I’d all the time been skeptical of Skims, the shapewear model launched by Kim Kardashian six years in the past. I didn’t doubt its reputation, or how flattering its sculpting designs could be—and I appreciated its makes an attempt to be extra size-inclusive. That mentioned, although not as egregious as a tequila enterprise, it was nonetheless a celebrity-backed product line. And that, my associates, might simply imply it’s all title, no sport.
So when Skims launched a males’s line final 12 months, I took a glance, however nonetheless remained unconvinced. Whereas its girls’s campaigns had lengthy featured fashions of all sizes and styles—the model’s slogan is, in any case, “Options For Each Physique”—its male fashions have been virtually completely chiseled, first-team athletes like Nick Bosa (a big defensive finish), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (an all-star guard), and Neymar (a mega-star midfielder). Skims’s males’s underwear—which Kardashian herself talked to GQ about final October—could have offered out as quickly as the road launched, however as a longtime Husky Boy, I simply wasn’t satisfied that any of its merchandise would look or really feel nearly as good on me.
I’m right here to confess I used to be fallacious. Over the previous month, I’ve been sporting three of Skims’s signature on a regular basis tees—the Traditional T-Shirt, the Lengthy-Sleeve T-Shirt, and the Outsized Jersey Lounge T-Shirt—and stay as impressed by their drape, texture, and weight as I used to be the primary time I touched them. And that first impression was a powerful one: comprised of various blends of cotton, rayon, and spandex, Skims’s proprietary materials are silky on the pores and skin and are neither too skinny (and subsequently exposing), nor too thick (and subsequently too scorching). The feel paired instantly with the opposite supplies in my wardrobe, which usually skews streetwear-adjacent, from my 5-inch Lululemon operating shorts to my performance-khaki Radmor golf shorts.
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Let’s begin with the Traditional T-shirt, the primary that I attempted. Accessible in seven colours—which vary from dusty and earthy to the anticipated black, white, and grey—it match comfortably from the beginning, and to be trustworthy, I wasn’t even certain that Skims might ace that. Flattering on the shoulders, shorter than typical within the sleeves, and tapered by the torso, there isn’t a ton of wiggle room (no less than not when worn true-to-size), however the material by no means as soon as triggered the dreaded “tug”—when a T-shirt simply feels too tight, or will get bunched up in your stomach—which any bigger-bodied man is aware of nicely.
The Lengthy-Sleeve T-shirt was equally satisfying. By way of stretchiness, it is a step up from the basic tee, which is 100% cotton, however nonetheless a world away from full-send spandex, or skin-tight Below Armour base layers. Fitted throughout the chest, flattering across the lats, and just-roomy-enough within the forearms, it’s an important early-morning choice, whether or not your schedule contains venturing out below the cloak of daybreak for espresso, or heading straight to the health club earlier than the solar’s out.
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Which brings us to my favourite of the trio: the boxier, softer, and surprisingly hefty Outsized Jersey Lounge T-Shirt. Proper out of the bag it felt three, 4, possibly even 5 occasions heavier than the basic tee, and decidedly silkier. It is comprised of a mixture of cotton, spandex, and rayon, the sort of drapey, bouncy materials menswear not often will get rewarded with. In T-shirt kind? An enormous rating, particularly when it’s particularly reduce so the sleeves run all the way down to the forearms and the shoulders grasp a bit wider—two components that my construct and I’ve all the time appreciated. It now makes up one-half of my go-to summer season outfit—which, for what it’s price, is the precise reverse of menswear’s present “large pants, little shirt” components: large T-shirt, brief shorts. (It feels good to let the thighs unfastened, fellas.)
All the tees above are technically loungewear, as most Skims stuff is, however I’ve discovered myself sporting them it doesn’t matter what I’m doing—hitting the health club, working from my desk at house, winding down post-dinner. They’re smooth, polished, snug, and lots acceptable, even when they are a nearer relative of the Worry of God household, than, say, capital-M Menswear model Merz b. Schwanen. After years of trying to find an under-$100 tee that might mix the consolation of athleisure with the construction and subtlety of a extra basic material, these lastly match the invoice. Plus, every one survived its first wash cycle, one thing that may’t be mentioned for a bunch of different, extra insider-y tees I’ve purchased. Mea culpa, Kim Kardashian: I ought to’ve by no means doubted you.
