Fit, cotton quality, and color are the obvious elements when evaluating a t-shirt.   But what about weight? 

Standard men’s t-shirts have an approximate 5 oz range between the lightweight and heavyweight.   

The lightweight can be luxurious.  The heavyweight has perceived value in durability.  But both have drawbacks; let’s take a look.

The Lightweight

Luxury brands create a buzz with their buttery soft fabrics; they’re lightweight and drapey.  When you feel them at the store, it’s an “oh my goodness, this is so soft reaction”. 

The luxury brands take a lightweight, high-quality cotton fabric and load it with enzymes and softeners to create that super-soft hand.   Its airy-weight and soft feel against the skin should make for your next favorite t-shirt.  But beware…   

When we were testing the best weight for Todd Shelton t-shirts, we developed a range of fabric weights, made t-shirts, then wore them and studied the results. 

We included a lightweight, buttery soft t-shirt in our testing.

The lightweight fabric felt great against the skin, but the t-shirt was so soft it became limp.  The fabric languished on the body.  The drapiness showed every curve of the guys chest and waistline – and that was the problem. 

If we knew a better way to say this we would (if you’re squeamish, don’t read this paragraph):  the lightweight fabric shows nipples, the curve of the boob, and the exact location of any belly rolls when you’re sitting relaxed. 

Since we believe it’s our job to make our customers look better, we eliminated the lightweight, buttery-soft t-shirt from our testing.  Now you know.

 The Heavyweight

The risk of a heavy weight t-shirt is that you feel it – as you wear it.  It’s warmer than necessary and it doesn’t move as freely.  It may last for decades, but you may not want it lingering around for that long.

The Todd Shelton Weight

If there were a scale showing standard men’s t-shirt weights, with 1 being the lightest and 5 being the heaviest; the Todd Shelton t-shirt would be a steady 3.4. 

Our t-shirt could never be confused as lightweight; it’s not unnecessarily heavy either.  It’s simply substantial.

Through our testing, we found a substantial weight fabric helped maintain a consistent shape.  The (slightly) heavier fabric stands on its own and doesn’t cling to the body. 

It doesn’t possess the “fashion” of a luxury brand t-shirt.  Instead, it looks like a high-quality American guys t-shirt.  It compliments his shape no matter what kind of shape he is in.    

The sturdiness of the fabric will ensure the t-shirt can absorb years of wearing and washing.

The Cotton

In August 2010, Todd Shelton will be releasing new t-shirts made from 100% American grown Pima cotton, considered the best internationally.  The yarn is provided by America’s highest quality spinning mill, Buhler.

There is no difference in yarn quality between Todd Shelton and what we titled the “luxury brands”.  We’re both using the best cotton yarns available.  The difference is the knit construction and weight, both designer preferences.

The increased cost of American grown Pima will subsequently increase the price of our t-shirts.  Please expect a price increase in August 2010.  We’re confident the quality will exceed any initial reservations you may have with the new prices.

There are a few different dyeing methods used for t-shirts.  We choose to garment dye, which means the t-shirt (or garment) is made then dyed.  Although garment dyeing is the most extensive of the dyeing methods, it enables us to achieve a softer, broken-in feel and it takes out 99% of the shrinkage to ensure consistent sizing. 

What Does Garment Dye Mean to You

No shrinkage.  If the t-shirt fits right the first time you put it on, it will fit right for as long as you own it.  Why?  The fabrics been commercially washed and dried, twice.  Garment dye also results in a softer feel and richer color.

Here’s How Our Garment Dye Process Works 

• We purchase cotton yarn from a yarn spinner in Georgia, it comes in a bleached cotton color (on cones); the spinner sends it to our knitter in North Carolina. 
• The knitter knits the yarn into our t-shirt fabric and puts it onto rolls. 
• The knitter sends the rolls to a wash house, also in North Carolina, where the fabric is rinsed and tumbled dry to stabilize the shrinkage.  This process removes 95% of shrinkage. 
• The wash house sends the fabric to our cut & sew shop in New Jersey. 
• The cut and sew shop cuts one t-shirt from the fabric and sends it to be dyed, rinsed and tumbled to determine additional shrinkage.
• The t-shirt patterns are adjusted to account for the additional shrinkage and the t-shirts are cut & sewn.
• The (nearly finished) t-shirts are then sent to the dye-house in New York to become the desired color (blue, red, grey, whatever). 
• The dye-house returns them to the cut & sew shop where they are inspected, labeled and pressed.  Now they’re complete.

 Other Types of Dyeing for T-Shirts

Piece-Dye:  the most common t-shirt dyeing method.  Piece-dyeing is the process of dyeing the “piece goods”.  The t-shirt fabric is knitted in a natural cotton color and put onto rolls, it’s then unrolled through a dye bath to become the desired color.  The fabric is then framed (stretched to the intended width specification) and rerolled.  The rolls are sent to a cut and sew shop where they’re cut into t-shirts and packaged. 

Yarn-Dye: the yarn is dyed the desired color before the t-shirt fabric is knitted.  Used mainly for Heather colored t-shirts.

We hope you found this article helpful.  To read more about our American made t-shirts, please see Todd Shelton T-Shirts

Some guys reading this will immediately understand the importance of this subject.  They may have a hard time finding t-shirts that fit the neck closely.  For you guys that need to be sold on this subject, let’s look at the illustration.

The Todd Shelton t-shirt wraps closely around the neck, it’s the most distinguishing detail.  I believe a close fitting neck visually adds structure to the shoulders, neck and face. 

This Ralph Lauren Polo t-shirt has a loose fitting neck. 

Although the difference may seem small, the two measurements create two different looks.  It’s little differences such as these that make one designer different from another.    

See the Todd Shelton T-Shirt Selection

Let’s look at how we designed our Vneck, we took into consideration the above concerns and created a Vneck that looks great on most any guy. Even guys who are Vneck cautious will approve.

Notice how we designed the Todd Shelton Vneck (above). It wraps around the neck as would a crewneck, only dropping slightly in the front. Because this Vneck keeps a fitted shape, it does three things: 1) allows the Vneck to be worn casually (not as an undershirt), 2) it doesn’t droop, exposing the chest, and 3) it adds visual structure to the face and shoulders. Compare to the Vneck below.

The above image is an ordinary Vneck undershirt. This white Vneck has a deep drop in the front, which is necessary so that the undershirt does not show when wearing a button-up shirt, but it does not allow for casual wear. Compare to Todd Shelton Vneck above.

Do you like the idea of Vneck, but are still apprehensive about how it will actually look on you? Consider this: look at the Blue Vneck above, it fits just like a Crewneck – you’re just getting a less conservative shape with the V. This small change in shape really does affect the attitude of your look.

View our Vnecks