True Classic Tees Review: I Tried These Internet-Famous T-Shirts. Are They Any Good?

In the era of direct-to-consumer disruption, any brand can claim its product is different.

Away, for example, launched a suitcase it said would revolutionize travel. In the end, it was stilla suitcase, albeit a sleek option with portable battery stowed inside beneath its handle. When UntuckIt launched its line of dress shirts designed to be worn, well, untucked, the brand presented a shirt that solved a problem few people actually needed solving. It didn’t change menswear, but it did convince consumers the shirts they already owned weren’t up to snuff.

Which brings us to True Classic Tees, an online-only brand that sells t-shirts and polos, which it markets on the premise that the other t-shirts you’ve been wearing your whole life don’t quite fit right. In its popular (albeit polarizing) made-for-televised-sports adverts, shredded actors point out that their dad-bod friend isn’t fat per se, he’s just betrayed by his clothing.

So how do the brand’s t-shirts really stack up? Do they really make every guy look better? I tried them to find out.

To learn more about our testing methodology and how we evaluate products, head here.

Are True Classic Tees Worth It?

True Classic

True Classic Tees Crew Neck (6-pack)

• $79.99 at trueclassictees.com
  $149.94 (47% off)

Well, it depends on who you ask. For me, True Classic Tees offer excellent value, and you’d be hard-pressed to find a better basic t-shirt for the same price.

Are they perfect? No. Are there better t-shirts out there? Of course there are. But those alternatives cost a lot more than those sold by True Classic Tees, and not everyone wants or needs a boutique t-shirt as part of their everyday uniform.

If you’re looking for a slim-fitting t-shirt that wears comfortably, washes well and won’t cost you an arm or a leg, buy them with confidence. If you want a few other recommendations, our favorite basic, everyday t-shirts can be found here.

How Are True Classic Tees Different?

Let’s be real. True Classic Tees are just t-shirts. They’re sold as singles or in packs of four or six, and you save more when you buy more. Six sold individually, for example, would run you back about $150. A 6-pack, on the other hand, costs $80 — or $13 per tee.

You can create your own bundle, picking any number of T-shirts in any of the five available colors, plus adding polos, V-necks, long-sleeves and activewear if you so wish. Once done, the brand will calculate a final cost, shipping included.

Courtesy

How Do True Classic Tees Fit?

The Crew Neck T-shirt — the most popular product — is made from 4.3 ounces of 60 percent combed ring-spun cotton and 40 percent polyester jersey. They run slim — what the brand calls an “athletic” fit — and True Classic Tees suggests sizing up if you’re in-between sizes.

Consistency can be an issue. One of my shirts says it was made in Egypt, while the other in China. This isn’t necessarily bad — most big brands manufacture overseas — but it can lead to variations sizing. The neck on my China-made tee is considerably tighter, while the bottom and sleeve hems are far superior to those on the Egypt-made tee. There’s nothing you can really do about this, but it’s an important note to consider.

Evan Malachosky

As far as construction goes, these fit fairly classically. Back in the day, armholes were tight and high, creating a streamlined silhouette that could fit under another shirt. T-shirts, at least at first, were only meant to be worn beneath another layer. If the T-shirts were too loose, they’d bunch up, making the combination quite uncomfortable. Rather than modern manufacturing ingenuity, True Classic uses classic tricks to make your shoulders look broader and more defined: shrinking the arm holes and elongating and tightening the sleeves.

Evan Malachosky

Shrinking the armhole prevents excess fabric from pooling in your armpits, which can make you look wider than you really are. Elongating the sleeves helps them wrap flush around your arms. Most sleeves, if you look at them laying flat, have a considerably shorter bottom line than they do top line. On True Classic tees, these lines are nearly equal, creating a longer shaft for your arm to hang in and thus less out of an outward point for the fabric.

All around, the alterations are smart, albeit overstated. Comfortability is clearly important, though: the tees are super soft, and the tag inside is screen-printed onto the fabric rather than applied to a hang tag.

Evan Malachosky

How Do True Classic Tees Wash?

Because they’re made from a mix of cotton and polyester, True Classic Tees t-shirts hold up better than most shirts. However, they do shrink — five percent on a low-heat setting, but more if you forget and blast ’em on high heat. That’s arguably inevitable for a T-shirt this cheap, but annoying nonetheless.

After more than a few washes, none of mine have pilled, but the black one is particularly bad about attracting fuzz from other garments. It needs a serious lint roll before being worn, no matter what I do.

A Word of Advice

I don’t want to speak as though I’m enlightened or someone who’s overcome concerns about their physique. I still try to eat right and workout, you know. But I’m not as worried with how bulky a shirt makes my biceps look or how chiseled a cotton shirt can make my chest look.

True Classic Tees has built its brand targeting men who wish they looked a certain way, promising them an improved appearance if they buy their product. That’s a lofty guarantee, and it ignores where these insecurities derive from: this sort of advertising.

Sure, its commercials are smart about telling bigger customers they aren’t fat, but the joking tone tends to feel like mockery. The on-site messaging is much milder, but the ads are how I — and probably millions more — first met the brand, and it can sour the experience for those on the fence about the tees.

True Classic

True Classic Tees Crew Neck (6-pack)

• $79.99 at trueclassictees.com
  $149.94 (47% off)

Other Great T-Shirts to Consider

Outerknown Groovy Pocket Tee

Outerknown

Outerknown Groovy Pocket Tee

• $58.00 at Outerknown

Made from organic cotton, this shirt is loosely knit for an airy feel which goes well with its relaxed silhouette. The garment-dye process also gives the tee more character.

Buck Mason Slub Vintage Pocket Tee

Buck Mason

Buck Mason Slub Vintage Pocket Tee

• $42.00 at Buck Mason

Buck Mason’s made a killing with its line of quality tees. Though the curved hem tee is a huge boon for the brand, we prefer the straight-hemmed Slub Classic Pocket Tee. It has a great hand and tons of slubby texture to distance itself from the undershirt fare. It’s made in LA and comes in the requisite black and white options, but be sure to look out for its seasonal colorways, too.

Gildan Heavy Cotton T-Shirt

Walmart

Gildan Heavy Cotton T-Shirt

• $7.00 at Walmart

Again, the Gildan Heavy T-shirt isn’t going to be the most amazingly well-manufactured option. But it’ll do its job, and you can get 10 for the cost of one really, really nice tee. Plus, Gildan makes its heavy tee in over 70 colors.

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