If there’s any item of clothing that virtually everyone has, it’s a T-shirt. Young or old, male or female, everyone has at least a dozen T-shirts in their closets. This is hardly surprising, since the T-shirt is the veritable archetype of comfortable clothing that anyone can wear at any time. Depending on the fabric or quality and design of the T-shirt, you can wear them at work, when out shopping, or when you just feel like walking the dog around the neighbourhood.
But have you ever wondered if you are buying the right T-shirts for your needs? Needless to say, there are a host of different styles when it comes to T-shirts, from your ordinary crew neck to tank top tees. So the next time you’re out to buy one, it pays to take note of the differences.
How a T-shirt should fit
Most of us choose a T-shirt haphazardly. As long as our arms fit into the sleeves, we’re good, right? Well, not really. With a T-shirt, you wouldn’t want to look like you strayed into the kids’ section by mistake, but you wouldn’t want to look like you’re wearing a tent, either. In choosing a T-shirt, make sure that the seams which attach the sleeves to the shirt should line up right above your shoulder’s edge. Aside from this, you can check if a T-shirt is too large by trying to lift up the shirt from the shoulders. If it lifts up easily, then it’s too large. Make sure the holes and sleeves of the shirt are snugly fitting your arms. However, this may not work for T-shirts with a stretchy fabric, or if you are buying a form-fitting tee, which is designed to hug your torso and emphasize your body.
The different kinds of T-shirts
As previously mentioned, there are different kinds of T-shirts for you to choose from. There’s the typical T-shirt with short sleeves, which most everybody has, as you can see worn by the man in this blog, but there are also long-sleeved T-shirts which are commonly used during cooler weather or worn under another T-shirt which has short sleeves. There is also the so-called muscle shirt, which is basically made from a synthetic, stretchy, and lightweight material. The muscle shirt can also have a sleeveless design, or come as a tank top. Shapewear tees, on the other hand, are specifically made to be undergarmentsworn beneath a long-sleeved polo shirt, for instance. They usually have a durable, stretchy fit that moulds to the shape of the torso.
The different fabrics for T-shirts
T-shirts come in a wide range of fabrics, which include cotton blends and polyester and polyester mesh, but 100% cotton remains the most popular. This is for the simple reason that pure cotton is very comfortable, soft, and naturally absorbent. But pure cotton also has the tendency to wrinkle easily and shrink in the washer. Polyester comes as a second choice because it is also comfortable, lightweight, and breathable, has a sheen to it, and doesn’t shrink or wrinkle. You will most commonly see polyester T-shirts worn during sporting events. A cotton blend such as cotton and spandex is also a good bet, because it is natural and comfortable as well as not prone to wrinkling or shrinkage.