We are living in a golden age of T-shirts.
Time to find the one that’s just right for you.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve received an email from a new brand claiming to have “perfected” the T-shirt. It’s always something like, “We tried every mainstream brand out there and just couldn’t find the fit/finish/comfort/quality we wanted, so we decided to make it ourselves!” But this is a T-shirt we’re talking about—how hard can it really be?
Here’s the good news: We are in a golden age of T-shirts, and it began in 2022 with the arrival of The Bear. As soon as Jeremy Allen White’s Carmy Berzatto started doing his troubled muscled chef thing in a white crew-neck tee by the German brand Merz b. Schwanen, the menswear world went into meltdown, reframing the very notion of a T-shirt altogether. It was no longer just a basic cotton garment; it was now a luxury item with a rich, artisanal history, something you should spend good money on.
Jeremy Allen White’s character on The Bear, Carmy Berzatto, kicked off our current golden age of T-shirts when he wore this version by Merz b. Schwanen.
How Much Should You Spend?
Let’s take Carmy’s influential tee as an example. Made in Germany, the 215 classic-fit tee by Merz b. Schwanen features a number of details that set it apart from a run-of-the-mill tee. First, the fabric is made from organic cotton woven on a century-old loopwheel machine, which creates a tube of cloth rather than a sheet. Those tubes form the body of the tee, meaning it has no side seams, which reportedly makes the tee more comfortable and better fitting.
So is it worth £80? Well, you can definitely spend more on a T-shirt: Loopwheel cotton tees by the Japanese brand Freewheelers & Co. retail for £109, and a plain cotton tee from the Row is £550. If you’re big into the Brandoesque, moody-dockworker-in-a-white-tee look, then sure, the Merz b. is a fail-safe.
- Charlie Teasdale / Esquire