If you had to wear the same shirt everyday - what shirt would it be?

November 22, 2016 7:41 PM

I’m doing a “Try something new for 30 days” challenge for each month of 2017. For the first month I’m thinking of trying the wear-the same-thing-every-day technique, a la Steve Jobs. I need recommendations for a simple tee shirt that is inexpensive enough that I can buy a bunch of them, but not so inexpensive that I can’t stand to wear them.

I’m looking for comfort, a decent price, and a flattering cut - so not a man's tee shirt but not something too fitted either. Also, not low cut (I’ll be wearing them to my casual workplace) and not something that only looks good on size zero (I’m a sz. 10-12). It could be short, long or 3/4 sleeve.

It would be great if I loved it.

posted by mulcahy to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (21 answers total)

I can't help with specifics but maybe have a look around t-shirtwholesaler.com?
posted by saul wright at 7:55 PM on November 22, 2016 [2 favorites]

I have American Apparel tri-blend t-shirts in a ton of colors and neckline styles and have been wearing them for years. If I were limited to one shirt for 30 days, it would be one of those.

Over the years, I've preferred the unisex v-neck and the women's Track Tee.

I'm about your size. Yes, you have to size up because AA is designed with 90 pound hipster waifs in mind. Yet another reason the unisex ones are pretty great.
posted by Sara C. at 8:03 PM on November 22, 2016 [4 favorites]

If you like American Apparel but are worried about the sizing District's "District Made" line of t-shirts is sized much more like clothes you'll find elsewhere in the wild—i.e. a women's M is a women's M—but still cut flatteringly and with similar high-quality materials. (They're way more opaque about their manufacturing, though, so it's not quite an even trade.) I've only worked with them wholesale, but you can probably do better than the prices on their website.

(If you see "DT" in the product name you're looking at one of their "juniors" garments, which is sized like AA.)
posted by Polycarp at 8:15 PM on November 22, 2016 [1 favorite]

Just bought ten identical Uniqlo heattech t-shirts. They are nice and comfy and certainly come in various shapes and sizes. They were also $9 apiece.
posted by so fucking future at 8:41 PM on November 22, 2016 [1 favorite]

I've had good luck with Charter Club's pima cotton tees at Macy's. 3/4 sleeve tee, for example. They don't see to have any short-sleeved tees right now.
posted by bunderful at 8:44 PM on November 22, 2016 [1 favorite]

I would wear this Pact t-shirt with a tank top underneath.
posted by vunder at 8:45 PM on November 22, 2016 [1 favorite]

I've found uniqlo supima cotton Ts to be the best
posted by Greener Backyards at 8:53 PM on November 22, 2016 [6 favorites]

I love Velvet's deep v necks. So soft. I'd probably wear my gray one for a straight month.
posted by rmless at 8:57 PM on November 22, 2016 [1 favorite]

With the caveat that I (female) have only worn their men's t-shirts, Eddie Bauer t-shirts are soft and comfortable and have held up to multiple washings (color and shape), and they're currently doing a 40% off total order sale, so...
posted by rtha at 9:49 PM on November 22, 2016 [1 favorite]

Oh wow, I just did this. I got three of the Gap "Softspun knit roll-sleeve tee" in different neutrals to wear with leggings and cardigans. Very into the uniform idea right now, very easy way to dress. These are thick and cozy, don't wrinkle much at all, and don't feel awful despite not being cotton (because, Gap, but they got this material right), and they hang in a flattering way. Most sizes are out, unfortunately, at least on the Canadian site. But maybe not on your site, or maybe they're findable on a third party site? Or, some other styles with this fabric might be ok.
posted by cotton dress sock at 10:17 PM on November 22, 2016 [1 favorite]

I'm slightly obsessed with the #61 Skargorn tshirts. They run large (I'm usually about an 18 and the Ls are pretty loose on me.) And they are expensive but they're heavy and wash really well. They come in lots of different colors.
posted by DarthDuckie at 11:38 PM on November 22, 2016 [1 favorite]

Everlane for sure. They're $15 each, and I've never owned one I didn't wear all the time. I love the Box-Cut Tee in particular.
posted by moons in june at 11:52 PM on November 22, 2016 [1 favorite]

I feel like you need the Three Dots British Tee (no idea why it is "British," but, good cotton, lasts forever, curiously flattering) bought on sale somewhere. They have been selling it for years so eBayed lots of it on sale in previous years' colours, gently used, etc, should not be too too hard to come by. My oldest one is pushing 11 years and kinda looks it if you look closely, but it's still decent enough to wear -- and it's white, so it's had a number of "boil in dye remover" stain-removal hijinx, and come out no worse for that.

(Size up; I don't wear them nearly as 'fitted' as in the photos.)

I have some other varieties of Three Dots tees and wouldn't hesitate to recommend other styles, though I'm always dubious about their blended fabric stuff.
posted by kmennie at 12:46 AM on November 23, 2016 [2 favorites]

Probably will be too spendy to make these your only t shirt (unless you hit the jackpot on eBay) but Eileen Fisher makes t shirts out of silk jersey and they are divine. Might get one to stay in t shirt mode but mix it up a little?
posted by Sublimity at 3:08 AM on November 23, 2016 [1 favorite]

I have seven plain black fairly fitted scoop neck t-shirts. I'm not the least fashionable person in the world, and I bet no one here who knows me on real life even noticed that's all I ever wear. I wear them layered with other tops or under sleeveless dresses or tunics in colder weather and alone with various skirts in summer. Wear a statement necklace and no one will even notice your T-shirt. And black goes with everything.
posted by lollusc at 4:07 AM on November 23, 2016 [1 favorite]

I love the cut of these basic H&M t-shirts. Scoop neck but not too low cut. Not too fitted, not too loose. They are cheap but don't feel like it.
posted by beyond_pink at 5:39 AM on November 23, 2016 [1 favorite]

I like these and find them really flattering on my 10-12 self, but they're not cotton and may be more dressy than you're looking for? (But they're currently $8 which is extra nice.) They also come in petites with additional color options.
posted by metasarah at 5:41 AM on November 23, 2016 [1 favorite]

I could easily wear a Madewell pocket tee every day for a month (if I had a couple more or were better about laundry I might have done this inadvertently already). The quality is not the world's best, but I think that's the tradeoff of a very flattering drapey cotton tee (that costs all of $12), and haven't had any problems since I started washing them with my delicates instead of outerwear.
posted by telegraph at 6:45 AM on November 23, 2016 [1 favorite]

I find Everlane t-shirts run frumpy on me (I'm pretty small but have a kind of disproportionately big upper body), and really like LA Made's deep-v tees instead. I only buy them in black, so I can't tell you if the lighter colors will be see-through. They run on the smallish end of true-to-size, but the sizing's not as weird as AA's. They do push the line of being too low-cut for work on me (I'm short), but they'd probably be safe on someone tall, like the model in the link. I find them very flattering and have four that I wear all the time.
posted by snaw at 9:00 AM on November 23, 2016 [1 favorite]

Another vote for Uniqlo, though I have only worn the men's supima cotton. I imagine the women's is the same fabric. It is by far the most comfortable t-shirt I have owned.
posted by AFABulous at 9:17 AM on November 23, 2016 [1 favorite]

Merona boatmeck tee from Target. It's my uniform staple.
posted by MsMolly at 8:01 AM on November 25, 2016