Elevated status

NEW YORK -- Everyone's got them but no one has enough. That's the status of T-shirts in the American wardrobe. Lately, though, the simple, shapeless T has taken a fashionable turn: It now has a body-skimming fit, is offered in a rainbow of colors and has a more luxurious hand thanks to new fabric blends and washes.

Ease really is the appeal of the T, but designers and manufacturers have realized comfort doesn't necessarily mean sloppy. The Los Angeles-based Juicy Couture is widely credited with making casual clothes cool, but why stop with the hoodie and drawstring pants? asks Claire Stansfield, co-founder and co-president of C&C California, another West Coast sportswear collection that made its mark with signature T-shirts.

Stansfield and business partner Cheyann Benedict have been T-shirt connoisseurs since high school. "Our favorites were always the ones we'd had for a long time. We liked them because they were broken down from years of washing; the only 'new' ones we'd buy were from vintage shops because they had the same feel," Stansfield says.

But, of course, 20-year-old T-shirts not only feel worn in, they look worn in. C&C's mission became to create a more sophisticated version of the old T that would be more appropriate for more occasions.

"Everyone has a T-shirt from high school or college that they stole from their boyfriend that is their 'go-to' shirt when they wanted to be comfortable. But we also wanted you to able to wear it out," Stansfield says.

The T-shirts of a few years ago, with their bare midriffs and almost sheer fabric, were hardly appropriate for work or restaurants -- even in free-spirited Los Angeles, she adds, but the T-shirts with a longer, leaner silhouette were only being produced by top-tier designers such as Helmet Lang with a $200 price tag.

Stansfield says the loosely woven cotton jersey T-shirts her company is now making fills a void -- or maybe even an abyss -- considering the public's appetite for T's.

Moise Emquies, owner and designer of Splendid, says it's the 50-50 blend of pima cotton and modal, a stronger, softer form of rayon, that has built a loyal following for his T-shirts.

"We have crewnecks, scoopnecks, V-necks. They're different from other T-shirts because of our contemporary fit, but it's really all about the fabric," Emquies says.

The hand of the fabric is as appealing as the shape it gives to shirts, he says. "It can be worn under a suit or to work out. It's good for everything."

Customers stock up on shirts in colors they like because Splendid, unlike most T-shirt makers, follows the fashion calendar, only offering colors one season and then moving on to new ones. There are 18 fashion colors per season, with only black, white and heather gray remaining as constants of the collection. "There's always a red, but a different shade of red every season depending on our mood and what's going on in fashion," Emquies says.

Men are snapping up T-shirts in pink and green as quickly as blue and green ones -- which traditionally are the top sellers, says Todd Snyder, vice president of men's design at J.Crew.

Snyder also says men are getting more style savvy and are learning to use T-shirts as a layering tool, giving a bright pop of color under a sweater or a classic oxford blue button-down shirt.

J.Crew switched to a more tailored fit about a year ago, which makes men look trimmer by shortening the sleeves, emphasizing the shoulders and slightly shortening the length. "It's not form-fitting, but it's cleaned up. It's not a gym shirt, it's something you can wear on your own," Snyder says.

He adds: "Bigger doesn't make you look slimmer -- you have to have the right proportions."