The Arkwright Henley Shirt

The Arkwright Henley Shirt is named after inventor, entrepreneur, and industrialist, Sir Richard Arkwright.

His inventions mechanised the spinning of cotton yarn and thread for the textile industry.

He was one of the first industrialists, developing a world-renowned factory system in the small Derbyshire village of Cromford. Arkwright’s Mill is a World Heritage Site and is less than 10 miles away from The Stanley Biggs Store.

Our Arkwright Henleys are a wonderful addition to The Biggs Collection. Made from an 8oz heavyweight organic cotton jersey fabric, these henleys are super soft and wonderfully styled. Designed directly from an early 20th century example, we are delighted with the result.

With knitted jersey arms, and with a calico cotton button placet, there are some lovely and understated design features that means the Arkwright can be worn either as a single layer or underneath other garments. It works wonderfully with our shirts and knitwear by the way!

No detail has been left to chance, with even the buttons being made in England from a natural and eco-friendly material called 'Corozo', otherwise known as 'vegetable ivory'. Corozo is derived from the nut of the Tagua Palm which grows in the equatorial rainforests of central America and Ecuador. As the ‘mococha’ nut falls to earth quite naturally when they are ripe, it means that there is no human harvesting or cutting of any part of the tree to make our buttons, which blissfully lives on regardless to continue growing and producing nuts for years to come.

Henleys, as they have become known as, were traditionally worn as the first layer. A protective layer, the vest was really an undergarment, worn for extra warmth but also for keeping your other garments clean. The theory being that you would only have to wash this one garment regularly, while the 'top' garments such as shirt and jumpers were washed less often.