Who makes good quality t-shirts?

[TactileOne]

The Everlanes I got were terrible. I've had good luck with both Taylor Stitch and Gustin. I think I preffer the Gustins as they have a smaller neck hole, there must be a better word for that.

 

[NorthCoast]

Timely thread for me. I've been looking for a different shirt supplier.

I was using Gap for a bit but got fed up with them being so thin. Switched back to JCREW which has been fine. I have older BREPUBLIC shirts that are so soft but I have not bought from them for years.

The thing I like about all the above is they offer XLT.

I would really like to get some White and Black to use strictly as undershirts. I do have some tanks I use for the high armhole shirts but would like something a little different. I was really frustrated that Coopers by Jockey looks to offer a cut off tshirt undershirt that would be perfect for layering under the high armhole shirts but I can't find them anywhere. I think they only make them for the EU market.

ANyone know of cutoff sleeve undershirts? Seems to be a market for those, at least up North here. I can't fit a tshirt under a GUSTIN button down without it bunching.

 

[captainfalcon]

What exactly to you mean by cutoff undershirts? I'd think any shirt would do so long as you have a pair of scissors handy.

 

[NorthCoast]

What exactly to you mean by cutoff undershirts? I'd think any shirt would do so long as you have a pair of scissors handy.

Your right about the scissors, that would be the easiest.

I went back and looked at the picture on the coopers site and it ends up being an A shirt with thicker pieces over the shoulder.

 

[Adroit]

Freewheelers, Real McCoy and Flat Head make outstanding t-shirts. Waste Twice tees are also well constructed. Norse Projects and LVC are also solid.

 

[CPaul]

hank player makes alright shirts. made in USA too

 

[Louys]

I'll rep Taylor Stitch. They have a good fit in a soft fabric that holds its shape. I get most of my tees from them. However, they're not the place to go if you want tees with a deep neck.

Speaking of which, I'm interested in hearing where people get good deep neck tees. Is a quality tee that shows a little collar bone at around $30 too much to ask?

 

[4characters]

IHTB-01 Review:

Fabric:
First off, it’s a super beefy 10oz fabric with two-ply yarns and a snug weave. My initial thoughts are that this shirt is very bright and shiny. The sheen and use of color is so great. Taking it out of the wrapping it feels incredibly heavy, firm, rough, and hairy. At first it almost reminded me on an old hemp sweatshirt that I had, but upon a closer feel it seems to have a silky softness of super fine quality cotton despite its initial rough texture. The result is a shirt that feels and looks rugged, but is still quite comfortable (plus everything IH gets softer with wear). There is also a bit of stretch in the fabric and it seems to breathe reasonably well, though it is obviously best suited for colder weather.

Fit:
In a word: perfect. It has to be the most flattering shirt I own. In fact, everyone I’ve seen wearing one looks great in this shirt. The arms are long and fitted, the collar fits snugly around the base of the neck, the shoulders seams line up perfectly with my shoulders, the length/width of the body is spot on, and the ribbed cuffs perfectly hug my wrists with just the right amount of tension.

Construction:
As usual, there are no weak points or neglected details; IH has delivered a rock solid piece of clothing yet again. Perhaps the biggest question I had about the construction was how such a heavy piece of knitwear could be sewn together comfortably: The heavy/soft black poly stitching is wrapped around the seams on the inside making it lay relatively flat thus reducing abrasion. I do notice the seams when wearing the shirt, but they are not uncomfortable.
Another thing is all the stripes line up perfectly: the stripes from the body all line up with each other, the stripes on the sleeves all line up with each other and the stripes on the sleeves and the body all line up with each other which is seriously cool. I can’t even imagine how difficult that must have been to do from drawing up the patterns to sewing it all together because if even a single line would have been off at any point of the process it would have thrown off the construction of entire shirt. So really great job.

Overall I give the IHTB-01 a thumbs up:


Available here: http://www.ironheart.co.uk/cutnsewn/ihtb-01.html
Short sleeve version available here: http://www.ironheart.co.uk/cutnsewn/ihtb-06.html

 

[4characters]

John Smedley is a British company that has been making some of the worlds finest knitwear for over 200 years using the best quality natural fibers available. Here’s a great video about John Smedley’s manufacturing process:

Buying a John Smedley product is not just about purchasing a piece of fine knitwear, it’s an entire experience which is delightful and thoroughly engaging. For me the process went like this: visit the John Smedley website, do some research, decide I want a Sea Island cotton shirt, request a colour card, receive colour card:
I am impressed with the quality of the swatches, the vibrancy of the dyes, the softness of the cotton, the careful arrangement of the colors, and overall flawless presentation. It is quite evident that a team of very passionate artists and craftspeople work at John Smedley.
Eventually after spending a great deal of time reviewing/enjoying the colors I came to a decision and ordered a shirt.
And the shirt has arrived:

John Smedley’s Sea Island Cotton T-shirt Review:

Fabric: The shirt is a nice loose knit fabric that a nice loft to it and outstanding breathability for the summer. I would characterize the fabric as mid-weight.

– Cotton: Sea Island cotton is the #1 finest quality variety of cotton in the world. This (http://www.kaitoumen.co.jp/cont-en-02-02.html) explains the many unique qualities of sea island cotton.

Characteristics of Sea Island cotton:

– Extra long staple length
– High oil content
– Ultra fine fiber
– Natural sheen of silk
– High tensile strength
– Excellent color retention
– Hollow fiber
– Many twists in the fiber
– Great loft

Sea Island cotton is extremely rare and there are many who evoke the name without using the actual cotton. For example: clothing labeled “Sea Island Quality” is not actually Sea Island cotton, but rather is merely another lesser quality extra long staple cotton variety. *John Smedley’s cotton is authentic Sea Island Cotton.

– 2-ply: The yarns are spun from two separate strands which allows the yarn to be spun looser while maintaining strength. this adds more of a body and loft to the fabric.

– Color: There are 6 different colors of stripes, I love the stripes. The dyes are outstanding quality with unique and brilliant hues of blue and green. The fineness of the cotton fibers helps with colorfastness as well. I have already gotten some pretty enthusiastic complements in just the couple of days I’ve worn the shirt.

Construction: The shirt is knit in panels to the exact size, then expertly linked together by the skilled craftspeople at John Smedley. In addition to reducing fabric waste, this technique eliminates the need to wrap seams as there aren’t raw edges: sort of like the selvedge of knitwear.
And the stripes line up from the body to the sleeves.

Care/Washing: It is fairly common among high-end clothing to have to cold wash and hang dry or dry clean only, but one of the many advantages of Sea Island cotton is that it can be machine washed in hot water and tumbled dry warm. I personally just throw my sea island cotton shirts in with my other washing in hot water and they’ve retained the sheen, color, and softness outstandingly well.

Drawbacks/Random whining: The loose weave, though quite comfortable, seems to be more prone to catching on sharp objects such as the end of the zipper on my A2 bomber... The slightly hairy surface looks like it might starting pilling at some point. It's held up fine so far, but I'll be sure to update with how it ages.

Fit/Styling: This shirt very much reminds me of what a t-shirt would look like from the 50’s with bright colors, tons of stripes, fitted body, and loose sleeves which seem perfectly suited for summer activities.

Fit picture (size medium):

And under an A2:

Overall, this is an outstanding shirt, it’s in a totally different league from pretty much any other t-shirt. I love the playful use of color, stripes, fit, Sea Island cotton, ease of care, construction, attention to detail, and general ethos of John Smedley. And most importantly it's just a great shirt to wear and the one that I've found myself wearing the most since it arrived.

The website: http://www.johnsmedley.com/