Don’t bench your long-sleeve tees, layer them!
As the mercury drops and the winter chill starts nipping at your nose it is time to reach for the most underrated player in your closet, your long-sleeve t-shirt. An essential player in any sartorially-minded closet, the long-sleeve tee gets more than its fair share of bench time, typically playing second fiddle to your star quarterback-the traditional short sleeve tee. But why? The long sleeve is as versatile and adaptable as its shorter sibling and yet it gets so little love. We’ve taken a good, hard look at ourselves and found a few good reasons to get your long sleeves back into play and doing what they do best, adding style to a closet and bang to your buck.
Firstly, nothing layers like a long sleeve tee, both over and under its short sleeve sisters and bothers. It’s a timeless look and an immensely adaptable one, eliminating the need for a sweater or a hoodie, which will only bulk up your look, forcing you to carry around additional garments on cooler days. Need to convey a traditional athletic style? Short-sleeve tee over long is unquestionably the way to go, and few things offer the versatility, maneuverability, and warmth on a cold court than this simple cotton knit pairing. It is as timeless as it is current and offers a no-fuss, no-frills statement that is effortless to execute. Less rough-and-ready and more traditional is the long-over-short-sleeve layers option with a little bit of the collar of the short sleeve undershirt peeking out from beneath its longer sibling. For best effect use strongly contrasting colors like black and white, orange and blue, or red and green; the flash of color beneath the top layer is an attention-getter every time.
Not cold enough to warrant a layered look?
Just wrap a long sleeve tee around your waist and tie just below the belly button. The stretched arms and knot draw a great line around the waist, punctuated by the knot, they create a fixed focal point for your outfit. This clever fashion trick can also work to hide less flattering features you might prefer to conceal whilst offering you an on-the-fly layering option when the mercury does drop and things start to cool on fall days. Infinitely less bulky than a sweater or a hoodie and offering a cleaner, more refined line, the long-sleeve tee is a far better wrap-around option and usually just enough to keep off a chill without having to resort to the heavy gear.
Pairing up long-sleeve and short-sleeve tees is an obvious solution, but on their own long-sleeve t-shirts offer a simple refinement and elegance which their sportier, shorter friends do not. Both as casual-wear and athletic-wear options, the long-sleeve is dapper and just that much more refined, whether it finds itself on the tennis court, a bowling lane, a baseball diamond or above a wetsuit after a surf session. Classic styling demands just a little push-up on the sleeves so that they show a few inches of the forearm, denoting a casual, care-free attitude and effortless disposition to one’s game.
We would recommend the colorful SpectraUSA 3055 Bi-blend range of long-sleeve tees for sporty, moisture-wicking winter warmers and the dominant black and white 100% cotton long-sleeve t-shirts for something a little more serious, or even formal. Cut along traditional design lines, hearkening back to the heyday of American athletic design, SpectraUSA boasts an incredible range of long-sleeve options to power your way through any fall or even winter wardrobe decisions. So don’t bench your long-sleeves, either layer them up, or push up the sleeves and walk tall, giving your closet a new lease with a range of sportier-than-thou options this fall.