Blue Collar No More

Barneys New York, the upscale department store, is not the sort of place one tends to shop for basics. Last December, when the luxury retailer opened a new floor dedicated to casual wear at its flagship location on Madison Avenue, the space was stocked with exotic caged birds (which are not for sale) and $150 pairs of jeans (which are). Perhaps more noteworthy, roughly one-third of the floor was devoted entirely to that most prosaic of wardrobe necessities, the T shirt. As Julie Gilhart, vice president for fashion merchandising, explains, "We are in a T-shirt moment."

What distinguishes this T-shirt moment from other high points in the evolution of the fashion staple is that tees need no longer be relegated to weekends, sport a logo or come in a packet of three. The latest versions are well tailored (often blended with Lycra), range in color from pastel pink to peacock blue, and boast sleeves and necklines the people at Hanes have probably never even considered. And needless to say, they don't cost $3.95. Women are buying them in bulk, for $25 to $60 apiece, to wear for work by day and more formal occasions at night.

The trend, which first cropped up last spring, has blossomed into big business, due in large part to the widespread acceptance of more casual dress, both in the office and for evenings out. "Even though they're expensive in the world of T shirts, they're cheap in the scheme of things, because they're versatile," says Kal Ruttenstein, fashion director at Bloomingdale's, which has seen T-shirt sales jump significantly over the past six months. "They can be worn with jeans or under a $1,000 jacket, and they've replaced blouses and sweaters for the office. We're not talking about undershirts here." Part of their appeal, however, is exactly those qualities they share with their proletarian cousins: they travel well, rarely wrinkle, fit comfortably and, not incidentally, are machine washable.

The trend has been fueled by a handful of small niche designers, most of which barely existed five years ago and all claiming fans among the female cast members of Friends. These companies are turning impressive profits despite the existing competition of such stalwart manufacturers as the Gap, Old Navy and Fruit of the Loom. Three Dots, for example, which was launched in 1995 and boasts a "cotton as soft as cashmere," is projecting sales this year of $24 million, up from $16 million in 1999. Its success is echoed by brands such as Juicy Couture, Michael Stars, James Perse and Jet, all based in and around Los Angeles, a veritable T-shirt laboratory thanks to the area's warm weather, relaxed approach to fashion and body-proud residents eager to show off well-toned torsos.

"A lot of the East Coast stores didn't believe in tees at first," says John Eshaya, who founded and designs for Jet. "But now they're eating them up." Bloomingdale's, for one, has set up "T-Zones" in its 25 stores nationwide. Newer styles are featuring prints, rhinestones and appliques, while some high-end designers, such as Stella McCartney for Chloe and Helmut Lang, have been showing, and selling, tees that can cost as much as $300. The big question is, How you gonna keep T shirts down at the Gap, now that they've seen Barneys?