Plain good quality basics. Where are they???

[stringbean]

Went to my local town this morning, looking for some plain short-sleeved t-shirts. I just want some in neutral colours - white, navy, grey, and maybe one with a navy/white stripe. I came away with precisely nothing.

I don't think I'm demanding too much. I'd like good quality cotton, not that see-through thin crap. I don't want artificial fibres/viscose. I'd like a slightly scooped neck, long enough in the body that they go further than the top of my jeans (a perennial problem - I'm 5'8 and quite long torso) and don't shrink after the first wash.

So where are they? Which shops sell these? Gap used to be my port of call for these, but they've got increasingly thin and poor quality in the past couple of years and the white rapidly yellows.

Any ideas anyone? Many thanks.

£200 for a dry-clean only, viscose t-shirt???

Gap, esprit, sometimes h&m (though you need to check them out in store as some stuff is flimsy). New Look can sometimes come up trumps - they did some lovely cotton tshirts last year.

Tesco is worth a look. It is a bit hit and miss but sometimes the cotton/elastane plain t-shirts are excellent quality.

I think Puddles is having a laugh

I do often wonder if Puddles is on a wind up.

Puddles is clearly a troll

I like the tshirts from banana republic. Not sure if they do l/s though

If I was to spend £70 on a t-shirt I would not expect it to look like it cost about £6. Not even cotton at that price!

ASOS have some reasonable v neck ones at the moment for £10 which I can recommend. I've got a couple and they wash OK and aren't too short. I'd recommend sizing up if you want a more casual/dressed down look or if you have large norks. The 10 on me (30FF) is pretty fitted (but the low v makes it flattering)

They have black and white but also quite a few other colours

I often wondered were there really people who would pay 200 pounds for a viscose t shirt.
Seems there are.
I baulk at 28 pounds for The White Company one.

Hopefully no one would be daft enough to be 200 quid for a t shirt.

I have found good t shirts (100% cotton) at H&M, Zara and Uniqlo. Boden are a bit more expensive but I have found them v good too.

Actually I regularly pay £200 for a Tshirt. I don't see the problem.

I don't mean to offend people but I do wear mainly designer brand clothes. I don't take the piss out of people who only shop at cheaper shops so why all the negativity for purchasing good quality labels.

Because £200 is an extremely unrealistic price to pay for a T-shirt, especially one made from viscose.

Surely you must know that most people in RL either don't have that kind of money or couldn't justify spending that much on one item of clothing?

Or do you live in some kind of bubble?

£200 may be unrealistic to you but not to me. That's my point. I don't assume that people can't 'afford' the clothes I can so I make suggestions based on clothes I have that I love and yes they will be perhaps more expensive then what the average poster will purchase but they are my suggestions nonetheless. They aren't meant to make people feel inferior.

As I say I don't look down on people and post derogatory remarks about 'not being in the real world' or 'Having a laugh' or 'on a wind up' when people post about £6 tshirts which I wouldn't buy in a million years so if you think it's ridiculous to spend that much on a Tshirt then so be it but that's normal for me.

clothes prices vary so much the beauty of mn is that you get everyone's opinons.

I've found Gap has improved its game after a few years of substandard. I've been living in their Bowery soft Ts this winter and they've washed and worn brilliantly.

If you can put up with the wait and the Customs faff, good ol' preppy LLBean in the USA have good quality basics in a wide range of colours and sizes. Online at www.llbean.com/
Not stylish but real cotton and hard-wearing, and, above all PLAIN. Hardly any frills/embroideries or other such tat.

Although Customs do add tax/duty, the prices are lower than UK ones to start with, so the overall cost works out approx comparable to Seasalt or Boden. Postage not cheap, but I tend to wait and do an order just once or twice a year (they do good - synthetic fibre - cold-weather/outdoor gear), so that spreads the postal cost over several items.

For a limited range of colours but good quality and a clear conscience (cotton is great to wear but can cause terrible pollution), try very, very ethical Greenfibres www.greenfibres.com/ They are a small company and I've always found them really pleasant to deal with.

Log ago, I used to love teeshirts made by French company Sun and Sand. They were fantastic - flattering, well made, long-lasting, great colours. I still remember an elegant, tasteful jade green (and that's not easy to achieve!) Anyone know what happened to them??

Uniqlo is brilliant for this, as others have said.

The point, Puddles, is that those of us who know a bit about the rag trade know that when you're talking about basic t-shirts, there's no quality differential that justifies a mark up to £200. £70, sure. But not £200. Also, don't pretend £200 is a "high street" price. "High street" doesn't mean "not haute couture". It doesn't even mean designer diffusion lines. It means chain stores.

Surely you must see that paying £200 for viscose means you are being ripped-off?

I would love a few 200 here and there to splash on some clothes. But I wouldn't buy viscose which I think looks cheap!

Puddles, you're not helping yourself.

OP - I've had some success with basic t-shirts at Hobbs and White Company. They are £30-£35ish, and I do think that's expensive for t-shirts, but they hold their shape well and are better quality cotton than some of the cheaper ones I've got. That said, for basic cami tops, I don't think you can get much better than the H&M £3.99 ones.

Not sure if you are interested in ordering from the US, but Eddie Bauer does some great basics and they offer most items in a tall option.

I have several t-shirts in tall and really like the extra length (I'm 5'9") and they are good quality too.

puddles- I think you are missing the point. It isn't that you spending 200 per tshirt makes others feel inferior.

It is more that people think it is not good value for money and a foolish amount to spend on a basic item, which can be purchased at a fraction of that price at the same quality.
Secondly, the OP talks about going to her local town and mentions 'Gap' so it seems v unlikely that she will have that sort of money to spend on a basic t shirt.
I also can't understand why you wouldn't assume that people can't 'afford' to spend the money you do on clothes. Surely it is obvious to you that the huge majority of the population don't spend 100s or 1000s of pounds a month on clothes?