Blue jeans should be a staple in any man’s wardrobe and nothing goes better with blue jeans than a crisp white T-shirt.
There are some things in life that just work together in perfect harmony. Laurel and Hardy, peanut butter and jelly, Netflix And Chill. Wine and cheese. Another such pairing is blue jeans and a white T-shirt. It just works. There is no way to argue. Just look at James Dean, Marlon Brando, Steve McQueen or Paul Newman. All style icons and all seen at one time or another sporting this combo.
It just works
I can’t really say why it works. It was working for those guys before they made it an iconic look and it will work for you too. So without further ado, let’s look at 5 crisp, clean white T-shirts that will be guaranteed to go with any selvedge denim!
Merz B. Schwanen 1950’s Crew Neck T-shirt
We’re gonna start with Merz B. Schwanen 1950’s Crew Neck T-shirt Let’s show my adopted homeland a little love. They are made in Germany and it’s actually a pretty interesting story.
The founders of Merz B. Gitta & Peter found a vintage henley on a flea market here in Berlin. Both Gitta & Peter are fashion designers and the detailing in the piece they found fascinated them. They embarked on a research mission which led them to Albstadt in the south of Germany.
After asking around for a while about the shirt they met a guy who was like, oh yeah. Do you want to see where this was made? They were taken into the exact factory and all the machines for making these amazing shirts were still right there.
What followed was a year of tinkering with the machines to get them going again. A lot of hard graft taking mixing the best of the old and the new and then in 2011, Merz B. Schwanen was born. Or should I say reborn? The name is actually the original name from the brand founded by the Merz family over 100 years ago.
Details:
- Single thread 100% all organic cotton
- Loopwheeled, no side seams
- Easygoing, comfortable cut
- Round neckline
- Ribware cuff on the neckline
- Eco-friendly: no industrial pre-wash
- Triangular patch underarm for comfort and mobility
- Cut with an extra 3/4″ in length to account for shrinkage.
Available over on Franklin and Poe for $ 60.00
Reigning Champ – Short Sleeve Tee – White
Reigning Champ T in White is like the core of the Reigning Champ core collection. It’s a simple piece, executed perfectly by the Vancouver based brand. It is also made up there in Canada like all their products. Incidentally, Reigning Champ is part of the same company as Wing + Horns.
Details:
- Modern Fit
- Ringspun Jersey
- 100% Cotton
- Extra Long Staple Pima Cotton
- Flat-locked seams
- A bound ribbed Crewneck collar
- Bartack Reinforcements
- Made in Canada
Available over on Division Road for $55.00.
Velva Sheen Two Pack Pocket T.
Velva sheen was the brand that Muhammad Ali wore. If it is good enough for The Champ as he trained his way to greatness, then it is good enough for us as we slob on the couch.
This is also good because it is a twofer, you get two Ts in the pack.
Details
- 90% Cotton and 10% Polyester.
- U.S. Slub Cotton Fabric.
- Vintage tagging.
- Two per pack.
- Tube woven. No side seams.
- Runs Small. Recommend Sizing Up One Size.
- Made in the USA
Available at Independence Chicago for $84.00. That like 42 bucks a shirt. That is a good deal!
3sixteen Pima T-shirt – White, 2 pack, with or without pocket.
We’re going to continue this twofer thing with the 3sixteen Pima cotton T-shirts. 3sixteen made a name for themselves in menswear by making some amazing jeans. But they have taken all that know-how, all that expertise and applied it to a very well fleshed out collection of menswear. The care, quality and attention to detail you find in their jeans, you will find in this T-shirt.
You have the option to go for a pocket or not here. Personally, I would go with the pocket if there is the chance, Not that I think I ever find myself using it but I just like that little added texture to break up the front.
- 160 gsm jersey fabric custom knit in the USA
- 100% American-grown Pima cotton
- Triple-needle cover stitched collar
- 2-pack
- Made in the USA.
Available over on Franklin and Poe for $95.00. That like $ 47.50 a shirt. Also an amazing deall!
OrSlow Pocket T-Shirt
Right, we’ve had made in Europe. Made in Canada, Made in the US… let’s hop across the pacific to Japan for our last pick. The OrSlow Pocket T-Shirt in White.
OrSlow is like the antithesis of fast fashion. It is literally in the name. It’s like, hey we would do some fast fashion and then like, hmm, Or we could do it Slow.
I would say this might be the most modern one here… Just with that boxy fit it really says streetwear to me which goes with the OrSlow vibe for sure and would work pretty nicely with that trend we are seeing these days towards the 90s vibe. Or actually. If I was wearing it, I would go true to size, maybe even size down and roll up the sleeves a couple of times.
- 100% Cotton
- Ribbed Crewneck
- Patch Pocket, which out of the three picks here that have pockets has the only pocket I can see myself using. My sunnies would fit nicely in there.
- Made in Japan
Available over on Blue in Green for $ 115.00.
What do you think?
So, those are my top five. What do you think? Is there a brand out there that you feel should have been included in this list? Drop me a DM over on Instagram, and give us a follow while you’re at it ;) let me know what you have going on with your White Ts!
