Minimal Luxury Wardrobe Remake: The perfect T-shirts.

Who knew the humble t-shirt could be so important?

Ashley Olsen and Mary-Kate Olsen of The Row, that's who. Their exquisite fashion line was born of the pursuit for the perfect tee. From there, they slowly added in, piece by piece, (as I am doing with my own wardrobe), the perfect leggings, the perfect jacket, and so on and so forth...

The perfect white tee was where they began, ensuring it had the kind of shape and drape that worked on all body types, all ages, and all styles.

So yes, it is important, and I'm not the only one who thinks so.

The 'perfect' essentials

I have my perfect black pants, that are smart, but relaxed.

I have my perfect black shorts, that are hemmed at a just-so place.

I have my perfect black skirt, and waistcoat, and I have my silk tops for special occasions.

Now, I have the perfect t-shirts.

Do I have 'criteria' for t-shirts, the way I do for everything else? Of course.

Everything I am bringing in to my wardrobe is carefully thought out, and planned.

Fabric composition is hugely important, and despite my former love affair with slightly transparent, crepe-like t-shirts, for the kind of tee that blends in with life itself, I wanted something slightly crisp.

Something that looked like a standard cotton t-shirt to the observer, but something that felt cool to the touch, like brand new bed sheets.

My wardrobe fabric goals are fairly strict. In short, cotton is the only choice for me, irrespective of past t-shirts that were made from the waif-like drape of modal, and viscose. As beautiful as the drape of those tees were, (are), I am building a wardrobe of transitions. Pieces that hold their own, but also melt into other pieces. For that reason, I wanted some structure, and decided that any fluidity in my wardrobe would instead come from silk.

As The Row founders discovered, the best draped tee is actually constructed using a single seam down the back, to prevent shifting and bunching as its worn, so even a t-shirt has its technicalities.

The ones I settled for don't have this feature, unfortunately, but I was so happy with the first one I bought, that I completed the rest of my t-shirt requirements in one fowl swoop of an additional five.

I have two black, two white, and two grey.

Of each colour, one is a crew neck and one is a V-neck.

I decided that was plenty, and my video shows that integrating 6 neutral t-shirts with just a few core staples, can stretch the limits of imagination out beyond the gate.

A V-neck t-shirt is one of life's glories. If you can get the depth of the neckline just right, it reveals the loveliness of a collar bone, (often overlooked in one's pursuit of delving further afield for compliments), and elongates the neck.

It shows just enough of the form beneath, without looking deliberate, or overt.

A crew-neck I also like because I love to connect the line at the base of the throat with shoulders. A "mock-neck" is very flattering on some, and this sort of neckline looks great as a base layer. When it comes to layering without lumps and bumps, a higher neckline can make all the difference.

When it came to bringing in t-shirts, I knew I they needed to work with pants, jeans, shorts, skirts and I really wanted to them layer beneath collared shirts and my waistcoat.

I believe I have been successful.

So to recap, here's where I am at with the wardrobe build:

1. "The perfect" black pants.

2. "The perfect" black shorts.

3. A black top.

4. A black waistcoat.

5. "The perfect" black skirt.

6. 3 V-neck tees (black, white, grey.)

7. 3 crew-neck tees (black, white grey.)