Asket
Asket believe in “the pursuit of less”. The Stockholm-based brand shuns fast fashion and instead creates high-quality, essential pieces that are destined to become the building blocks of your everyday wardrobe. Asket’s tees are the epitome of this ethos: cut and sewn in Portugal and Tunisia from custom developed long- and extra-long staple Egyptian cotton fabrics, they look, feel and fit perfectly.
Everlane
Wouldn’t it be great if you knew exactly how much it cost to make the garment you were considering buying? Well, with Everlane you do. The brand lists every cost – from marketing to shipping to raw materials – on their product pages, so you can weigh up whether their garments are worth it. Let us save you the effort: they are. Available in multiple colourways and a variety of high-quality fabrics – including organic, heavyweight 6oz and lightweight slub cotton – Everlane’s T-shirts offer superb value for money.
Percival
Few items of clothing are as easy to throw on as the T-shirt. The long-time wardrobe essential can be worn year round either as an undershirt in winter, a mid layer in fall or as the finishing piece during the warmer months.
For the latter, a subtle logoed tee is the ideal way of injecting some colour and interest into an otherwise simple outfit, which is where Percival comes in. The London brand’s vast collection of embroidered designs – from movie scenes to house plants – keep us returning season after season.
A.P.C.
Most wardrobes could stand to benefit from a little Parisian cool, and there are few label’s better equipped to supply it than Jean Touitou’s ultra-clean A.P.C.
The French ready-to-wear brand is known the world over for its trademark simple styling and premium essentials. Naturally, plain T-shirts are a big part of this, with an ever-evolving roster of tasteful options present season after season.
A Day’s March
You’ll only ever find A Day’s March T-shirts in their own stores or on their website. By skipping wholesale, it allows the brand to own the entire supply chain and provide consumers with a higher quality product for less.
Their tees are particularly great value: coming in weighty 160g or 250g cotton as well as garment-dyed Tencel, the fit and feel screams luxury, even if the price tag says different.
Arket
Swedish minimalist essentials brand Arket is a relative newcomer to the high street. Yet what it lacks in history, it more than compensates for aesthetically.
Part of the H&M family, Arket’s selection of wares is far more tightly curated than that of its parent company, with a selection of clean, pared-back staples forming the foundation of its seasonal collections. T-shirts here are categorised according to weight, so if you’re a bit like Goldilocks with that sort of thing, this is the right shop for you.
James Perse
When it comes to simple, stylish staples James Perse is one of the best in the business. The L.A.-based brand creates luxurious casualwear that is designed to be lived in, with washed-out colours and combed cotton construction adding to the relaxed, West Coast feel. The label’s eponymous founder started out with a line of T-shirts back in 1994 and has spent the past 20+ years perfecting his range.
Sunspel
A good mantra to live by when stocking a wardrobe is, “simple things done well”. Luckily enough, that’s British brand Sunspel’s USP and has been for many years.
Any style-savvy individual will tell you that Sunspel’s unassuming T-shirts are the best around. These are garments crafted from the finest materials with acute attention to detail and a level of quality that speaks for itself. No need for brash branding or tacky logos.
Armor Lux
With a history spanning the best part of the last 100 years, Armor Lux has had more time than most to master the perfect T-shirt.
The French label is primarily known for its striped Breton tops, but well-cut, plain tees also feature heavily on the menu. Expect low-key branding, masterful attention to detail and plenty of je ne sais quoi.
Hanro
Good dressing begins with the bottom layer. This is the ethos which forms the very foundation of everything Swiss label Hanro does.
Hanro has been crafting high-end undergarments for almost 150 years. As luck would have it, that includes T-shirts, too. Expect premium materials, flawless construction and a glove-like fit you’ll struggle to find anywhere else. Arguably the ultimate base layer for all your day-to-day looks.