T-Shirts and Shirts are some of the most worn clothing items among men and women. Having been worn since the late 19th century, you can imagine there’s a crazy amount of variety in these garments. But they have some clear differences and can easily be told apart. At SANVT, we’ll break it all down.
T-Shirts vs Shirts: an overview
- T-Shirts do not have collars or buttons; shirts have collars and buttons
- T-Shirts are often informal and casual; shirts are somewhat more formal
- T-Shirts are typically made of cotton or polyester; shirts come in more diverse fabrics
- T-Shirts and shirts can both be short-sleeved or long-sleeved
- T-Shirts are most typically short sleeved, shirts long-sleeved.
- Both T-Shirts and shirts can suit the summer, depending on GSM.
SANVT’s Perfect T-Shirt and Perfect Oxford Shirt: side by side
T-Shirts
The T-Shirt got its name from the shape of the letter ‘T’. It’s commonly worn by any gender, and is typically worn for informal, day-to-day occasions due to its comfort. The most commonly used fabrics to make tees are cotton or polyester but these days you’ll notice nicher fabrics being used to make more T-Shirts, like linen, rayon, hemp and even Lyocell.
T-Shirts can also be worn for semi-formal occasions but, unless you’re audacious or famous, it’s hard to get away with formal. They can be worn at home, to bed, for a lunch gathering, to get a drink with friends, or to university. Pretty much any informal occasion is ok then.
The different types of T-Shirts are almost limitless. They can be short-sleeved or long-sleeved, and they can either have patterns or graphics or stay plain. They can also have different types of necklines, such as v-neck, crew neck, scoop neck, and more. Tees can also come in different lengths - for example, cropped T-Shirts and extra long T-Shirts have both been at the top of the most trending clothing items in recent years. Oversized T-Shirts are also having a bit of a moment and can be super stylish.
Here’s another post that goes into some more about the history of the T-Shirt.
The Perfect T-Shirt in 185 GSM worn by Light Hunters & Bola
The Perfect T-Shirt
Here at SANVT, we’ve designed the ‘Perfect T-shirt’. And part of the reason why we’ve boldly classified it as perfect, is the fabric. As mentioned, polyester is one of the most widely used fabrics to create T-Shirts. But we like to go the extra mile for the planet. And since the plastic of polyester is unnecessary to create a high-quality T-Shirt - and also leaks microplastics into our oceans when washed - this T-Shirt is made 100% from the highest grade single source extra-long staple cotton. The cotton fibres we use are also extremely soft, yet strong and resilient.
Because of the fabric and the longevity, It’s a super sustainable option but it will also fit you perfectly as you can adjust SANVT’s tees by both length and width. What a liberty!
SANVT’s collection includes a variety of other T-Shirts, in different weights for different seasons. See here for all the T-shirts we offer for women and men. And now to Shirts…
Shirts
Shirts are worn to more formal occasions. They’re worn to the office, to formal dinners and other night-time events, or clubs. But they can also be dressed down for a casual look, for example by wearing an opened shirt over a T-Shirt. Likewise, they can be made even more formal by dressing up with a tie. The fabrics often used for shirts are more diverse - they can be made from cotton, linen, wool, silk, poplin, polyester, or blends. And like t-shirts, there are emerging fabrics that are becoming more popular to make Shirts with.
The Perfect Oxford Shirt in 100% organic cotton worn by Dave Vendetta & Denzel Van Tilburg
The Perfect Oxford Shirt
To make our ‘Perfect Shirt', we decided to go with the fabric Oxford because of its versatility. Needless to say, like SANVT’s Perfect T-Shirt, our Oxford Shirt is 100% natural and plastic-free. It’s made entirely from extra-fine organic cotton, and ensures breathability, durability, and softness - perfect for most occasions and classified as an ‘all-rounder’.
The shirt is unisex so can be worn well by both women and men.
T-Shirts vs. Shirts in the summer
The Perfect Oxford Shirt (191 GSM), worn with sleeves rolled up and The Perfect T-Shirt (185GSM).
Both T-Shirts and Shirts can serve you well in sunnier conditions. T-Shirts by nature, of course, and Shirts with sleeves rolled-up, as you wish. Yet, with both T-Shirts and Shirts there’s an extra to consider and that’s the GSM of the fabric.
GSM stands for grams per square meter, which is a metric that essentially says how thick the fabric is. Here’s a rough guide, depending on the conditions:
- Heavyweight - best for the cold: +200GSM.
- Middleweight - best for most conditions: 160-200GSM.
- Lightweight - best for very hot, or scorching days: 160GSM or under.
Both our Perfect Oxford Shirt and T-Shirt fall in the middleweight range - at 191 and 185 GSM respectively. Both will serve you well when the weather is fairly good. Think of a lovely spring day or a nice typical summer day in northern Europe.
For those sweltering hot days that are becoming a bit more frequent, you might want to check out our Lightweight T-Shirt. For cooler days, our Heavyweight T-Shirt offers a more substantial feel and added warmth.
T-shirts vs. shirts: the bottom line
Hopefully that cleared up any doubts you had between a T-Shirt and a Shirt! If you’re looking to excel your knowledge on T-Shirts even further, we’ve clarified the difference between a T-Shirt and a Polo Shirt, the difference between Heavyweight and Lightweight T-Shirts, analysed the best T-Shirt material, and well - if you’ve got any more doubts after that, you’re on your own! Kidding - feel free to contact us with any questions you have.