Fashion-conscious women who get close enough, especially close enough to touch one of my Sea Island cotton shirts, usually ask me where I bought it.

   I always respond by saying, "It's not where I bought the shirt; it's where the cotton comes from." Then I go into my spiel about Sea Island cotton from off the coast of Georgia being the finest quality of cotton grown anywhere in the world.

   Though the cotton was named after these coastal islands, it is now cultivated on the islands of Antigua, Montserrat, Nevis, St. Kitts, Barbados and the sine qua non Superfine of St. Vincent.

   I fell in love with the soft, shimmery fabric years ago, first as single-needle tailored dress shirts, then again with knits that are as tender as a baby's tush.

   The cotton is grown on the 100 low islands off the coast of South Carolina, mostly Georgia and north Florida. The ocean side of the islands is generally sandy, the mainland-facing side is marshy. The islands have a humid, subtropical climate with hot summers and mild winters and abundant rainfall, all ideal conditions for the growing the long-staple cotton. The fiber's length determines the quality of the cotton. The longer the fiber, the glossier, more resistant and valuable is the cotton.

   As the stature of Sea Island 's quality grew internationally, the Japanese now own most of its production. Its worldwide production is very limited and therefore extremely valuable. The Prince of Wales put his imprimatur on the fabric in 1930 when the Times of London revealed he was a "steady wearer" of West Indian Sea Island cotton.

   The Fairfield Men's Store has all kinds of regal Sea Island shirts from the inimitable Eugene Venanzi and his Italian factories in stripes, checks, plaids and solids in all colors. Venanzi's elegant shirts come in button or French cuffs.

   Check out Venanzi's collection at www.suityourself and zoom in on the shirt of your choice and order it.

   Or if you want to feel the difference for yourself, come in and just ask Naresh to show you a few samples.

   Cotton, as the jingle says, is indeed the fabric of our times, and has been for a long time. It has been spun, woven and dyed since prehistoric times. It clothed the people of ancient India, Egypt and China. Cotton fabrics found in Peruvian tombs are said to be pre-Incan.

   Hundreds of years before the Christian area cotton textiles were woven in India with matchless skill, and their use spread to the Mediterranean. In the first century A.D. Arab traders brought fine muslin and calico to Italy and Spain. The word cotton comes from the Arabic word qutn.

   The Moors cultivated cotton in Spain in the ninth century and various kinds appeared in Italy in the 14th century. The invention of the cotton gin in 1793 was one of the prime drivers of the Industrial Revolution.

   With women reacting the way they do to its luster and softness, the thing that absolutely befuddles me is its paucity of use in women's garments. With so many women in so many high-profile positions, it seems almost criminal that access to this delicate yet durable fabric is rare.

   Naresh wants to make custom-made blouses for women and I don't blame him. I think the market is a gold mine, an untouched resource. He has access to reams of fabric and loads of colors in solids, stripes, checks, plaids and patterns.

   I had an old girlfriend who loved to traipse around the house wearing my light-blue Sea Island shirt after I came home from work. I used to tell her to buy her own. She said she tried but never found one, even in the best stores.

   Now that's sexism, discrimination, or as I say, almost criminal.