
Sure, we all know what basics professional women are supposed to have in their closets, but if you’re buying one for the first time or replacing one you’ve worn into the ground, it can be a pain to find exactly the right incarnation in stores. In “The Hunt,” we search the stores for a basic item that every woman should have.
Here’s something we haven’t talked about in far too long — which are the best women’s t-shirts for layering at the office, particularly for wearing under blazers, sweater jackets, cardigans, and more? Which ones are your favorite for “fancier” looks — and which ones are your favorite for daily wear because they’re machine washable, don’t cling, etc? Which t-shirts look good with work outfits — as well as weekend outfits?
For my $.02, I’ve always been a huge fan of t-shirts under suits — particularly compared to sleeveless looks. A simple black tee is washable, will protect your suit from sweat, and you always know you can remove the blazer if you get hot, rather than worrying about what the office culture is regarding sleeveless looks.
{related: stylish tops for under suits}
A simple t-shirt should ideally be a thick(ish), non-clingy fabric. I’ve always been a fan of scoopnecks because they feel a bit fancier than V-necks — and crewnecks have never felt flattering on me personally.
We’ve talked before about ways to elevate a simple t-shirt for work outfits, including layering them beneath cardigans and sweater blazers, adding brooches, and more.
To review, here are a few of the Hall of Famers we’ve included over the years:

Above, great tees for layering: elbow scoop / v-neck / scoop / long-sleeve / elbow (not pictured but also)
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- Hall of Famers: Caslon, J.Crew, Three Dots, Splendid, Eddie Bauer, Theory (also!), Velvet, Boss, Rag & Bone (crew), Lafayette 148 New York, and L.L. Bean.
- $25 or Under: Caslon, Banana Republic, J.Crew, Everlane, L.L. Bean, Uniqlo, J.Crew Factory, Banana Republic Factory, and Target (New Day)
- Opaque: L.L. Bean and Uniqlo (also check sweater tees like this one at Pendleton)
- Organic: Cuyana, Everlane, Eileen Fisher, H&M Conscious, Grana, and Fair Indigo
- Silk(y): Vince Camuto, Halogen, Banana Republic, Boden, Club Monaco, Of Mercer, Cuyana, Banana Republic Factory (also this), and Ravella
- Usual suspects for “interesting” tees for work: Ted Baker (also at Nordstrom), Akris Punto & Lafayette 148 New York (personality necklines), for a variety of prints check Boden, Ann Taylor, Talbots, and L.L. Bean.
- Bodysuits (these are coming back in a HUGE way!): Tuxe, Everlane, Free People, Z Supply, Only Hearts, Commando, Express, Leith, Wolford and Yummie
- Plus sizes: Universal Standard, Eileen Fisher, Talbots, Vince, L.L. Bean, Lands’ End, Modcloth, Eddie Bauer, Lauren Ralph Lauren, Kohl’s, and Ravella
- Maternity sizes: Belly Bandit, Seraphine, NOM, Old Navy, Gap, Ingrid & Isabel, PinkBlush, and Kohl’s
Pictured above, some of the best plus-size tees for work: one / two / three / four / five (also this)
Curious for older versions of this roundup? Here they were in 2017, 2014, 2012, our 2011 discussion and, AWWW, our 2009 poll.
Call me crazy, but ballet sleeves always feel elegant — and this Caslon t-shirt has been a best-seller for years. They currently have a TON of lovely springy colors in stock, including not one but two light blues. Huzzah! The shirt is $25 and comes in sizes S-XL. Caslon Ballet Sleeve
The J.Crew slim perfect scoopneck also has slightly longer sleeves, and is a perennial reader favorite — it’s $35 and comes in sizes XXS-3X. Everlane’s new pima scoopneck also looks great if you like this look (for $30, sizes XS-XL). Banana Republic and BR Factory’s timeless tees also look great for the price. This Lauren Ralph Lauren one has been around for eons also; it’s at Zappos and Macy’s has it in plus sizes. Kohl’s also has a number of elbow sleeve tees.
White House Black Market has always been mentioned by readers in the past as having great tees; they’re all around $39.
There are a number of what I would call “fancy t-shirt brands” that make work-acceptable ones, of course — I’d include Three Dots (pictured), Splendid, James Perse (lots at Nordstrom Rack right now!), Velvet, Goodlife, and Michael Stars.
Another option: readers have recommended some of the more outdoorsy brands over the years, include L.L. Bean, Lands’ End, and Eddie Bauer.
I’ve shared my theory before: denim styles affect workwear styles because you end up buying new tops for new denim shapes, and in turn you end up wanting to wear those newer tops to work.
There’s a lot of talk right now about skinny jeans being out — and looser jeans/balloon jeans being “in” — which I think explains why bodysuits are now EVERYWHERE. After all, if you’re wearing a more voluminous bottom you’ll want a tighter top. (Readers, what are your thoughts on bodysuits? I’d love to hear them…)
The Everlane bodysuit pictured above is a nice, basic crew neck for $35 — compare that to fancier versions from Adea or $85, Tuxe for $125, or Wolford for $110-$220.
More spots to look for basic bodysuit t-shirts for layering with office looks: Free People, Z Supply, Only Hearts, Commando, Express, Leith, Wolford and Yummie.
If you’re feeling fancy, of course, there’s a huge range of designer tees. Some of the ones I hear mentioned a lot as excellent tees (particularly basics to layer with office looks) include L’Agence (pictured), Vince, Rag & Bone, and Frame.
