Favorites Series: T-shirts - Topic of the day 4/14/24
It's hard to find an article of clothing more ubiquitous than the t-shirt. If you're gonna wear em all the time, you should wear good ones! What are your favorite tees? Favorite brands at low medium and high price points? What do you look for in one of these shirts? What brands have been great for them and what brands have really let you down? Do you prefer graphic tees or plain tees? Are tubular knit tees better? What is a loopwheeled tee, anyway? Feel free to share a few of your favorite fits or inspo that feature t-shirts, too. (Note: the Favorites Series will be running ~weekly as a new way of doing the "Best X for $X" threads from a few years ago on MFA.)
34 Replies
Is there a default nice white tee for fat guys? I've put on a lot of weight off these new antidepressants and don't look good in any of my old white tees.
Uniqlo U for low to medium price point
Comfort Colors pocket tee, its cheap, its comfortable, and has a nice loose fit
Mister Freedom®
Stanley T-Shirt - White - B-Stock
The Stanley T-shirt features a 40’s-50’s silhouette with 1/4 sleeves and a slightly boxy fit. We opted for a slubby and lightweight cotton jersey, reminiscent of vintage t-shirts. Our t-shirt is inspired by several vintage specimen and 40's USMC issued undershirts. T-shirt made in USA.
My fave shirt
https://bronsonshop.com/products/loopwheel-tubular-athletic-t-shirt-vintage-black I quite like these ones from bronson
Bronson
Loopwheel Tubular Athletic T-Shirt - Vintage Black
We use the machine improved based on "Loop Wheel Machine". The principle of the textile method is basically the same as the "Loop Wheel Machine", and the use of the same "Bearded Needle". It can achieve the same effect as the "Loopwheel machines" production of fabric, but the efficiency has been greatly improved, so that the cost becomes reasona...
:uniqlo:
I caught some Urban Outfitters Shortstop tees on sale recently and they’re pretty great. Really heavyweight, oversized fit with drop shoulders. I got a small and the fit is a lot like my medium Airism oversized half sleeve tee.
Repeating what others have said but I have a Uniqlo U Crew tee-shirt in about 9 different colors and it rocks
this is going to sound insane
i just got a shirt from neo4ic and it’s a t-shirt that i legitimately feel like i can justify the $50 pricetag on
i am a firm believer in a t-shirt that expensive being absolutely insane, but this? this is nice. print on all four panels (front, back, sleeves), softest t-shirt i’ve ever worn, and they even send you a zip of the art on your shirt
it’s a super nice graphic tee
they also sell their blanks, too
Uniqlo U/House of Blanks for me
for basic tees uniqlo u and, depending on the year, the uniqlo supima cotton tee as well
that said most times if i'm wearing a t-shirt it has a graphic on it while i'm doing grocery shopping or some other low-stakes thing
James perse is one of my go to brands for plain shirts - I guess that would be mid or high range? Reigning champ, rag and bone, lady white also take up some space in the white tee section of my closet
From least to most expensive that I’ve enjoyed: Kirkland, Uniqlo U, Whitesville, Reigning Champ, 3Sixteen, Mister Freedom, Merz, Addict Japan. I’m probably forgetting something. Would love to try a Camber pocket tee at some point
This is stretching the definition of a t shirt but at a high price point I really like my cashmere tee from Todd Snyder
https://www.toddsnyder.com/collections/cashmere-pocket-t-shirt/products/premium-cashmere-ss-pocket-teecoffee-bean
Todd Snyder
Premium Short-Sleeve Cashmere Pocket Tee in Coffee Bean
This is a luxe hybrid that combines all the casual cool of a tee with the polish of a cashmere sweater. Knit from superfine 2/48 cashmere at a 14 gauge, it's thin enough to layer under a third piece, yet warm enough to fly solo when the weather's mild. 100% Cashmere 14-Gauge Knit Button-Through Chest Pocket 1x1 Knit Ri
I also have a vintage silk t shirt from Baracuta that's great for summer and very breathable despite being pretty thick-- they're reasonably priced on eBay
On the higher end my favorite shirt is probably one from brunello but honestly I don't think it's worth the price
Never would've owned it if it wasn't gotten as a gift
question: would you be less likely to splurge on a white t shirt vs coloured
due to the risk of stains and yellowing
No because white t shirts are goated
I wear white tees approximately 1000x more often than colored
And at least with my uniqlo ones I can just wash them with a little bleach to take care of the yellowing and stains
so splurge on everything got it 👍🏻
I’m just saying I wouldn’t spend less on a white t vs a colored because of the risk of staining
I wear black tees more than anything
I'm slowly wearing more Rick basics but as we enter summer I'm mostly gonna wear graphic tees since I'm not gonna be layered anymore
that's why 2005 is back and ironic and weird graphic tees are in
but big prints with deranged text a la Online Ceramics is more better than short phrases that are easily understandable but more cringe
truthfully this video is a good representation of the situation
graphic tees rock but giving brand recs is useless cause it depends on the graphics you like more than the blanks
yeah. blanks only matter if they let you buy their blanks
otherwise it all comes down to the prints
I might go as far as to say I splurge more on white tees than colors
You should splurge on the thing that you'll find the most value in. That will be different for different people
Undercover when they're on their game still some of the best graphic work going, though most of my graphic tees now are from various metal bands.
The best feeling tshirts I own are some inexplicably great 240gsm white T's from an Ali Express seller who seems to have vanished and cost 7£ a pop
good UC has the coolest graphics, but the actual base tees they use are not any better in the ways that I want than OC or some others
even far earlier they had multiple genres of blanks
some of my tees were blocky mid-soft cotton (mostly the mens stuff)
and then the women's stuff I had was very soft, tighter fitting, and thinner cotton
they were all labelled MIJ for me but they all had diff feel and vibes
even some with the same logos just in different gender lines
suffice it to say my fav t-shirts I have now are the rick thick cotton neck short sleeve (it's basically a thicker neck shorter sleeve plain black tee), the drkshdw hustler double layer, and my online ceramics tees which are not as soft but certainly feel durable and don't have problems with upturned hems after washing
Oh, definitely. The Tshirts are at best fine. The best tshirt I've probably ever had in terms of feel and sheer longevity is an old BAPE one from ~2007 or so. It's started to fray at the collar in the last year or two but still thats insane longevity.
lying like we don't know thats how a swans fan sleeps
I've had some bad luck with plain tees. I used to have a ton of graphic tees. Got rid of so many, and now my kids are after what few were left.
Taking notes in here, although it feels like more people like heavier tees than I realized
Got cut off in thought before:
I prefer plain tees now. Have some from Buck Mason, Imogene + Willie, Todd Snyder. Different materials from each, and don't have a favorite. Have some Uniqlo, but find them a little stiff or the material off-putting (do like some of the heattech stuff as a base when outside in winter though). Been wanting to try Merz.
Don't really like anything hugging my neck or that's too long in the arms. Just haven't found the right cut for me. Need to lay this all out in a separate post for some good recs. I like to layer a ton, as I can get too hot in any season, so a nice tshirt is valuable to me.
Still have some sports tees for the right times; and my graphic tees are still pretty minimal. I feel like an old guy cosplaying a kid if the design is wild.
Not including gym shirts in the above, but have a few Vuori shirts that are comfortable for lounging.
Most of my plain tees are lady white our shirt, largely because I love the natural, earthy colors
The fabric isn't particularly soft, but it has a bit of slub that makes it interesting, and it softens over time
Also I just like the way they fit me