Ask Tug: Tight Collar Undershirts that Don’t Sag or Stretch Out
Yes, the quest for the tight collared undershirt still continues. After lots of research and many, many email exchanges with readers, I’ve decided to consolidate all the information about this topic into a single post!
Here’s a collection of articles I’ve written related to high, tight, no stretch or sag collared undershirts:
Ask Tug Update: Undershirts with a high, tight collar that don’t stretch out or sag
Ask Tug: Know of a brand of undershirt with a stretch-out resistant collar?
Ask Tug: I wear my undershirt backward – looking for one without a tag
Ask Tug: Help! Looking for an undershirt that holds its collar in place
Here’s an email from a reader that epitomizes this topic and shows how important having an undershirt with a tight collar is to some guys:
Hi:
I like to wear white crew neck t-shirts but i have had trouble finding ones that fit my needs. The thing I require most is that the t-shirt is clearly visible. I wear long sleeve button up shirts and i only leave the top button undone. The problem with most t-shirts is that you can’t see them even with the top button undone. I bought a few expensive t-shirts and they are very durable and work well but I just can’t afford it and they are usually made of spandex or silk and fit too tight. I used to wear Towncraft t-shirts and they worked well and were able to stay up so that people could see them even when i put my button up shirt on. However, now they are no longer being sold. I am looking for these qualities in a white crew neck t-shirt in priority order:
#1- Can be seen over a button up shirt with one button undone
#2- The arms contour my arms or are form fitting without being spandex/silk
#3- The collar keeps it shape over time without stretching or becoming limpI hope you can direct me to a t-shirt brand that will fit my needs.
Thanks, G
My response:
Hi G,
Thanks for your email! Wow, you have some pretty specific requirements – and I love it!!
The only undershirt I know of off hand that seems to meet practically all of your requirements is this one:
Alfani Cotton Stretch from Macys
It is a cotton/spandex blend Alfani Cotton Stretch from Macys, but appears to have a greater percentage of cotton with just enough spandex to make it close, but comfortable fitting. I have not personally tried them, but I have a very good friend who is really picky about his undershirts and he swears by them. Very visible collar that wears well and very nice looking to boot.
Please check that one out and let me know if you decide to try them out. I would love to hear back from you and hear about your experience.
Thanks!
Tug
Hi:
I bought some BVD crew neck t-shirts a week ago [from JCPenny] and they fit all of my requirements almost. The neck stays up over my long sleeve shirt and the sleeves fit tight over my arms. The collar is made differently than any other t-shirt I have seen. There are no vertical lines. It is some sort of intricate weave that probably makes sure they collar doesn’t loose its shape. The shirt is 100% cotton but not a heavy duty cotton shirt. yet it still maintains its shape. I’ve only washed the shirt once so i can’t say how it will hold up on the long run. But this shirt is the closest thing to the Towncraft shirts I used to buy before they were discontinued.
[Notes from Tug: Reader G actually bought these BVD undershirts from JCPenny, but I could not find them on JCPenny.com, so I linked over to what we believe are the same undershirts on freshpair.com. If you want to be sure to pick-up the right ones, be sure to visit your local JCPenny retail store.]
---------------------------------------- Sponsored Ad ----------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As of today, here’s the list of undershirts we’ve found that have high, tight collars:
- BVD Crew Neck Undershirt from JCPenny: 4-Pack costs around $14
- Alfani Stretch from Macys: 2-Pack costs around $17.
- Jockey Mock T-Shirt: Per shirt cost is around $7.
Here’s a review from a guest reader: Guest Undershirt Review: Jockey Short Sleeve Mock Neck T-Shirt - Kirkland undershirt from Costco
- Tactical 5.11 Undershirt
- Jockey 3D Physique Crew Neck Undershirt – Wore this undershirt for a day and was pleasantly surprised overall. Per shirt cost is $24 from Jockey.com.
- Lands End Cotton Undershirts – Reader recommendation via email. Here’s what he had to say about them:
These are great if you are looking for a T that rides higher up on the neck and doesn’t sag as the day wears on.
Men’s Regular Crewneck Undershirt (3-pack)
Item: 18355-3AGX, White, Size: Large, Price: $19.50 ($6.5o per undershirt)
We’ll use this post as our central place to consolidate all information about high, tight collared undershirts!
The other thing that’s pretty interesting here is that reader “G” compared the BVD undershirts to the old Towncraft undershirt that people absolutely swear by. So for those of you guys who love the original Towncraft undershirts, give the BVDs a try and let me know what you think!
If you have a favorite tight collared undershirt, please email me or post a comment here and tell us all about it!
Other posts you might be interested in...
Loading ...
I have been a person that swears by the towncraft undershirts for a long time. The features I really like about those shirts are the softness, the tight but stretchy fit, the durability, thin and lightweight, and the extra long skirt for ease of tucking in. I recently went to Target and saw they had a tee shirt that was fairly similar. It isn’t the same blend, but it is a 95% cotton 5% lycra blend. It looks almost identical. It isn’t quite as soft, but feels great. The collar also looks durable and fits tight yet nicely.
thanks for the comment douglas and for your email confirming that the Target t-shirts you were referring to above were the Merona crew neck t-shirts (pack of 2 for $9.99).
