s 30 degrees outside.
- 240–280 g/m² — this is where what we call "heavyweight" begins. The fabric holds its shape a bit instead of clinging to the body.
- 320–420 g/m² — fleece/sweat fabrics. Hoodies, joggers, anything meant to get you through the winter.
What happens when a fabric gets heavier
The difference is not just "a bit thicker." From about 250 grams upward, fabric starts to behave differently in physical terms.
It hangs instead of fluttering. A lightweight shirt follows every movement and every gust of wind. A heavy one hangs vertically and stays there. That is exactly why oversized cuts rarely look good in light materials: without weight, "loose fit" simply turns into "too big."
It keeps its shape. The collar doesn't stretch out, and the shoulder seam stays where it's supposed to be. At 140 grams, it’s the washing machine that decides what your shirt looks like after six months.
It lasts longer. More material means more substance. A 280g shirt survives washes that would have long since made a 150g shirt transparent.
To be honest, there is a price to pay for this: heavy fabrics cost many times more to source, they take longer to dry, and you won’t want to wear them in the height of summer.
Why the numbers in this collection
The autumn line, VESTR, is for the time of year when heavy fabrics make sense. That is why the values are where they are:
- 280 g/m² for the Boxy Tee — heavy enough for the boxy cut to hold its shape, light enough to wear under a jacket.
- 380 g/m² for the hoodie, with a brushed interior. That is the difference between a "hoodie" and something you would wear over everything else in October.
- 420 g/m² for both pairs of trousers. French Terry, washed. The point at which sweatpants stop looking like loungewear.
And why cotton wherever possible
Grammage alone means nothing if the material isn't right. 300 grams of polyester feel different than 300 grams of cotton — heavier, but not warmer, and you’ll notice the difference after two hours.
Cotton absorbs moisture instead of letting it sit on the skin. It smells different after a long day. And it ages visibly: a washed-out cotton fabric looks better after a year than it did on the first day. Polyester doesn't do that; polyester stays the same until it suddenly starts pilling.
That is why the autumn line is made entirely of cotton. Wherever possible. There is one exception, and to be honest, it is technical: for items with all-over patterns, the color must penetrate the fiber — that only works with polyester. On cotton, the same pattern would sit on top and eventually peel off. We could still do it and keep quiet about it. But we don't.
Why hardly anyone else lists it
Because the number allows for comparison. Anyone charging 79 euros for a shirt made of 150-gram fabric won't put that on the product page. Anyone who puts 280 on it gives you a solid argument — and the risk that you might ask questions about the next one.
We prefer it this way. We want you to know what you are holding before you actually hold it.