Why do my t-shirts feel so cheap and easily wrinkly?

June 27, 2024 7:46 PM

I purchased some shirts I thought were of good quality, but they're actually not. They get wrinkled super easily, which is embarrassing, and they feel a bit "fuzzy".

I also tried getting a similar shirt from Amazon, but it ended up being super wrinkled kind of right outside the box.

The material on the new Target shirts also feel "fuzzy", as in, not starched or "tight", if that makes sense. They absorb water too well, and don't repel water, so it's annoying when it's raining. I can imagine after a while, those shirts will become sheer as the fabric wears away, and won't look good. The collar on the V also sometimes becomes turned over, which is embarrassing—not sure if I described it right, but it just does not feel tight. The fit itself is fine, it's just the material—I think. The photos on the Target website linked above make the shirts look tight and in good quality, but they're meh.

Am I doing something wrong here, and why are those shirts not optimal? Where can I find similar men's t-shirts, V-sleeved, but that are of actual good quality, "tight" without being too tight, and that repels water? I purchased t-shirts from Target in the distant past and remember those being good quality, but they got wore out over time. I want to look well-presented in t-shirts that are crisp.

Are those shirts that way because it's cheap, or is there something I'm missing? Recommendations would be wonderful.

posted by dubious_dude to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (20 answers total)

The shirts are $8, which includes the materials, the labour for designing the item, cutting the fabric and sewing it together, shipping and logistics, retail expenses, marketing and markup. This means the company that's making them is going to cut every possible corner.

The fabric is marked as a "cotton blend", which probably means cotton-polyester. Some cotton-poly blends are really nice, but if you're cutting corners you'll make the fabric as flimsy as possible, and probably use more polyester than cotton. Polyester is plastic, so it doesn't (IMO) feel as nice to wear as cotton.

Since the company making the shirt will want to use as much of the fabric as possible, they'll also cut the t-shirt off-grain so they can fit more pattern pieces on the fabric, which results in a t-shirt that can twist and just doesn't look right.

The collar on the V also sometimes becomes turned over, which is embarrassing—not sure if I described it right, but it just does not feel tight.

It takes a bit of time and effort to make a collar that fits well and doesn't flip. This is another corner that was cut -- much faster to slap on a piece of fabric that's a bit too long, and not prepared in the right way.

Paying more for a t-shirt isn't a guarantee that it'll be nice quality, but you're much more likely to get something you'll be happy with if you can budget a little bit more per item, or look to second-hand.
posted by third word on a random page at 8:00 PM on June 27 [21 favorites]

you might find the travels of a T-shirt in the global economy: an economist examines the markets, power, and politics of world trade edifying
posted by HearHere at 8:09 PM on June 27 [3 favorites]

I have found that I can still get decent-quality t-shirts in good condition from the thrift shop, but it takes a lot more hunting than it did 10 years ago.

I suspect/hope you can still get decent shirts from places like Eddie Bauer, but I haven't shopped there for ages, so someone else will need to vouch for them or a similar retailer.
posted by maudlin at 8:12 PM on June 27

Uh... T-shirt is supposed to be worn against the skin. It's NOT supposed to repel water. Why do you need yours to repel water? It'd not absorb any sweat and make you miserable on hot days.
posted by kschang at 8:43 PM on June 27 [11 favorites]

I agree that these are simply lower quality tshirts.

My husband likes the tshirts from wohven.
posted by samthemander at 8:52 PM on June 27 [1 favorite]

I've worn t shirts more than any other kind of shirt. I can't say being water repellent in any way is a quality I've ever associated with them.

Quality varies quite a bit. Even in the same brand batch to batch. It can be really difficult to suss out how much they'll satisfy my personal tastes because they not only vary, the variations are very rarely advertised by vendors. If they even know themselves.

I don't know what your definitions and needs are, but I tend to find cotton/poly blends less to my liking, and feel more "cheap". I put that in quotes, because it's difficult to say this kind of material is objectively bad. It can feel softer. It's just that I don't care for the way it feels or hangs, and much prefer heavy 100% cotton.
posted by 2N2222 at 9:20 PM on June 27

If you're looking for a decent t-shirt in the same price ballpark, take a look at Bella+Canvas tshirts. They're widely used for print-on-demand and company-logo tshirts, and they're some of my favourite t-shirts. I'm in canada so my sources wont help you, but i can typically get them for about $10 each from "blank clothing" type retailers. Amazon can be hit or miss, but this listing looks similar to what you've just purchased. Note some folks say the B+C quality's gone downhill in recent years, but i can't really comment on that because most of mine are several years old - although i have an order in the mail so i'll hopefully know more in a couple weeks.
posted by cgg at 9:26 PM on June 27 [2 favorites]

Response by poster: It's NOT supposed to repel water. Why do you need yours to repel water?

I guess I explained it the wrong way—I noticed some shirts are good at "hiding" water/sweat—no marks or spots where waters, while some will show water marks/smears quickly.

take a look at Bella+Canvas tshirts

Sounds good, I'll try that...worst comes to worst, Amazon has a 30-day return policy.

What I want is to wear a t-shirt that looks crisp, sharp, "heavy"/fit, not wrinkly or soft or sheer, and the top collar to be looking great and not easily flipped over. I've seen many male friends who wear t-shirts that fit and look well, but in pictures, the shirts I'm wearing from Target/Amazon are always looking somewhat wrinkled/bunched up even though I make an effort to not let that happen. 100% cotton sounds like a good idea.