Hey man,it’s so awesome that this website exist ! I hope u can help me brother. I’m a electrician so I spend alot of time in the heat and I love to wear undershirts. After awhile of sweating the shirt starts to sag.I want a collar thats high and super snug. The tighter the better because i know i can sweat and bend my body in different angles and the shirt will not sag. I’m very picky about my undershirts. You think you can help a working man thats wants to look good on and off the field ?
hey corey, thanks for stopping by the site and posting a comment. let me dig into my little bag of goodies to see if i have any specific recommendations based on your specific situation. be back to you shortly!
Try JC Penny’s undershirts. The collars last thru and remain high and don’t sag.
Hey… I am looking for T Shirts that have a tight neck and long sleeve’s and short sleeve’s. Not for undershirts but for over shirts, lol. If anyone knows a good place to shop on the internet please help me out. Thanks
Where can I buy Tight Neck T-Shirts (not undershirts) in solid colors? Hopefully a physical store that sells the brand name where I can check it out with my eyes.
I just purchased the Merona undershirts from Target, and they were NOT a good choice. The collar sags considerabley. Needless to say, I will be returning them immediately.
thanks for the input Nick about Merona undershirts. which ones were they? were they the cotton/spandex blend?
They were the Merona Ultimate which is the 95% cotton and 5% Lycra. When I returned them, I tried on a size smaller, which fit considerablely better. Normally I wear a medium, but I tried on a small. It still fit just fine, and the collar was tight, however, the collar did no actually come up onto my neck, but rather it lied flat around my neck. If you like a very snug collar that comes up onto your neck, I would not recommend these. But if you like lay-flat collars, this is an excellent lightweight shirt. It has a very synthetic feel to it, even though it is 95% cotton. The sleeves extended to about 4 or so inches above the
elbow.
All in all, it’s a a slightly above average shirt, with the pros and cons balancing each other out. I definately recommend trying it on. Target has excellent customer service, so more likely than not they’ll allow you to try it. They have two colors, black and white, $9.99 for a two pack.
Thanks for the tip on the Alfani stretch — I ordered a package and LOVE them. Unfortunately, now I can no longer find them. They don’t event show up on the Macy’s site anymore. Does anyone know if they’ve been discontinued? Is there anywhere else I can find these? I’m so disappointed to finally find an undershirt that has all the qualities I’m looking for only to no longer be able to find them.
Thanks!
An update on the Alfani stretch undershirt: A customer service person at Macy’s explained to me today that Alfani has discontinued the shirts and will not be making more of them. I’m so very disappointed! Time to start the search over again for a great undershirt…
hey sean, thanks for the update! it’s really too bad that macy’s discontinued those undershirts for sure — those were pretty good. the reason they likely have discontinued them is because they probably didn’t sell all that well overall compared to the other undershirts they sell in macys. most manufacturers can’t afford to carry or stock items that don’t sell well, so if a particular style undershirt doesn’t perform well, they discontinue it. it’s kinda like movies – the not so good ones go straight to dvd.
as for a suitable and equal replacement, that might be a little tricky because the alfani stretch crew was around $7.50 each, had a cotton spandex blend (i’m guessing around 95% cotton/5% spandex), and was treated with Silpure antibacterial treatment. macy’s is still carrying the alfani 100% cotton crew neck undershirt that also has been treated with silpure, but it doesn’t have any spandex in it and that is what usually helps the undershirt fit really nicely without being too constricting. the cotton alfani’s are $14.98 for 3 undershirts, so they are a little less expensive, but again, it’s the spandex that really makes the fit. most all of the other cotton/spandex or modal/spandex blend undershirts sold at department stores like macys usually sell for more than $20 each.
you might want to try out the calvin klein 365 undershirt (2-pack for $22.14 on sale) since they have a cotton spandex/elastane blend. or, you might want to check out either the Evolve (2xist at Target Stores) or Life brand (Jockey at Walmart) undershirts to see if they offer cotton/spandex blend crew neck undershirts. i’ll have to visit walmart and target again soon to see their latest offerings.
you may also want to check out some of the blend undershirts/t-shirts from american apparel. their crew neck undershirts have pretty nice collars and they are pretty comfortable as well. i picked up a couple not too long ago and believe they were each under $18 each.
It appears that Macys has brought back, or relaunched, the Alfani stretch t-shirts. I am going to pick some up tomorrow.
http://www1.macys.com/catalog/product/index.ognc?ID=452113&CategoryID=43897
hey matt! thanks for the find. i’ll share it with a reader who wrote in asking about them. although, in looking at that new stretch crew product from Alfani it does look different than the original stretch crews. we’ll see if we can find out how the new ones compare to the old ones.