Good quality plain cotton long or 3/4 sleeve tops

[jheaefs]

Any suggestions for good quality (not see through / not overly thick (sweatshirt) type) tops. Have finally managed to get the bottom half of me right in terms of trousers and jeans - slim wide leg and cannot find nice tops that are not striped or loud patterns. Just good old plain navy, white, grey, black tops that are made well and will last the test of time and the washing machine! No box shaped or cropped just ones that suit a now 54 year old Mum who wants to get her basic wardrobe right. Casual chic I think it is 😀 Any suggestions would be great. Thank you!😀

I had some really good ones from Esprit a couple of years ago. Failing that Uniqlo are usually good with basics like this, and good old Marks as well.

Cos or Arket if you don’t mind a crew neck. If you want a good v or scoop neck, they don’t exist ime annoyingly.

Uniqlo

Rapanui is good for these. I bought a top with three quarter sleeves years ago and it's still going strong.

Just Tshirt type ones? Mine are from Crew Clothing and Seasalt - plain colours, not patterned

I agree with Remus that it depends on what kind of neckline you want?
If it's crew neck then I'd go along with the suggestions so far (except for Uniqlo which I find very hit and miss in terms of quality but lots of people disagree). But I like a round neckline that sits just below the collarbone (so lower than a crew but higher than a scoop) and I have a terrible time finding them - I've just resorted to buying one in the Margaret Howell sale that's very nice but so it should be as it cost £50. Or Toast do them sometimes but they're not a lot cheaper.

Esprit went out of business, sadly:

Thank you everyone for taking the time to post back. I am going to do an hour this evening and see what these shops have online and start there. I havent bought on Margaret Howell before. I also was a fine of Esprit in my "younger" days. I bought a cotton top in Uniqlo recently and was so disappointed but bought two jackets for my daughters and they live in them. So very hit and miss. I would ideally like crew neck and v neck and I used to live in Boden but now not so much. Price often doesn't reflect quality hence why I really would like to get something that will last and even if its a little higher in price, that I get good wear from it. Thank you all again for the suggestions and an online browse session is on the cards this weekend. 😀

I forgot to mention Community Clothing op. They do long sleeve crew necks in plain navy/white/black/grey etc. I can't vouch for them personally as their necklines are too high for me but I've had other stuff from them that's very good quality.

If you have the budget then I've also heard Sunspel T shirts are the best in the business (but again I can't get on with their necklines.)

communityclothing.co.uk/collections/womens-t-shirts-tops

In Autumn, I bought some long sleeved T-shirt tops from George (asda) and Tu (Sainsburys). I solely WFH, so they've get worn and washed many times over winter and still look great. I prefer a V-neck as more flattering on me. They also had some with button details at the neck and just a bit different to a plain, round necks.

M and S do some and I've always found them reasonable quality

Have you looked at Landsend? They are good for basic stuff.

I'll second Landsend especially for basics for layering. I've just bought these
LandsEnd
Quality is always good and they wash well.

Far from high end but I live in these type of tops and get them at Matalan - think they’re £5 and wash brilliantly , wearing a black one at the moment which I’d estimate has been washed 50 times and is still actually black. I do replace them every year or so but I’ve paid more for them at M&S and not worth the extra

M&S do some 3/4 sleeve, slash necked tshirts. Black, white, navy, pink, various coloured breton striped.

Primark have them, plain with long sleeves, they last longer than ones ive bought from higher end places

Looking for the same, with boat, scoop or v neck. I found a good one from Boden via J*hn Lewis. Navy, long sleeve, heavy cotton, boat neck, nice length. I’d like some more interesting colour options - not white or black. Seems really hard to find these unless crew neck these days. And so many stripes!!

I have these in bllac and navy - they make them in a range of colours and they wash well and look good over a vest or (at this time of year) a thermal t shirt. https://conquista-fashion.com/collections/tops-new/products/ink-long-sleeve-faux-wrap-top-in-stretch-jersey-sustainable-fabric

Earth Wardrobe is pretty good quality and a decent range of colours earthwardrobe.com/collections/long-sleeve/womens

I saw lovely ones in MUJI yesterday, cotton U-neck they are called. Atm £7.95 in the sale! I have M&S which wash so well but the high neck annoyingly rides up when I wear under a jumper (that feeling that you think you've put it on the wrong way round!)

These look exactly the neck that I like. I'll pop in over the weekend as out of stock in virtually all sizes online.

I'm not surprised. Their quality had declined. A lot of stretch in their T's as well.

I hadn't heard of conquista or community clothing. Great to have some new names to look at. Wishing everyone luck who is searching for the right top !
If I get something that ticks all the boxes I will share also.Have a lovely day and thanks again everyone for taking the time to respond!

Thank you for this thread. I've been looking for some pure cotton scoop neck T shirts for the last few years to replace my J Crew ones that have been washed to oblivion. I've ordered large in different colours. How is the sizing in these? Do they come up small? Or this the cotton fairly loose & lightweight?

For scoop neck plain tshirts I love the Jigsaw ones, great quality.

I buy Primark ones. Great range of colours. They wash well and retain shape.
Really well priced and genuinely good in my opinion.