I *may* have a striped tee addiction, and I *may* hoard them when I find a good one, but it’s because a good one is SO HARD to come by! However, lucky for you all (and to my amazement), there are a whooooooole bunch of really, really, really good striped tees out right now!
Years ago, I thought striped tees were pointless. I didn’t see why I should spend money on one, as I thought they were such a basic and boring piece. As it turns out, its simplicity is what makes it incredibly remixable, versatile, and easy to wear. A good striped tee goes with everything, can be dressed up or down, and makes outfits more interesting than plain tees.
But I stress *good* striped tee because not all striped tees are the same. Trust me on that–I’ve owned an embarrassing number of them while learning that lesson. So, what makes a GOOD striped tee? I think it’ll be different for everyone depending on your style, but here’s what *I* look for in regards to one that is highly remixable and versatile.
WHAT I LOOK FOR IN STRIPED TEES
- A good drape. This is SO important. I usually want a relaxed fit if I’m wearing it with jeans or pants. If I’m pairing it with a skirt I tend to want something more fitted, but sometimes I hit the jackpot and find a striped tee with a good drape that is still fitted enough to work with skirts. However, since 95% of the time I will wear my striped tee with jeans, it’s the relaxed fit tees that I look for (and hoard :D).
- More white based than darker based, like a mostly white tee with black or navy lines rather than a mostly black tee with white lines. While I do like and own the latter, to fill the slot of the very remixable basic in my closet, it must be primarily white with black stripes–or at least even widths of white and black.
- Bolder stripes and stripes that are not super close to each other. Um, is my particularity revealing why I say a good striped tee is hard to come by? ? This bullet point about bolder stripes and stripe proximity is not *always* true for me, but it is probably true 95% of the time. I’ve had striped tees where the lines are very close together, but I don’t feel that they stand on their own as well as tees with bolder stripes AND with stripes that are spaced out a bit more. With thinner and closer stripes, I often feel that the tee can fade into the outfit more than I want, whereas I feel the bolder stripes anchor the entire outfit more. I don’t think there’s anything WRONG with thinner and closer stripes, but again, for a tee that I will consider THE basic/staple striped tee in my closet, I would choose something else.
- Crewnecks over scoop necks and v-necks. Totally preference and based on body shape. I recognize that crewnecks just aren’t flattering on some body types and v-necks are preferred. I should also say that I own striped tees in all 3 of those necklines and wear them all regularly, haha! The reason I consider crewnecks “the” staple in my closet is because I find them easier to wear with statement necklaces. Scoop necks are sometimes too low and don’t work well with statement necklaces, and in general I find v-necks hard to pair with statement necklaces. Whenever I want to dress up a striped tee I will reach for a crewneck to polish off the outfit with a statement necklace.
Again, all of this is based on personal style and preference, but I hope hearing my preferences gives you some categories to pay attention to as you search for striped tees. Things like:
- How do YOU want your tee to drape? Do you want it to drape similarly to me, or do you actually want them to be more fitted?
- Do you want a primarily white or a primarily darker based tee?
- Do you want your striped tee to be able to anchor outfits?
- What kinds of necklaces or accessories would you want to pair with it?
WHERE I USUALLY GET MY FAVORITE STRIPED TEES
I have tried them from all of my go-to stores on a regular basis, but out of all those places, H&M has consistently had my favorite striped tees, both long and short sleeves. Nordstrom has been the next best source. (In the collage above, all the tees are from H&M and Nordstrom.) I generally prefer them to the striped tees at Old Navy, Target, LOFT, and J.Crew Factory. Old Navy is hit or miss, sometimes with a great striped tee, but often times lacking in how the material feels, the cut, or the width of the stripes. Over the years, Target has often had ones that look promising but almost never drape the way I want them to.
Again, it’s all personal preference, but I have owned 5 striped tees from H&M, and basically whenever they have a good one, I buy it even if I don’t need it at the moment. Eventually, because H&M isn’t the best quality (but has everything else I’m looking for, like drape and stripe width, etc.) I know they will fade out. I always like to have the backup ready in my closet!
9 STRIPED TEES + MY THOUGHTS ON THEM
Links to Shop:
one | two | three
four | five | six
seven | eight | nine
Based on looks alone, the first 6 are my favorites and top choices!
Option 1 – Soooo cute and crisp looking! You don’t have to roll the sleeves like they show on the model, and the way it’s tucked looks promising for a good drape.
Option 2 – A MUCH more affordable option from my favorite place to get striped tees, H&M. They come out with a new iteration of their short and long sleeved striped tops every year, so this basically looks like one I have from a couple of years ago though it’s not the *exact* same one. I’m between sizes, which is not helpful. Sorry! Most often I wear size S in their striped tees, though one of my 5 tees from there is M. Pretty surprising given that I’m regularly 6/8 in H&M tops–and usually size 8 there!
Option 3 – I’m wary of Old Navy tees, but several ladies in the PMT Challenges Facebook group said this was a good one. I haven’t tried it yet, but I like the looks of the stripes at least! Also, the crew neckline is preferable over Option 2’s scoop neck. It’d be very easy to wear this casually with jeans or dress it up with a statement necklace. Plus it’s super affordable!
Option 4 – I have this tee in the white/tan stripe and a bunch of you JUMPED ON IT when I showed that one this past summer. (Seen on me HERE.) This is the exact same tee just in black/white, and I need to order it ASAP before you all get to it first, haha! I wear this in size S.
Option 5 – I really love how this one looks, but I can’t tell from the model how it’ll drape. It looks fitted on her, so I would try sizing up for a looser fit. The stripes are pretty bold, like compared to Option 9. The scoop neck doesn’t look too deep and still able to accommodate statement necklaces easily.
Option 6 – I showed this one earlier this week HERE. I have and LOVE this tee in solid grey and olive, so naturally I love it in stripes! It’s pretty thin, but it drapes really well! I wear this in size S.
Option 7 – This tee would be perfect as a basic, but note there is a tan collar. It blends into the model though, so it may also do that for some people’s skin tones. It would mostly be problematic if it competed with statement necklaces.
Option 8 – This is from Target, and it looks like others in the past that I’ve tried which tend to be more fitted, even when sizing up. If fitted is what you’re looking for, this is worth a try.
Option 9 – I really like how relaxed the drape looks on this one as well as the crew neckline for pairing with statement necklaces. The stripes are thinner and closer together, so if that’s the kind of tee you’re going for, try this one. That drape looks great!
Remember, your preferences for striped tees don’t have to match mine, but it *IS* helpful if you have an idea of what you’re looking for in YOUR perfect striped tee. Good luck!
