What to Look for in Your Next Level Shirts
An underrated feature of our shirts is their durability. Think about how many years-old t-shirts you probably have in your closet right now and how they have matched your outfit at one time or another. This durability most likely denotes the high quality, but it doesn’t hurt to examine your old t-shirt a little more closely.
How do they look a few years after purchase? Has the material kept the same color? Have the seams remained intact? Has the material been waterlogged or not? Any material, be it made by Berne, Alstyle, Next Level shirts, or Jerzees t shirts, can stay in good condition for a long time if you follow the washing and ironing instructions exactly. But some types of material are a little more durable than others, so the question arises, how can you know your clothes’ durability in advance? Well, there are a few clues.
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The Type of Preferred Fabrics
Most of the T-shirts you can find on the market fall into two categories. Those that use 100% cotton blends and those that combine cotton with synthetic fibers. Traditionally the most durable shirts are constructed with double-knit natural fabrics, a process by which the material is intertwined in a loop-knitted manner. How can you tell if your t-shirt is made of interlock fabrics? Well, look closely at it turned inside out. In the case of intertwined materials, you can see a difference between the shirt’s front and back. In contrast, the difference is unnoticeable for shirts constructed from slightly thinner fabrics.
It would be best to look for other designations when buying your next t-shirt. When it comes to shirts made from 100% natural fibers, perhaps of the highest quality are those constructed from ring-spun cotton, a process by which shirts become significantly more robust than those produced from regular blends.
If you would like to purchase a t-shirt made of synthetic materials, then perhaps the best option is a t-shirt made of tri-blend, a combination of ring-spun cotton, rayon, and polyester that combines the softness of natural cotton with the durability and stretchiness of synthetic fibers. It’s also important to note that compared to synthetics, 100% cotton knits are more prone to shrinkage when wet, which can be inconvenient in certain circumstances.
The Quality of the Stitching and Printing
One of the easiest ways to identify the potential durability of a t-shirt is to look at its brand. If it’s made by companies like Gildan, American Apparel, Hanes, Jerzees t shirts, North End, or Next Level Apparel shirts, then we’re probably talking about a quality product. But what happens when the brand is one we don’t recognize? How can we then tell the quality of the product?
One of the most reliable guidelines to consider is the quality of the stitching. How do they feel when you touch them? Do they distort the overall shape of the shirt, or do they seem too tight? Then the shirt is most likely not of good quality. What about the quality of the printed message? Very often, shirts of questionable build quality try to hide the poor fabrics used by distracting you with a printed message. Take a close look at the print and see if you can spot any small cracks or holes that have formed in the letters or images. If you can, the message will most likely fade after a few cycles in the washing machine. A good idea would be to go for T-shirts with embroidered messages or images, a slightly more expensive process that is not economically viable for manufacturers who want to make T-shirts at the lowest possible price regardless of quality.
The Name of the Brand
As we specified in the previous section, one of the easiest ways to identify the durability and comfort potential of the T-shirt you want to buy is to identify its brand. Some new companies are just entering the North American market and do not have a product catalog that will offer you the best reassurance. But other textile manufacturing companies such as Gildan shirts, Next Level Shirts, or Jerzees T shirts have decades of experience and interaction with their target audience in the North American market, so you always have the resources at your disposal to make the right choice for your situation. And speaking of resources:
The Reviews from Other Users
No two shirts are the same, and the digitization of the world allows us today to get opinions on potential products we want to buy from the comfort of our homes. What do people say about the Next Level shirts you want to buy? Is their material soft enough to wear indoors? What about cheap Jerzees t shirts? Do they exhibit sufficient durability to be used for yard work?
Online communication can bring to the surface a minor flaw that the manufacturer may have missed or a product feature that may not suit every type of consumer. What do people say? If 99% of people are happy with that product, you will probably be too. If not, then you can be the one to point out precisely what is wrong with the product and warn potential future consumers.
Jerzees T shirts, Gildan, Anvil, or Something Else
And finally, we come to the most critical aspect of choosing a garment: the subjective factor. Maybe you are the kind of person who can only wear Next Level shirts, or perhaps you prefer the quality of a tri-blend t-shirt over a natural fiber one, even if the value for money, in this case, doesn’t make much sense for your particular situation.
Touch the fabric, and try on the shirt; how does it feel to the touch? Is the fabric soft and stretchy enough to wear every day? Does it let your skin breathe? Is it thick enough that you won’t feel cold in it but also thin enough that you won’t sweat? All these questions may have different answers for different people.
Do you want a quality T-shirt? One made by a reputable company like Jerzees T shirts, Gildan, or Anvil? Many clues can help you make the right decision, but in the end, the most important thing to remember is that buying any clothing item is subjective, and to be 100% sure that the shirt you choose will fit properly, you need to try it on in person.