I should also note that classic workwear brands have some highly rated tees in this price range as well, including Boss, Lafayette 148 New York, and Theory. (Readers have always loved the Juin tee from Theory; I’m happy to see it’s still available at the Theory Outlet.)
These are all around $80 and up; the L’Agence on above is $85 at Nordstrom and L’Agence.com.
A few more affordable picks that somehow feel like they fit in this category include Universal Standard (their tees are around $50 and come in sizes 00-40) and Cuyana ($35 but it looks really lux for some reason).
Printed t-shirts can be another option, of course, and a great way to add some personality to your outfits — but finding sophisticated prints can be tricky.
Ted Baker always excels at this, I think — tops like the one above can be found at Nordstrom, Amazon, or TedBaker.com for anywhere from $32 (like the pictured one, on sale!) to $95 (full price).
For a variety of other printed jersey t-shirts check Boden, Ann Taylor, Talbots, and L.L. Bean — I’d love to hear if you guys know of any other places!
An unusual neckline can be a nice way to make a t-shirt feel a bit fancier. This square-necked one from Akris Punto has been around for a while and is $295 at Nordstrom. Lafayette 148 New York is another brand that historically makes what I’ve called “personality necklines” in the past — there’s an interesting keyhole-shaped one at Nordstrom right now for $298.
A quick hunt for other square-necked t-shirts found them at Loft, Modcloth, Reformation, Vince, and new-to-me store Kettlewell (specializing in basic t-shirts in a huge range of colors).
Readers, what do you think are the best women’s t-shirts for layering at the office? Where do you draw the line between a work-appropriate t-shirt and a weekend tee?
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Anon for this
OK, I need to vent about the vaccine distribution for a second in a place where people who aren’t interested can collapse the thread. Please do so if that would help you today.
It’s in the news today that wealthy white people in Marin County, near where I grew up, are misusing access codes that were meant for people of color to get the vaccine through California’s scheduling system. These people were not otherwise eligible. I don’t know how they got the codes or where they stole them from, but the county is aware of the issue and not really able to do anything to stop it except canceling appointments here and there. I need to vent my frustration that this is happening and my frustration with “well we just need shots into arms!” at a time when POC are getting completely f*cked in every way with this whole pandemic. It’s like we were all saying black lives matter when it was just on Instagram but now that there is the chance for real action, it’s all “stop complaining, we all need the vaccine at some point.” I wish these people would get prosecuted for fraud but I know they won’t. It’s really really galling because Marin is known for being very anti-vax for measles and flu and now they’re trampling POC to get the COVID vaccine so they can resume their Flywheel classes.
I don’t want to bring down my friends or family when they can’t “collapse the thread” but now it’s out there and you can avoid it if you want. I don’t want or need advice. I just want to vent on the Internet and raise awareness of this disgusting situation.
Anon
I completely agree with you. The actions of some people to obtain vaccines ASAP are really disgusting and show I complete lack of empathy for other human beings.
Anon
Nooooo, I don’t think anybody would shrug this off. This is objectively wrong. When people say we need “shots into arms”, it’s more about extra doses left over at the end of the day – NOT actively lying and diverting them from the intended population.
Anon
I get the rage, but I’m just wondering how CA thought they could legally limit shots based on race.
Anonymous
My understanding is that they legally cannot limit vaccinations based on race — this has recently been stated in both the NYT and Washington Post. New York has been limiting appointments based on home address zip codes. I have no idea if that could withstand a legal challenge.
It does sound like Marin made a pretty obvious mistake. Zip codes work because you have to bring some piece of paper with your name and address.
Anon
That is terrible and I’m so sorry. I totally understand your frustration.
Anon
I ordered a Ted Baker tee and sent it back. The design was beautiful, but the material was thin and very clingy. I got a good sale price but knew that if I kept it, it would just sit in the closet joining the other articles of clothing that I put on and take right off because I’m not happy with how they look on me.
Anon
I have the Caslon half sleeve tee in 2 colors (a solid and a stripe). It’s nice material and not clingy at all, if that’s what you’re looking for. Seems to run big because the XS is loose on me and I’m often a small.
No Face
Does anyone have experience with the brand Amour Vert? A pretty top was featured on the moms site today. Now I’ve looked at the entire website and I want multiple items. What is the fit generally like? Quality?
Anon
I love, love, love them. I have some silk items that are very high quality and ethically made. Very intrigued by newer items that aren’t dry-clean-only. I also have The Best wool sweater dress that I wore to the White House on a frighteningly cold day (from several years ago). Their stuff has held up. I’m on the East Coast and also like that I won’t see a million copies of things when I go out (theoretically, these days).
I get their catalogs and always want all of the pretty things. Their stuff worked well with suits (blouses) but I still use it now that we are denim casual (and I’m WFH for a year).
bellatrix
At 43, I put bodysuits squarely into the category of “wore it the first time, not gonna wear it this time.” At 13 I had the slim waist to pull them off; these days, not so much. I haven’t tucked in a shirt in at least 10 years (and I will be very sad to say goodbye to the long shirt/slim pants silhouette).
Bayareaesq
I prefer not to wear cotton tees for work. I’ve had good luck with tees in fabrics such as synthetic jersey (like some that Talbots used to offer). I’m interested in knowing what synthetic tees others have liked for work wear.