Nate Gallant: It’s finally properly cold this winter season, at least on the eastern seaboard. Perhaps because our fall was intermittently cut short by long spells of far too hot weather, I found myself struggling in the last weeks for an important but somewhat unusual wardrobe staple: the fall/winter t-shirt.
The visible plain white tee has never gone away in menswear, entirely. But as nineties revivalism continues to peak in the short spurts that trends do these days, layering has created more and more of a place for the visible t-shirt in various colors. (The TikTok girls have been going nuts for visible T under a crewneck sweater; one video suggested using tape to keep it in place. Hot tip from an anonymous FOOT, the Intimissimi one is the best.) To make the layer work for you, in my opinion, you really need a strong neckline. The shirt has to sit high enough on the shoulder to not bend and wilt, and requires a structured enough neck to form a functional horizontal line, contrasting with the verticality of your other layers.

Take one of our current cultural touchstones of the plain white tee: Jeremy Allen White. I would argue his undershirt, made famous by its star turn in The Bear on JAW’s slight, but rippled musculature, is a great example of what not to look for. That is, this shirt looks shapely because of his shape. The sharp lines and structure of the shirt are his: the shoulders and strong neckline are pulled into order by his strong shoulder line, the silhouette framed by his very pronounced frame. If you have the sculptural torso of JAW to contort any t-shirt into linearity, great. It probably does not matter what you wear. For the rest of us, for whom the cladding of clothing is about creating overlapping artificial lines and shapes, I’ve written out my recs for what is theoretically the most minimal masc top.
Layered outwear, like overshirts or chore coats, especially if bought vintage to match drapey ‘70s to ‘90s fashions, will hang loose over the torso. Under this kind of shirt, a similarly wide-fitting t-shirt with a thicker neck-line, something pronounced, will keep a consistent set of loose lines in your layering and have the added benefit of offering some shape when worn on its own. For this, I would recommend the Abercrombie t-shirts while they’re still of some quality. (I’ve noticed the revived A+F has started to go downhill already.) The Premium Heavy-weight Tee is almost perfect for layering: it will sit very high on the neckline (as long as you’re okay with that), be warm for winter layering, and provide coziness with a super-soft cotton blend. The strong neckline means that it still pops under a slightly unbuttoned collared shirt/chore coat, or stands very nicely on its own under an open cardigan or flowy blazer.
The Uniqlo AIRism oversized shirt, in comparison, is a downgrade in terms of fit. They are a little inconsistent, but much more breathable, if this is what you want in your layers. The collar is looser and the fit is less forgiving on different body shapes, but the blend is more synthetic, which likely means it will last longer and wick sweat better.
Plain white tees should be reliable and easy to access, but many brands still make slight alterations each year. Everlane used to be my go-to, but they’ve seemed to have given up on menswear, or perhaps the goal of producing millennial uniforms has gotten too… uniform. The Muji version has good structure and a solid knit, and is functional as a showy undershirt, styled under an open-buttoned or or one of the many fun but most often semi-transparent knit-tops. The Banana Republic premium tee, conveniently on sale now (along with everything else), is also quite nice and has a higher, more fitted neckline. In the classic white undershirt category, that is, not meant to make any appearance to the world and only to serve your comfort, the Uniqlo AIRism mesh-tee has a deep enough V-neck that it has never shown under any shirt I personally own.
I do enjoy the current iteration of the graphic tee’s return, which I’m hoping continues to outlast the obsession with quiet luxury through variously clean lines and brandless clothing, which always still signals brand and class through its design. But there’s no reason to buy a new graphic tee. Nor do you need to drop $300 on an OG Weezer shirt or whatever. Any authentic graphic t-shirt with a vague ‘90s cultural reference will do — like this beachy one for $30.
Kyle Chayka: I went to an incredibly austere but well-stocked clothing and lifestyle boutique in Connecticut this past weekend (more info later this week), and one of its menswear offerings was the JAW t-shirt — or one of them, the Merz B. Schwanen. Since Bear mania I’ve wanted to try them on, and this was the perfect chance. What makes them stand out is the sturdy, slightly stiff material, with a density and unity created by an old-school loopwheel machine that produces a seamless tube of fabric.
The problem was, they were out of medium and large in every color except brown, which is not an acceptable t-shirt color for my life. But it did allow me to discover that I wear a large Merz, though I usually wear medium (as in Uniqlo, my favorite boxy t-shirt fit). With apologies to this store, I’ll probably order a gray and a “nature” version straight from the brand’s site.
Best of OT Fashion:
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Fall Etsy edit: The coziest vintage sweaters and cardigans to buy online, from Missoni to Kapital.
Autumn gear: Recs for colder-weather hats, boots, socks, and jackets.
Chore coat shopping in Paris: Kyle buys a Vetra double-breasted chore coat at an historic workwear store.
The best running shoe: Buy a dozen pairs of the one shoe you love and stick with it, even though the company won’t.
A great wool shirt: The single brand of overshirt that took over the small, outdoorsy town of Victoria, British Columbia.