Here at The Home T, we’re big fans of the t-shirt. Obviously.
Granted, we think that our insanely soft t-shirt is one of the best that you can find today.
But what makes a t-shirt amazing? What should you look for? How should it feel? With so many questions, we’ve decided to touch on five very important points for you.
Feel
If you’ve never experienced an amazing t-shirt such as The Home T, it’s likely that you may think that a quality t-shirt is think and feels a bit like canvas. That couldn’t be further from the truth.
It’s a-typical that low-end t-shirts are rough to the touch and feel “thick.” One might think that a thick t-shirt is durable, but again, that’s not necessarily true. The fabric blend is very important, and by design, t-shirts that feel thick are made with lower quality cotton/cotton blends, and are normally sold at a lower price-point, and there’s a clear reason why.
Not to mention, in many occasions, they are made in factories overseas where an emphasis is not on quality.
Have you ever used an amazing towel that feels good against your skin? And have you ever used a cheap towel that feels like sandpaper? You know exactly what I’m talking about. That same dramatic difference is found in t-shirts. You want the shirt to feel amazing against your skin. It’s really that simple.
Width
Oh boy. This is a big one.
Don’t you hate when you wake up and find that you’re having a “skinny day,” only to have that feeling sucked out of you, literally, when you put on a t-shirt that seems to make every little bit body fat body love stand out? Of course you hate it.
Why are you allowing a t-shirt to bum you out like that?
When buying a t-shirt, with exception to an undershirt for guys, you want to make sure the overall width isn’t sucking the life out of you. Slim fit shirts may work for a small percentage of the population, but for the rest of us, slim fit t-shirts are an absolute drag.
And no, not wearing a slim fit doesn’t mean you are over weight. That couldn’t be further from the truth.
If the t-shirt is tight – width wise – when you first put it on, it’s not going to get better. The ole “stretch it test” doesn’t work either. As soon as that sucker hits the dryer you’re going to regret ever buying it.
Make sure the width is comfortable to you or you’re going to hate the shirt. I’ve done it. You’ve done it. We’ve all made this mistake.
Length
Did you ever dream of being a belly dancer as a child?
If not, this section is very important for you. Why? Because if you don’t buy a quality t-shirt, such as The Home T, it’s likely that your new shirt will become a belly shirt (a shirt appropriate for belly dancing).
If the t-shirt sits right at your waist before ever being washing, you might as well kiss that sucker good bye. That, or prepare to show your belly to the world, because after the first time it hits the drier, peekaboo, there’s your belly button! And if you’re thinking about not drying your t-shirts, don’t kid yourself.
When buying The Home T you’ll find that the length isn’t an issue. You may even think it’s perfect. And that’s OK by us.
Durability
For a long time I seemed to only wear one particular style of jeans by a specific brand. Given that I’m slightly stubborn it took three instances of holes forming on the inner thighs (lots of NYC walking), and pretty much ruining the jeans, for me to stop shelling out money for a pair of jeans that felt great, but were not the best quality. To clarify, they weren’t inexpensive jeans! In fact, the jeans I wear now cost half as much and last much much longer.
Unfortunately it’s hard to tell if a t-shirt is going to be durable by just touching it, so you’ll need to consider the brand of the shirt, the feel, and do a quick gut check. If it’s your first time buying the brand don’t go overboard buying one of every style. Test it out and see how it wears.
As you may imagine, for our brand of t-shirts, The Home T, I’ve worn a ton of them. In fact, I wear one almost every day of the year. Serious.
From playing tennis to lifting weights to traveling to having business meetings, I put The Home T to use.
I probably have seven or eight (seriously) Home T’s, which isn’t a lot given how often I wear them, and I can tell you that they are amazing quality and extremely durable. In fact, still to this day, I still wear the first Home T I ever had. And it’s in awesome condition.
Washing Behavior
I’ve hit on this a little, but how a t-shirt washes is extremely important.
It almost seems like we’ve hit a point where shirts may say they are pre-shrunk, but somehow end up magically shrinking after you wash and dry them. Don’t you hate that? So do we.
The Home T is made from an amazing blend of fabric and you’re going to find that it doesn’t really shrink. Granted, if you wash it in hot water and then dry it for a few hours it will shrink, but that’s an extreme example that you’d never do.
In addition to shrinkage, you have to make sure you buy t-shirts that don’t magically get thinner in the dryer. Almost as if the dryer was eating the fabric one layer at a time.
Quality t-shirts such as The Home T are going to react wonderfully during the washing / drying process.
We’ve tested out lots of t-shirts, and even tooled with the sizing of our current design, and we think The Home T is one of the most amazing t-shirts you can purchase today.
It fits great. It looks great. It’s made in the USA. It’s highly durable, while still feeling great on the skin. And it will last the test of time.
No matter if you’re buying one of our products or another brand, keep these five facts about what makes an amazing t-shirt in mind.