Are Crew Necks in style in 2023?

By Gabriele

New year, new fashion. Or is it? Crewneck tees are one of the wardrobe staples, which naturally begs the question - are they still in style after all these years?

And is 2023 the year V-necks, Polos, and Henleys finally take over? 

Let’s investigate. 

Crewnecks through history

Would you wear a tee that covers your entire body? Because that's what the first crewnecks were!

Designed to protect outerwear such as suits and shirts, these tees absorbed sweat and other bodily grime. It may sound gross now, but keep in mind that showers were less common and accessible in the 19th century than today. 

With time crewneck undershirts transformed and were picked up by the US navy as part of their mid-20th century uniform, and soon after, Hollywood bad boys such as Marlon Brando and James Dean normalized wearing them on their own.

 The competition

While crewnecks never really went away, men were hungry for something new in the late 20th century and the beginning of the new millennium. 

Cue the massive popularity of V-neck and Henley tees. 

The older generations will remember the early 2000s and the deep V-neck craze (thankfully, that's over!) and the Ryan Gossling-inspired heyday of Henleys in the 2010s. 

Welcome 2023 

For a while there, it may have seemed that crewneck tees were demoted back to their undershirt status. 

But the crews had the last laugh as the athleisure, street style, and nostalgia reemergence has brought them back in full force. 

It's no surprise that people got back to wearing crewnecks everywhere again. They're comfortable, versatile, and functional. 

In 2023, expect to see more colorful crewnecks that you can style with everything from jeans, leather pants, and joggers to cargo trousers and shorts. 

The t-shirt will also look great with oversized jewelry and under a chunky bomber jacket named to be a top must-have this year. 

Stock up!

The key to looking top-notch is opting for high-quality t-shirts such as the ones from Fresh Clean Threads.

When it comes to fabric, always choose cotton, high-quality cotton-poly blends, linen, merino wool, or jersey, and forget the cheap synthetics that make you sweat bullets even in winter. 

Stock up on tees in a few colors to mix and match for endless outfit options. 

Besides classic shades such as black, navy, grey, white, and olive, experiment with the trending colors of 2023.

We're talking about magenta, burnt orange, sky blue, and jade. Being brave in your fashion choices allows you to show off your personality fully! 

Lastly, be careful about graphic tees. While subtle and artsy graphics are okay, large prints, silly slogans, and cringy logos are best to be avoided. 

How to wear a crewneck tee? 

Yes, you can always wear your white or black crewneck tee with jeans and a hoodie or a leather jacket. The classics are timeless for a reason. 

But remember that if your tee doesn't fit you well, you will not look good, no matter the outfit. 

So before stocking up on a new batch, make sure you know how a crewneck should look. 

The crewneck should fit nicely on the shoulders, sleeves, and torso and be of proper length.

• The shoulder seam should sit where the shoulder ends, and the arm begins and not go much further than that. 

• Forget about tees with sleeves reaching the elbows. The best length is mid of the biceps and not further. 

• Lastly, make sure your t-shirt hem ends somewhere in the middle of your pant zipper and doesn't hug your body too tight yet isn't too wide. 

Isn't that simple? 

And now that you have it all figured out, enjoy 2023, the year of the crewneck! 

(SJ/GP)