Where to Buy Your Next Favorite T-Shirt

Racked is no longer publishing. Thank you to everyone who read our work over the years. The archives will remain available here; for new stories, head over to Vox.com, where our staff is covering consumer culture for The Goods by Vox. You can also see what we’re up to by signing up here.

There are few wardrobe pieces as enduring, versatile, or democratic as the T-shirt. The same humble tee can play nice with jean shorts on the weekend, slide under a sleek blazer for work, and offset a fancy skirt for an evening look. The right one — or two or three — are outfit lifesavers.

Here, we’ve gathered 11 of our editors’ go-to T-shirt brands for everything from crop tops to office-appropriate styles. We left out mass retailers like H&M and Uniqlo, instead focusing on specialty brands that nerd out on specs, designer diffusions that make extra-special tees worth the cost, and a few inexpensive stock-up options. Our picks range in price, fabric, and style for a variety to fit all body types and stuff all dresser drawers.

Alternative Apparel

This is a great place to look if you’re picky about the combination of your tee’s neckline, sheerness, and fit. Alternative Apparel makes crewnecks, U-necks, V-necks, burnouts, solid colors, prints, oversize — you name it and it probably comes in eight color options. Sustainable fabrics are used in the majority of products, too, along with non-toxic dyes and other planet-friendly measures.

---

Back Beat Rags

This 100 percent made-in-LA brand makes some of the absolute softest T-shirts we’ve ever felt — and they’re made of hemp! Most shirts are under $50 (and there are several under $40) and come in a relaxed, boxy, laid-back cut. The brand’s graphic tee options are also extremely solid if you want something beyond a solid color.

---

Brandy Melville

This savvy Italian brand aims for Instagram-obsessed teens with its inexpensive, trend-driven styles. The tees — which come in just one size — are adaptable enough to suit grownups, too, erring on the casual side with plenty of crop tops and semi-sheer fabric. Most everything is priced around $20.

---

Everlane

The OG of the direct-to-consumer wave, Everlane discloses the real costs of manufacturing each product — broken down by actual materials, labor, and transport costs — on the website. The tees themselves are laid-back but stylish, the kind of thing that works with sleek trousers during the week and jeans on the weekend. And the prices are great: Most T-shirts, from a scoop neck micro-rib to a boxy pocket tee, ring in under $30, and many are under $20; the brand’s new $15 tee will definitely see use in any wardrobe.

---

James Perse

Nothing says “relaxed rich person” like a T-shirt from LA’s James Perse. The shirts have a magical, universally flattering combination of neckline, drape, and hue that make the admittedly high price tag worth it. Tank tops and short-sleeved and long-sleeved shirts are in supply year-round in basic black and white, as well as soft seasonal colors.

---

Lacausa

Another LA-based brand, Lacausa makes the kind of flowing-but-edgy Los Angeles cool-girl clothes you want to live in: oversized sheer maxi dresses, roomy jumpsuits, and perfectly worn-in T-shirts. The label’s even based a whole collection around the latter called Uniform, which launched this past summer and features six different T-shirt styles in a whole slew of neutral colors and washes.

---

Marine Layer

This San Francisco-based company boasts an “absurdly soft” feel that comes from its own custom fabric, a blend of pima cotton and micro modal. Turn here for an array of basic cuts, from tank tops to long sleeves, in easy-to-style colors. Most pieces are around $40; save a little dough with the three-for-$100 bundles.

---

Publish Brand

Publish just expanded its casual-cool menswear line to womenswear this spring, which includes a selection of slightly sporty tees. Everything has an interesting detail — like a cut-out on a collar or an unexpected jacquard texture on a crop top — that’s still easy enough to style with jeans or joggers.

Oak

One of our favorite indie shops also serves up an excellent in-house line with especially good tees. Styles trend asymmetric; there are plenty of deep cowl-draped backs, hemlines that lurch lower on one side than the other, and slouchy, loose sleeves that slope from the shoulder. Beyond-basic T-shirt dresses are another highlight from the US-made line.

---

Richer Poorer

This “innerware” brand makes dependable and adorable socks, underwear, bralettes, and T-shirts. Styles aren’t super extensive, but they cover all the essentials: a pocket crew, a muscle tee, and a flattering scoop neck. Prices for all three hover in the low $30s.

---

T by Alexander Wang

The man that made his name dressing the off-duty model does great things for casual T-shirts. In his diffusion line — literally titled T, if you needed more reason to trust it — you’ll find perfectly cut muscle tank tops, draping short sleeves, and body-skimming long-sleeve styles. They’re definitely pricey, but it’s not hard to find the label on sale at online shops like The Outnet, Saks Off 5th, and Barneys Warehouse.