IDK what a good price is—$25-30 seems a bit steep for one t-shirt. Perhaps $15? I remember getting the good t-shirts from Target 8-10 years ago for $10ish apiece and they were pretty good quality, but then again, inflation is a beast.
posted by dubious_dude at 10:05 PM on June 27

"tight" without being too tight

It's hard to say without knowing what "tight" means to you but you might want fabric with some(higher) percentage of spandex, acrylic, nylon, etc. in the blend. You can take a look at shirts you currently have that you like and see what the tag says about the fabric.

That said, there can still be a lot of variation even in fabrics with the same listed composition. For example, how cotton behaves has a lot to do with quality factors like how long the fibers are and what processes were used to treat it.

Ultimately it's hard to tell if a fabric is going to crease/pill/etc without at least handling it first (and sometimes even then). So if you've just been buying online, expect it to be a crapshoot and don't remove tags or stickers, wear the items for more than a few minutes, or wash them until you get a sense of whether they're going to be okay or should be returned.

It's not always easy to know if Amazon stuff is genuine.

I'd call the v-neck a neckline or binding, not a collar (maybe relevant for review search purposes).

I've seen many male friends who wear t-shirts that fit and look well

Ask them where they get them!
posted by trig at 10:13 PM on June 27 [3 favorites]

Specifications say that shirt is 40% recycled polyester. While opinions on polyester varies and it can be made into some legitimately excellent fabrics, I would lean heavily away from it for quality tshirts. Aim for much more cotton in the blend, and depending on your preferences for texture, price point, drape, etc, you could go for a blend that has linen, or lyocell, or stick with 100% cotton. Uniqlo does a supima cotton tshirt you might like.
posted by Mizu at 10:22 PM on June 27 [3 favorites]

(By the way what I said about spandex etc. doesn't imply you'd get good quality - sometimes the opposite - just that it might give you the type of tightness you're looking for, especially if you're expecting stretchiness.)
posted by trig at 10:22 PM on June 27

"a t-shirt that looks crisp, sharp, "heavy"/fit, not wrinkly or soft or sheer, and the top collar to be looking great and not easily flipped over". If it's within your budget then I would save up and look at Sunspel's "heavyweight" t-shirts and also Norse Projects' t-shirts "niels" or "johannes".
posted by alchemist at 10:35 PM on June 27 [1 favorite]

Jcrew vintage wash cotton is the best I’ve found.

Good fit, broken-in feel, premium weight, and durable.

I get them when they run sales.
posted by artdrectr at 12:00 AM on June 28

Try Everlane or Uniqlo. Both have stores in your general area.

Ask your friends where they got their shirts!

Have you tried a) ironing your shirts or b) not putting your shirts in the dryer?

Many retailers are having July 4th sales around this time.

I do think you may have to recalibrate your expectations. In order to keep a similar price point of decades past, many manufacturers / retailers decided to lower the quality instead of raising the price. It’s probably worth trying Gildan/ Hanes brands though.
posted by oceano at 12:47 AM on June 28 [7 favorites]

I like T-shirts sold as men's v-necks too, and honestly you'd have such an easier time of this at a higher budget per shirt if possible. Please do ask your friends, because if theirs are ~$15 I'd like to know too. My favorites are from Bombas and ~$25/ea in a good sale, $40 for just one at regular price.
posted by teremala at 2:34 AM on June 28 [2 favorites]

I was going to recommend Canvas as well. I’ve gotten a few as gifts (with printing) and have been pleasantly surprised by how luxurious they feel—thick but not heavy, soft, wrinkle-resistant. These have been washed a handful of times without degrading, but I can’t speak to their long term durability. They sure feel like a better-quality T-shirt. These were recent purchases, so it seems like the ones on the market now are still decent.
posted by BrashTech at 4:42 AM on June 28

I order (womens) T-Shirts from Lands End and am very satisfied. Yes, they are expensive but i find i own them longer and they wash better than cheaper ones. So i need less shirts. However, i do not own a dryer so i cannot comment in how they feel if you put them into the dryer.
Also, Lands End often has discounts.
posted by 15L06 at 5:38 AM on June 28

The men's 100% cotton t-shirts from Duluth Trading Company are nice and heavy and well-made. The current sale is pretty good, too. Just make sure you pick the fit that makes sense for you - that link is for the relaxed fit, but they also have a standard and a slim, and they have two different lengths. (I love the Longtail length, I hate shirts that ride up, but ymmv.)
posted by restless_nomad at 6:39 AM on June 28 [2 favorites]

You can go either "100% cotton". Cheapest source, if you don't mind odd prints, is 6dollarshirts. Sometimes they have random bundles that bring the price down even further.

If you don't want yours too wrinkly, a little bit of spandex may help, usually marketed as "stretch-able".

Another possibility is go "moisture wicking"... They get the moisture away from your skin and may help dry quickly so you don't see stains and whatnot. Those would tend to be quite a bit of artificial fiber, often come with a fancy name like "Dri-Fit (tm)"
posted by kschang at 6:44 AM on June 28 [1 favorite]

second Duluth Trading, and the current sale puts them in the $16 range. I also appreciate the longer length.
posted by advicepig at 7:06 AM on June 28