My husband, like many men, owns a lot of T-shirts. Most of them come from his beloved hometown radio station, WFMU. No disrespect to the country’s longest-running free-form radio station, but it feels like it holds fundraisers all year long, and each time it does, Chang gets three new WFMU-emblazoned T-shirts he doesn’t need. (I admit the designs are always very good.) He has others in rotation, including well-worn tees from Uniqlo and American Apparel, new ones from Carharrt, plus a few vintage shirts he got in Tokyo in 2016.
Among those, there’s one that stands out for being perfectly threadbare. “The Video Connection: Minden, Nevada,” it reads, next to an illustration of an old-fashioned movie camera, most likely from the ’80s. (Chang was a film-studies major, thus the appeal of this particular graphic tee.) It’s downright gauzy, a whisper of the canary yellow it once was. The kind of thing real vintage heads would pay a lot of money for. It’s also one of the most flattering T-shirts he owns.
It’s fitted, its sleeves a hair shorter than most modern tees, with a thick collar that actually cuts close to the neck. The drape is also a little slinky, thanks to the fabric’s 50-50 blend of cotton and polyester. This turns out to be its secret ingredient. “I’m not sure if it’s the cut or the material — most likely a combination of both — but the shirt fits the contours of my body without being overly snug or constricting,” Chang tells me. “I also like that it’s light. Heavier-weight cotton often feels stiff and boxy.” (If you do prefer a boxier fit, I recommend my colleague Liza Corsillo’s husband’s favorite tee, the Russell, which, for the record, Chang also really likes.)
Chang was so enamored of this shirt that he went on the hunt for more. Helpfully, the shirt’s tag is quite descriptive: “Hanes Fifty-Fifty M 38–40.” He found a bunch of graphic vintage options on Etsy and eBay and bought a couple, but what Chang really wanted was a plain white tee. Luckily, the shirt is still in production with slight updates for the new millennium. It now goes by Hanes EcoSmart. He ordered one in small, his regular size, even though the vintage shirt is a medium, and that was the right move. (Rule of thumb: Size up for vintage; take normal size for new.)
The new Hanes is not identical to the old Hanes, but Chang says that it’s the closest he’s found. The biggest differences are that the crewneck collar is not as thick and the sleeves are slightly roomier, but the fit and drape are there. It also passes the arm-raise test: When he extends both arms above his head, the shirt still covers his belly button. As for how it will age over the years — only time will tell.
Some more T-shirts we’ve written about
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