Fulton Seersucker Shirt
Pickup available at Flagship
– Black / Small
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Flagship
+18583374863357 Canal Street
New York NY 10013
United States
Its iconic puckered texture comes from its weave pattern. The yarn is woven with alternating tension, causing some threads to bunch up slightly—creating a vertical crinkled effect across the fabric. This texture keeps the fabric from sitting flush against the skin, allowing for better airflow. While any thread color can be used in seersucker, it’s most recognizable in a baby blue and white stripe.
Seersucker originated in the Indian Subcontinent as a fabric suited for the arid climate. It was originally made in white and brown stripes. The British Empire encountered it there in the 18th century, later exporting it through the East India Company. Persian merchants’ name for the cloth,shir o shakar—meaning"milk and sugar”—was anglicized into seersucker.
By the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the fabric was widely used in workwear, particularly for railroad and factory uniforms due to itsdurability and cooling properties. The iconic striped railroad uniforms are made from a thicker version of seersucker known as a hickory stripe—which is woven tighter for increased strength, the grooves still allowing the heavier material to have airflow. In the humid Southern states, it gained popularity as a practical suiting fabric, and 1920s Ivy league students adopted it into their wardrobe as a form of studied nonchalance, sealing it into the influential collegiate prep style.
Our seersucker is woven in Northern Portugal by the same mill that sews the final shirt. It’s 100% cotton, and garment-dyed to give the fabric a matte finish, eliminating the sheen that sometimes comes with seersucker. Keeping it in a single, even color instead of stripes highlights its unique texture.
