Super Soft Tees

This post has been so long in coming. It's also very long. For the past few months, I have been in *love* with super soft tees. In my own personal fashion quest, the discovery of super soft tees can be described as my Holy Grail, my Dead Sea Scrolls, the lost city of Atlantis.

Well, maybe not quite as dramatic.

But anyone who knows me and my fashion fetishes knows how obsessed I am with the brand LnA. What? A plain deep V-neck t-shirt for $60? Who would pay that?

... well, not me, since I buy on sale from Hautelook.com and ideeli.com and other websites with coupon codes (most of the time), but there IS a reason besides celebrity appeal that these t-shirts are so expensive: they are so amazing. Seasonless, versatile, casual-chic, effortless style.

Also, I have a girl-crush on this LnA model:





I'll start this entry off with a small gallery of ways you can rock a super soft tee, and go into a review of the brands later - though not a huge fan of the guy in the red V. (the first image below I got from http://www.whatswhere.com/)

My favorite for fall (and California winters :) is that last outfit worn by Zoe Saldana.

So as you can see, the super soft tee is an incredibly versatile basic that can create a variety of looks from formal with a casual twist, to casual with a polished twist.

But if it's so basic and simple, why are people charging any more than $10 for this little fashion staple? That's the question I asked myself when I innocently came across LnA at a Hautelook sample sale one fateful day.

LnA T-shirts

I had never heard of LnA before then, and I was shocked that these t-shirts, priced at $16-$19 (which I thought should have been the retail), were originally $60+!! I had to find out why, so I bought the V-neck and the deep-V necks in a couple colors, and also a tank and a couple pencil skirts. I wasn't going near the zipper leggings - I thought they looked weird. (I completely retracted that opinion later when I bought a pair and fell in love... along with the rest of their lines.)

Semi-sheer, super soft, lazy, chic, cute, comfortable, and sexy. I wore the hell out of these t-shirts during summer of 2009, especially the racerback tank I got in Kelly. I compared them to the t-shirts I already had, and I still can't explain exactly what makes them so amazing. The length, the drape, and the fit just make them so perfect with so many outfit combinations: tucked into shorts, skirts, pants; half tucked; loose over leggings, skirts, pants...

And the many many options they give you for accessorizing! Because they're so basic, the possibilities are endless with the right accessories - belts, dramatic necklaces, simple necklaces - all give the t-shirts a different vibe. You can go edgy with the right shoes and jacket, bohemian with the right skirt, and just classic chic with a pair of tailored pants (the contrast between the tailored and the casual semi-sheer of the t-shirt make for such a cute combo).

The cotton tees feel very different from the hemp tees, of which I own a few. The hemp tees are looser and drape more than the cotton ones do - both are SUPER soft and incredibly comfortable and cute. You really have to try them on to really appreciate them; I feel like this blog isn't doing them justice.

As you can see, this is true love. I now own probably well over 25 tops from LnA, plus their zippered leggings (charcoal, white, and HOT pink!), which I'll probably show off later, skinny pant, and pencil skirts. I'm coveting a pair of black licorice zipper leggings and pocket zipper leggings!

American Apparel tees

I have "The Summer Tee" and "The Track Tee," both V-necks. They are not as soft as LnA's cotton - I noticed that AA's cotton is a bit thicker and more coarse than LnA's cotton. But they offer an opaque alternative to LnA's sheer. I like them because they're a little less fashion-y and you don't have to worry about bras or sheerness because they aren't deep-Vs. I call them the "low maintenence" tees. :)

I haven't tried their new V and deep-V sheer jersey tees yet, though I smell knock-off :) If they're comparable to LnA, you can't beat the price - $19 vs. $60

(I have to say, and this might be a completely different entry altogether, I do not think AA is the same as LnA but only cheaper. I own both and while both lines have their merits, I have a strong preference for LnA. I prefer LnA not based on price or brand, but based on quality and the way the line fits me vs. AA, and it took me a little while to come to that conclusion because I didn't just want to go for the brand that was more expensive.)

Vince Tees

The Vince brand beats out even the LnA brand pricewise.

This muscle tee by Vince is $95.00 on Shopbop.com!

I only own one tee from Vince, and it's a black loose-fitting crew neck tee with a seam detail around the neck. I adore it, and I can feel how luxurious the cotton is when I wear it. However, is the markup worth it? I say yes, but only if you can't find the same look AND feel somewhere else, is it really worth it.

Rarity creates value, even if the material costs are in the single-digit-dollar range. However, while I won't say I'm an advocate of knock-offs, if you find a piece of clothing that you adore for a cheaper price that really pulls off the look of a higher-priced item, I say that higher-priced item is... overpriced. Ie., you're REALLY just paying for the brand.

I'm not accusing Vince of this. Just sayin'. :)

Splendid Tees, C&C California

I love Splendid's super soft tees, and the ones I've gotten have always added a little style element to the tee to make them just a little bit more formal (slightly bubble sleeves, more tailored shoulders, etc.) But I think I might be shortchanging Splendid in not doing a direct comparison between their supersoft tees and LnA's. Still expensive, but not quite as expensive as LnA, they have a lot of comparable pieces. For example, I would LOVE to try these on to compare:

Light & Fashionable top, $54; Very Light Jersey V Neck Tee, $48; shopbop.com

I love C&C California's Bold Tank $34.00 (but often on sale for $18-$24). It fits a little loose (looser than on this model) and it's a little bit sheer - such a great beach top to wear half-tucked into shorts or long enough to be a cover-up for a bathing suit. (Yes, I'm already thinking of summer!)

So to wrap this novella up, here is another image from whatwear.com that talks about where you can get tees for cheaper. I don't have many of these, so I can't tell you if they will give you the same quality as the ones I've mentioned. But if they work, then save your money!

One final note: I (surprise surprise) LOVE LnA's new tees and I can't wait to get my hands on them. I think while tunic-length tops are universally flattering, that tops are eventually going to get shorter again, but stay loose. That's my forecast.



Up and coming: