Trending: The Pocket T-Shirt
The Pocket T-shirt
The latest fashion-forward trend radiating from both street fashion and the shiny showrooms of the high-fashion world has the classic crew neck t-shirt wearing a pocket. ”T-shirts with pockets?” you say. Indeed, the pocket T-shirt is back from a long hiatus in the bottom drawer of the design studio. And, don’t think for a minute that this is just limited to the basic 5-point pocket either, a below-the-radar, emergent undercurrent for the truly hipper-than-hip can be seen in the uber-retro 4-point pocket, the bad-boy original, and throwback to the retro-rooted heyday of t-shirt design and pure punk sensibility.
Any savvy t-shirt expert knows their onions when it comes to pockets on tees and will, no doubt, understand the value in having a truly soft ring-spun t-shirt textile in the mix. Ringspun cottons are just that much softer, and gentler on the skin than open-end traditionally spun yarns. They offer a seemingly lighter (although they actually aren’t) and softer, more luxurious feel. Add to this that extra bit of strength and stretch afforded by a true bi-blend fabric like Spectra’s ring-spun 30 singles and you don’t just have a t-shirt, you have a fashion masterpiece aching to be worn, and worn for years.
The 30SPKT Pocket T-shirt
Two off-the-shelf, grab-’em-and-go, t-shirts with pockets can be found in Spectratees 30SPKT and 31SPKT. ”S” for ”SpectraSpun” and ”PKT” for well”_ ”Pocket.” The outstanding quality and fit of the 30SPKT is built upon Spectratees’ distinctive 3050 style and its strong, tubular-torso specification, coupled with a clearly ring-spun cotton softness. The 30SPKT is a design rooted in the be-cool or be-gone origins of California t-shirt culture, with the modern update of a tubular knitted torso for a truly snug, fitted form. The five-point pocket comes standard issue and lends a modernist edge of elegance to the design. Spectra also offers a grey heather version of its famous 30SPKT which is built upon the vintage ivy-league athletic-club specification with a 90% cotton and 10% polyester bi-blend ring-spun yarn. This combination brings Spectra’s legendary strength and stretch to bear in this finely appointed wardrobe staple.
The 31SPKT Pocket T-Shirt
Not to be outdone, the 31SPKT is a fine-jersey pocket t-shirt which has never been out of production since we introduced its groundbreaking design to our range. Crafted from the roots of our ”Cotton Perfection” 3100 line this is a remarkable garment with classic design heritage and a totally modernized feel. The modest and clean lines of the 3100 shine through in this 100% combed and ring-spun cotton which, if shirts could talk, would only say one thing, ”Be cool Daddy-O… Be cool.” The double stitched hems and sleeves will be a familiar guarantee of Spectra’s enduring legacy of quality and longevity, whilst these shirts still hold top-spot as bearing the brightest whites and deepest blacks in the industry. Also sporting a tubular specification the 31SPKT is a sharp, clean garment with a simple, uncluttered line to it. The 3100 endures across fashions and, it remains a truly modern classic which should be a part of every aspirant t-shirt connoisseur’s closet.
Custom Pocket T-Shirts
The 30SPKT and 31SPKT are two off-the shelf t-shirts covering almost every base a pocket t-shirt needs to cover. They are the definitive self-pocket, or ”Self Pocket” (pockets the same color as the main shirt fabric) T-shirts but, what about shirts with contrasting pockets? Contrast pockets are pocket t-shirts with pockets made from a different color fabric to that of the main body of the t-shirt. This usually works best with completely contrasting or complimentary colors, like black and white, or orange and blue for example. Spectratees utilizes a vertically integrated manufacturing process which allows for speed of production on top of the ability to turn on a dime and execute large, complex orders which require this kind of ingenuity and customization. This works especially well with customized elements in orders such as self pockets or even contrasting pockets.
Beyond their extensive current inventory Spectratees has the capability of deploying a range of customization options which are truly mind-boggling. For instance, the current fashion rage is all about the five point pocket and having a five-point pocket on the face of a t-shirt with your brand on it. However, as every hipster knows, the devil is in the details and the money-shot of t-shirt pockets is not the five-pointer, but the four. Four point pockets? Yes, the original t-shirt pocket, the holy grail my friends, the holy grail.
Five point pockets vs Four Point Pockets
In the beginning was the four point pocket, and it was good. Refinements in design have given us the classic five-point, hexagonal pocket on the front of a t-shirt. This small addition adds a subtle elegance and slightly elevates the garment. With a pocket the t-shirt is that much sharper, its hair is combed, its shoes shone, absent tie straightened.
By contrast the four point pocket evolves out of necessity and practicality-historically, it was the perfect place to keep one’s ”smokes” and later, after we see the branding on cigarette packs shining through that clean pure-white cotton-it is the most obvious place to drop in a brand of one’s own. The pocket becomes the a mini-canvas for an accent, a little nod to our sponsor and the most obvious place to give an onlooker a hint as to what is printed on the back of the shirt.
Where the five pointer is elegant, the four is stout, solid, practical and super-retro. The four pointer is what your mom sewed onto your t-shirt if you asked her nicely back in the fifties. AÊ four point pocket is The Fonz breaking up a nasty ”rumble” between the Sharks and the Jets at a Buddy Holly gig through sheer presence of Fonzie coolness. The four-pointer is all switchblade combs, engineer boots and Harley grease under the nails. If the five-pointer has an education, a trust fund and brushed its teeth this morning, the four-pointer has a sixer in the back, a stolen surfboard on the roof and didn’t.
Whichever you choose, epic inventory standards like the 30SPKT and 31SPKT with snappy five point pockets or a custom run of four pointers produced just for you and your trendmeister clientele, Spectra’s got you covered, so everybody just”_ Be cool baby, be cool.