T-shirt Tammy
On my very best collection
I love this humble garment
I collected fashion-related coffee table books throughout my teens. I had one about khakis, one about icons of the 20th century, one about the best makeup looks from Vogue magazines past. But my favorite was the one about white tees. More than any of the others, I regularly picked up that giant book of portraits of beautiful people in white t-shirts and sighed over their simple, perfect looks. What is it about a white tee? Find the right shape and style and you’ve never looked better. Find one that’s slightly ill-fitting, though, and you look like a misshapen egg. It’s a high-stakes gamble.
I spent years searching for the perfect plain white tee because of that book. And to be honest with you I’ve never found it — I’m still looking. Oh sure I’ve had white tees that were passable. But that modelesque, loose-but-fitted tee with the perfect, effortless drape? She’s illusive. (Though I’ve been told by more than one Hollywood stylist that the secret is tailoring. Yes tailoring your t-shirts.)
Anyway, that search helped me discover the wider world of t-shirts generally. After my extremely glam goth high-school years I wasn’t really acquainted with the basic tee but my coffee table book inspired me. My hundreds of hours spent in thrift stores et al. helped me learn what makes a good tee for me (loose, drapey fabric that still has some heft) and to amass quite the collection of printed tees. Which I want to share with you today because I’m a t-shirt evangelist and a collection enthusiast. (And also because one of the features I love in the book “Women in Clothes,” the namesake of this newsletter, is the collections — they’re scattered throughout the book and showcase the many items on a theme owned by a single person.)
I think the first t-shirt I ever really loved was this fake Chanel one (pictured below at a rehearsal). I’m actually wearing it right now as I type.
My friend Adam gave it to me in high school. He’s always been among the most stylish men I know, so when he did a closet cleanout back then I raised my hand to receive his blessings. He picked out three tees for me — this Chanel one, a gray one with a Corvette on the chest, and a beige one that’s now so threadbare I’ve had to retire it. I loved them 20 (!) years ago, and still do. They were perfectly soft, perfectly worn, perfectly shaped. And they were carefully selected by my dear friend. I think that might be my favorite thing about t-shirts — they’re easy to gift and can hold a lot of meaning, and when they’re the right tee, they can become a beloved friend for decades.
If I could choose only one type of clothing to wear forever, t-shirts would be it. The right t-shirt can do so much for me: it can make me dance better; it can speak for me; it can communicate with others who might want to be friends; it can be my armor against attention I don’t want; it can call for attention I do. I love this about this humble garment.
^^Video proof that the right t-shirt can make me look cooler when I’m dancing.
My very stylish 20-something coworker has a favorite t-shirt she wears sometimes — it’s black with a pop-art motif of the Geico gecko across the chest. Worn with her signature silver necklace, this insurance-brand t-shirt is somehow incredibly hip; it’s also a childhood gift from her mom who knew she loved that gecko. For me, this captures t-shirt culture perfectly — it’s souvenirs, and identity, and projection all in one.
A few of my favorite things
In these photos I’m wearing high-waisted cargo pants, denim shorty shorts, exercise shorts, and a pencil skirt. Which is to say, t-shirts can do it all, people! They make me feel good, and I think I want more of them in my dresser drawers to reflect the changing season of my life. Ditto with the winter version of t-shirts — sweatshirts.
(A side note about mirror selfies: I’ve found they’re a great tool for remembering outfits I’ve worn and liked. I have a terrible memory and often forget my best looks so I try to take photos and save them in a folder on my phone for days when I just don’t have a single brain cell left to make an outfit.)
One final note to say I come by both t-shirts and collections honestly. My dad, pictured below, has a t-shirt collection that’s probably quadruple the size of mine, along with mountains of band shirts and sports memorabilia and a vintage Hawaiian shirt collection.
Tell me about your collections in the comments, please!