Need reccs for a men's light silk t shirt for work

June 5, 2024 4:37 AM

Need reccs for a men's light but well-made T-shirt for warmer office work. I mean a wear alone tshirt, not an undershirt. If there's a performance silk fabric that wicks sweat and helps with sweat smell that would be a big plus, something along the lines of the copper (silver?) infused performance fabrics. Handwash is fine and indeed if it can be thrown in a sink, washed lightly and hung overnight to dry that would be great. Thanks!
posted by Rufous-headed Towhee heehee to Grab Bag (9 answers total)

Is Silk mandatory?

If you want a light, breathable, sweat-wicking performance fabric, I suggest Outlier's Dreamweight merino wool line. Or if you're in a humid area, their Ramielust line. Both can be hand washed but it's not a requirement. They're both quick drying. I wear the Dreamweight line year round through Canadian winters and South Pacific summers.

Vollebak used to have a copper infused line but it looks like they no longer do. Their Pima Cotton Equator line may suit your needs, though I have not tried it so cannot personally recommend it.
posted by dobbs at 5:12 AM on June 5 [2 favorites]

Best answer: I think some shirts trap sweat smell less than others (polyester is the devil)... but the real issue is simply that sweat smells, so the best a shirt can do is "not make it even worse", but a shirt cannot actually control or lessen the actual smell of human sweat.

I say this because I've done sweaty work with a lot of people who are into performance fabric clothing, and can attest that people in "non-smelling" shirts still smell, because sweat, and sweaty skin, smells, even before it hits the shirt - there's no shortcut! Trimming armpit hair very short, washing armpits with antibacterial soap every day, and using antiperspirant with aluminum (not deodorant, and certainly nothing "natural") is the best bet for controlling sweat smells.

Spraying the shirt's armpits with enzyme cleaner helps when washing it. Puracy Stain Remover is AMAZING for removing sweat smell from fabric. (Just don't let it sit on protein fabrics like wool or silk as the enzymes will weaken the proteins - for protein fibre clothing, spray the pits and throw into the wash immediately. On cotton, linen, or synthetics, you can spray this stuff and safely let it sit in the hamper for weeks). It is MAGICAL for removing smells and stains.
posted by nouvelle-personne at 7:14 AM on June 5

Best answer: Seconding wool T shirts. I have purchased four from Unbound Merino online... they're about $80 a piece if you buy 2, but entirely worth the money. Very quick drying, does not hold smell at all, which has always been a problem for me.

I can get 3-4 wears out of them without washing, and I tend to be a sweaty guy. I hang them to dry, but I have accidentally dried them on low/medium a couple times and shrinkage was extremely minimal, if any. Many brands of these merino t shirts are available now, but I like Unbound because they offer a V-neck option.
posted by SoberHighland at 7:57 AM on June 5

Patagonia makes a terrific crisp looking white t-shirt out of a proprietary fabric called Capilene (I think it’s a type of polyester). I have a woman’s version and it’s great for hiking but looks like a business casual knit t-shirt.
posted by forkisbetter at 10:35 AM on June 5

I think the recommendation for wear is either modal (made from beechwood cellulose), or merino wool, for sweating, unless you just need moisture wicking, in which case, it's polyester with spandex.

I used to wear only merino wool socks when I was doing delivery jobs. It did keep my feet dry and unstinky between daily showers. Didn't try the shirts though. But I've seen a couple of those world travel with only one-bag kinda folks swear by them.
posted by kschang at 11:27 AM on June 5

Best answer: OP, you may want to check the various "backpacker" type forums for more ideas. I just browsed a couple and the consensus seems to be that silk doesn't wick moisture much and costs an arm and a leg

Many of the artificial fibers, such as Capilene (which is up to Capilene V4) has an odor retention problem. Marmot may have something that's silver infused, but the article I read is over a decade old.

If you want something that protects against odor and is economical you're probably looking at merino wool or wool-blend with another fabric that's resistant to odors.

Someone pointed out Icebreaker brand which uses merino wool blended with their proprietary "cool-lite" fabric (which is derived from eucalyptus tree fibers). It is quite expensive, at least by my standards. Given they're around for 10+ years, I guess they're doing a pretty good job.
posted by kschang at 11:40 AM on June 5

Best answer: I think of silk as being relatively warm and insulating for its weight rather than moisture wicking for humid environments.

I will say that lightweight wool t-shirts have completely ruined cotton and polyester blend t-shirts for me for warm weather. I generally like Outlier stuff a lot, but their wool stuff is rather expensive. Icebreaker stuff fits me weirdly.

I really like Woolly, especially their "everyday" t-shirts and socks. I have one "merinoaire" shirt, which is supposed to be especially suited for warm weather/sweat, but I haven't noticed much of a difference.
posted by sportbucket at 1:26 PM on June 5

Response by poster: Marked a few as best answer but all had really useful info, thanks folks, going to try some of these! Wool is so counterintuitive for me I hadn't thought of it, great help.
posted by Rufous-headed Towhee heehee at 4:24 PM on June 5

Wool is highly absorbent of water, so it wicks moisture away from skin. Lanolin is also a bacteria inhibitor, which controls odor. And natural wool would have lanolin. Together you have fabric that can be worn multiple times before being laundered. I've seen backpackers with these merino wool blend shirts, they apparently only carry 2-4 sets TOTAL for months long trips. They basically hang a clothesline in the bathroom, and wash/hang dry the set worn during the day, and never have a problem running out of clothes.
posted by kschang at 6:07 PM on June 9