David Gandy in David Gandy Wellwear

The best white T-shirts for men. The end.

31 Jul 2024 | | By Richard Brown

The perfect white T-shirt doesn't exist. But these attempts come closest

Like you, dear GSM-obsessed reader, I have an entire drawer dedicated to plain white T-shirts. Like you, perennially disappointed Supima-cotton aficionado, I’ve been searching, in vain, for the perfect white T-shirt my entire adult life. My search, like yours, has covered the length and breadth of the High Street, when that was still a thing, and every corner of the internet, since that’s the field of play we must now scour (for hours) in pursuit of the ultimate crewneck; something casual and collar-less that isn’t too tight, too loose, too short, too heavy, too close-fitting at the neck, too catchy across the stomach, and, grail of grails, just catchy enough over those embryonic bi’s (another life-long work-in-progress, come to think of it).

I was convinced, for a time, that the ne plus ultra of plain white T-shirts was hidden somewhere in the racks of the great American workwear brands (the modern T-shirt is, after all, an American invention). Carhartt, Dickies, Lee. They all do a decent line of mid-to-heavyweight, high-gauge T-shirts. The slightly-oversized sort beloved by LA skateboarders. And urban man-children everywhere else (guilty). Same goes for Deus ex Machina, although that brand hails from Down Under. Valiant efforts, for sure, but such loose-fitting starchy numbers have a tendency to shrink in the wash. (Sorry to shame, chaps, but Carhartt, you’re the worst).

best white t-shirts for men — David Gandy wearing the David Gandy Wellwear Ultimate Crew T-shirt, £35

Resigned to the futility of finding something, anything, that wouldn’t shrink, sag, or change from brilliant white to nicotine-stain beige with age, I entered a period of bulk buying the cheapest T-shirts I could find. The burner years. The Fruit of the Loom era – unbeatable, I maintain, for value for money – was followed by the Kirkland phase (available at Costco, or online). Decent, weight-wise, but too close-fitting around the neck. And long enough to risk looking like a Nineties-era West Coast gangster rapper (an aesthetic, looking back, I appropriated for at least two years too long).

Then I went slim. Tailored. Office-appropriate, if a T-shirt ever can be office appropriate. David Gandy has taken what he learnt from Marks & Spencer and had a very decent stab of his own. Reiss’ Bless crewnecks work, if you’ve managed to keep the dad bod at bay (well done you). J. Crew, another US heavyweight, sadly no longer with a bricks-and-mortar presence this side of the pond, did a top-notch line of slub-cotton, garment-dyed winners. I wore them to death, in every colour, during my early 30s. But they stopped doing them. Which was a bugger (although, in truth, they were a tad too short, anyway.)

I have even, like some of the entrepreneurially-minded among you, perhaps, considered having a punt at going into the white T-shirt game myself. How hard can it be, right? Had a brand name in my head for donks. Went as far as almost registering a domain name (so not that far). What would it look like, my perfect white T-shirt? Well, it would have a pocket on the breast. And a low-cut, double-stitched ribbed collar (like that discontinued number from J. Crew). Weight-wise, I’d go heavy, somewhere between 200 and 260 gsm – a weight favoured by most of those American workwear brands – knitted at a high gauge, so it would have heft, but also breathability. Dropped shoulders. A slightly oversized silhouette. And it’d be long, none of that boxy nonsense, finishing below, rather than above, or half way down, your flies. Does such a thing exist? The closest I’ve found is Drake’s mid-century-channelling, Ivy-League-aping Hiking T-Shirt. Although it’s still slightly too short. And an investment, at £75.

If you find what I'm after (and you won't), do give us a shout. In the meantime, here's the best of the attempts I've found so far...

Drake’s Cotton Crew Neck Hiking T-Shirt

The ultimate white T-shirt? Close, so close. A midweight number with quality finishes and obvious attention to detail, which maintains its colour and doesn’t shrink in the wash. Dress it up by tucking it in.

£75