Battle of the Basics: The White T-Shirt
I spent over $600 on white tees to put them to the test 🧐
I’m a guinea pig.
I decided to put 14 different white t-shirts to the test ranging from $19.90 to $105, to see which are actually worth buying as the warmer months descend on us. There’s nothing worst than a sad little white t-shirt that disappointed you…rolled up in the corner of your wardrobe, used only when every other better option is due for a wash.
The Starter 🍤
Not all white t-shirts are made the same - they can vary massively from sheer to opaque, soft to stiff, stark white to a creamy off-white, cut on the longer side to baby tee, the list goes on. I decided to buy from some usual suspects, as well as some I see mentioned often when people talk about their “perfect white tee”.
I’ve also created a google sheet with all of the info in one place, including size range, price, links etc. for those of you who respond well to cells and tables.
Disclaimer no 1: there are some tees I wanted to include but were sadly sold out, hence there’s no Uniqlo on this list.
Disclaimer no 2: this is not going to be an apples-to-apples comparison. We would have versions upon versions of this post if I really wanted to be scientifically accurate with this but alas, this is what I’ve come up with. I never claimed to be an expert, I just volunteered as guinea pig.
In an ideal world I would have worn and washed these numerous times to test the durability, but at the very least all of these are mostly or 100% cotton (generally, holds up after washes). Either way, I hope this is helpful!
Note: I wore a taupe bra underneath these tees.
The Main Course 🍔
The sizing on this tee definitely leans towards the smaller side, and both Intimissimi tees on this list are cut longer. This would be great if you have a longer torso/want to avoid a baby tee, or want a good layerer (especially since this is pretty sheer) .
Obviously more of a “true” t-shirt cut - not too boxy, not too form-fitting but this one was also very sheer.
She’s THICK. I was impressed with both COS t-shirts at first feel - they feel luxurious and have a bit of weight to them, helping them fall perfectly. Colour-wise, this white leans a touch more toward off-white, which I honestly wouldn’t have noticed if I didn’t have it next to all the other t-shirts.
This is the boxiest of all tees on this list, complete with drop shoulder. Same great weight as it’s relative above, just comes down to style/fit preference.
This one disappointed me the most, because for $75 I didn’t expect this to be the most sheer of our selection (you can literally see the label on my right hip).
Unbeknownst to me I accidentally ordered this in “new off-white”, so she’s a bit creamier than I’d like, but there is a “fresh white” option. The feel of this tee feels almost brushed (this is my fave of the GAP tees).
This tee isn’t fully-fledged ribbed but it definitely has some of that texture, the sleeves are cut longer to hit closer to the elbow. This feels like the stretchiest t-shirt in this line up. I’d love to know why this is called “modern” because it feels a bit vintage to me to be honest.
It’s ok, does the job, is pretty soft.
Not a fan of this at all. I love a ribbed t-shirt, but this one fell flat - again, far too sheer for something to be described as “luxe”.
With over 1 million of these sold, she’s probably the most popular on this list, and has that classic cut. Colour leans on the creamier side.
I hear about this t-shirt all the time, so I felt compelled to include it. This will probably be cut too short for some, as we’re veering on baby tee territory, but I love exactly where this falls on me. One of the few that aren’t sheer 🥳
She was already in my wardrobe but since she’s still being sold, I threw her in the ring. Now that I have her next to all the other white t-shirts, again she’s leaning slightly more vanilla than coconut (in colour), but it’s not that noticeable unless you intend to wear with another white item. This tee does have a thinner collar though, if that’s something you think about.
This is the cheapest on our list and I find her better than some of the earlier t-shirts on this list. On the shorter side/could be a baby tee.
The most expensive suspect on this list, but she comes with some added finishing touches - the trims on the arms feel a touch more…elevated? This also has that slight ribbed texture.
My Top 3 Picks would be the COS Oversized Boxy, Banana Republic Refined Tee, and the Leset Margo - they all feel substantial, aren’t sheer and I like how they all fall/fit on me.
The Dessert… 🧁
What I’ve been…
Listening to: The Brendawareness podcast
Reading: I finally finished Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros - the middle was a little bit of a slog for me, but the beginning and end made up for it. I’m taking a break before starting the third book. I just started reading The Wedding People by Alison Espach, which is my book club’s April pick (because two of us in the club are getting married soon, how cute!).
Watching: The Studio on Apple TV - it’s brilliant and so chaotically filmed, that it feels exactly like how Hollywood studios must operate.
Buying: I indulged in the Sephora sale, this is everything I bought.
Doing: This week has shockingly been jam-packed, so much so that I filmed a YouTube vlog coming on Monday, so you have that to look forward to, but here are the highlights:
Booked myself into The Fifth Avenue Hotel for a staycation. What a fabulous hotel, everything was perfect, but if I did have to choose an area for improvement…the room service breakfast could have been a smidge better.
Turn down service came with a BEDTIME STORY 😭💖 Attended the FIT Annual Gala (thank you Danny for inviting me) and stole a tiny glass mug.
Went to LYST’s fashion intelligence forum, which was brilliant and where everyone was lovely and very smart.
Saw all the new sunglasses launches by EssilorLuxottica and added a couple to my never-ending wishlist.
Went to the Magda Butrym X H&M launch party. Everyone was dressed in their finest Madga and/or feminine pretty pieces, except for me and the photographers employed for the event. Just when I was about to leave I bumped into Tamara, a familiar face, and it was nice to have a good catch up. I still don’t know what the collection looks like, because it wasn’t displayed so your guess is as good as mine.
I hope you enjoyed this one, feel free to let me know what you thought in the comments!
Love,
Ca$$ie
I loved the round up on white t-shirts! I wonder if you've checked out t-shirts from Toteme or from ATM? Would love to hear your thoughts on those! Loving your Substacks! ❤️
Possibly one of the most useful white tee posts I’ve seen !