Friday, March 26, 2021

A Personal Deep Dive on T-Shirts

When I was a kid, the thought of wearing a plain t-shirt—without any words or pictures—repelled me. 

It seemed so cheap. Because that's what plain shirts were at the time. Cheap, heavy, stiff, boxy shirts. The kind spread out on a table in a Walmart that come in primary colors. Red. Green. Blue. Like a Hanes Beefy T. Gross. 

But as an adult, I've come around on the plain t-shirt. Although I have plenty of shirts with logos and words, from breweries to Super Bowl champions, there's something beautifully simple about plain shirts. It doesn't feel like I'm a walking billboard. It's understated. While still casual, it seems a bit more refined than a shirt with a logo. 

Me in a plain maroon t-shirt.

Then there's the issue of fabric. At some point in my life, seemingly at an early age, it became common knowledge that 100% cotton is what you wanted in a t-shirt. This was conventional wisdom. 100% cotton was a mark of quality. 

And then something changed. Places started making and selling tri-blend shirts. Polyester, cotton, and a little bit of rayon. They're lighter, softer, and more comfortable. At this point in time, tri-blend seems to be the premium, mark of quality standard, and 100% cotton seems to be the basic choice. There's also an entire range of 100% cotton shirts, some that are super soft, some that are as boxy and stiff as it ever was.  In a world where online shopping is king, going with 100% cotton seems like a risky choice—getting a soft shirt would appear to be an exercise in trial and error. Although I did find a great one below.

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All of this leads me to a point in time where I'm refreshing my wardrobe. Partly because I've lost some weight, and partly because I'm jazzed about tri-blend shirts. It's an exciting life I lead, I know. 

I found an absolutely wonderful place online that sells a ton of shirts, but particularly they sell a huge varieties of tri-blend t-shirts. It''s called Jiffy Shirts. And if you don't mind wearing plain shirts without designs, then you can get high-quality shirts at super low prices. For many shirts they have a ton of color options and fast shipping (free when you spend $59). I ordered 8 shirts for a subtotal of $64 to get the free shipping, plus to try a bunch of companies and styles. 


Here were my favorites:

Bella + Canvas Unisex Tri-Blend Shirt

(crew neck) 

(v-neck)

(baseball 3/4 sleeve)

Next Level Men's Triblend 

(v-neck)  

(crew neck)

(baseball 3/4 sleeve)

Both of these brands are pretty much the same and just how I like them: soft, smooth, and lightweight.

And based on reviews, I did try this 100% cotton shirt and it was wonderfully soft as well. 

Alternative Go-To T-Shirt

(crew neck)

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