Comments on: When I find this shirt, some company is gonna be VERY happy

Question: When I find this shirt, some company is gonna be VERY happy

showbiz_liz — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 09:02:51 -0800

Help me find women's fitted boat-necked cap-sleeved or 3/4 length-sleeved shirts in a variety of solid colors! (What, me picky?)

So yes. I have recently found myself gravitating towards brightly colored or printed shirts and pants, and then realizing I have barely anything to wear with them. So I'd like to fill out my wardrobe with some reliable basic shirts in a ton of solid colors.

The problem is that I know what I like in a basic shirt and it's kind of super specific. I've found random shirts that fit these criteria in thrift stores, worn them to death, and then mourned them when they passed on. Alas I forgot to ever write down the brands...

So yes, to reiterate, we're talking:

-fitted/nipped in a bit at the waist
-boat-necked- don't like crew necks so much, HATE v-necks
-cap-sleeves or 3/4 length-sleeves (for summer/winter)
-fabric unimportant but I'm picturing t-shirt material as being the most likely candidate
-many, many available colors. Ideally I'd like cream, brown, dark and light grey, black, rose, and then a few brighter colors as well.

Since I want to buy so many, I'm being super picky about this and haven't yet found anything ideal. This is the basic shape I want for short sleeved tops but doesn't come in many colors, this is ok but the neck isn't quite right and it looks flimsy (especially the edging...)

Under $30 a pop would be ideal, and cheaper is better as long as they're ok quality.

By: elizardbits

elizardbits — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 09:07:18 -0800

Old Navy has these but the quality is usually suboptimal. On the other hand, they're well under your price limit.

By: Sara C.

Sara C. — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 09:08:30 -0800

I have a shirt not unlike this from J. Crew, though I'm not sure when it was sold there -- I bought mine at a thrift store ~3 months ago.

I, too, am picky about t-shirts, and find that my main problem is finding colors I want. I'd suggest Gap and Loft, but those are the stores where I most often have color meltdowns. But they are general good sources of basic t-shirts.

American Apparel might also be worth a look, though I'm not sure they have exactly what you want. They are great about offering a ton of colors, and they frequently have good basic tees with slightly unusual details like alternative necks and sleeve lengths. I am a big fan of their "open neck" tees, which are like a crew neck, but not as high and tight around the neck.

By: purpleclover

purpleclover — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 09:20:17 -0800

This is a wide scoopneck rather than a proper boatneck, but: H&M. I have half a dozen of these in black that I bought in 2009, and they've held up miraculously.

I do not not not vouch for all H&M T-shirts (I have also had my fair share of ones that balled up and came apart), but I love these basic shirts. There are several similar kinds in stores; the ones I vouch for feel smooth and tightly woven and are 95 percent cotton/5 percent elastane. I bought a couple as recently as yesterday in a store.

By: Jacob G

Jacob G — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 09:20:28 -0800

Maybe LL Bean has what you need? Here's a filtered link. I have a number of their men's t-shirts and the comfort and quality is superb.

By: mippy

mippy — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 09:23:41 -0800

I thought Kettlewell, as they do lots of colours in lots of styles (their 'thing' is that they sell things for seasonal colour palettes), but they're expensive plus US shipping on top of that.

Uniqlo did a lot of cheap, good quality scoop necks with cap sleeves last time I was there - it's worth keeping an eye on them to see if they bring out a boat neck. Actually, the ones I have look a lot like the American Apparel link, so it's possible 'boat neck' is the same thing?

By: treehorn+bunny

treehorn+bunny — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 09:23:58 -0800

Seconding LL Bean. The quality is great and makes the price well worth it over Old Navy (and probably H&M as well although I have no firsthand experience with those), and the selection from the catalog will be way better than Gap. The other thing that's great about LL Bean is the customer service - returns are easy, they will always replace stuff you decide against keeping for any reason or if there is any defect.

By: elizardbits

elizardbits — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 09:29:17 -0800

re: the Gap, even their smallest sizes are often not fitted in any acceptable way. I'm a 36D and their smallest size t-shirts hang on me like maternity tents.

By: Swisstine

Swisstine — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 09:39:50 -0800

Do check American Apparel. My mother in law has several boat neck, three quarter sleeve, thin/fitted jersey shirts from AA.

By: acidic

acidic — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 09:42:34 -0800

Hanes
Loft
J. Crew
Banana Republic (maybe not 3/4, but all the models are wearing it that way?)
Uniqlo Heattech (scoop neck, very fitted)

By: small_ruminant

small_ruminant — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 09:57:21 -0800

Chico's sells these sometimes, though it looks like right now is mostly full-length sleeve season. Here's a bright blue one.

By: tuesdayschild

tuesdayschild — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 09:57:44 -0800

The two pictures you linked to look like scoop neck to me rather than boat neck.
This might work for you.

By: small_ruminant

small_ruminant — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 10:01:14 -0800

More boat necked 3/4 sleeved solid color knit shirts from chico's.

By: the young rope-rider

the young rope-rider — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 10:08:05 -0800

I was also going to say LL Bean. Returns are super fast and simple, you don't even have to print anything, and they have a lot of good quality basic stuff.

By: jabes

jabes — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 10:19:47 -0800

I have a couple of these boat-neck tees from Old Navy and they actually hold up really well for the price. Boden has some long-sleeved scoop-neck tees in your price range, their shirts tend to be of a really thick material.

By: Katine

Katine — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 10:20:45 -0800

OO Anne Taylor Loft has about a billion of these. They are also having a crazy sale right now.

By: saradarlin

saradarlin — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 11:15:43 -0800

Yeah, LL Bean or even Lands End is stocked full of pretty much exactly this.

By: michellenoel

michellenoel — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 11:46:25 -0800

qvc.com

By: k8lin

k8lin — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 12:16:17 -0800

J. Crew always has these. I am constantly recommending their shirts here, but I don't work for them or anything - they just make the world's most perfect shirts.

By: dotgirl

dotgirl — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 13:15:41 -0800

Just to echo what a couple other people said - you're not really looking for "boat-neck" - you're looking for "scoop-neck".

I have to agree with people that OldNavy may have them, but they'll be tissue thin and fall apart. The ones at The Gap are better, but Uniqlo is my favourite - and their online store is now open!

By: Sidhedevil

Sidhedevil — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 14:11:04 -0800

If you can compromise on sleeve length, these are well made and come in a range of colors.

Michael Stars tees are good quality and come in a wide range of colors, though I know the price point and neckline are not your ideal.

Eddie Bauer tees are fairly well made and less boxy through the waist than LL Bean tees.

By: Lexica

Lexica — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 17:22:55 -0800

I too would call that a scoop neck, not a boat neck, and would nth Uniqlo's Heattech scoop neck — comfortable, reasonably priced, and (so far, I haven't had mine terribly long) seem to be well made. (I don't know why it's only showing three colors; it comes in more.)

By: dizziest

dizziest — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 23:31:30 -0800

If the neck on the second one doesn't bother you that much, I can vouch for the fact that it's not actually as flimsy as it looks in that picture. I have several of those shirts and they're great-- extremely flattering and they hold up well.

By: Summer Fall

Summer Fall — Sun, 18 Nov 2012 19:51:00 -0800

J crew for sure.