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Finding an all-around perfect T-shirt is like searching for a spot in a busy parking lot — doable, but it's going to take some time and luck to find a great one. While your favorite T-shirt will ultimately be based on personal preferences, the best T-shirts for men and for women are made from high-quality fabric with an appealing design at a reasonable price.
These standards have earned Hanes tons of loyal customers and recognition for years, with the Hanes Beefy-T being a star example of an amazing T-shirt. Never trusting the hype around a product until we put it to the test, our experts in the Good Housekeeping Institute Textiles, Paper and Apparel Lab originally tested the Hanes Beefy-T alongside other white T-shirts. (It comes in way more colors than white!)
Here, I lay out all the pros and cons, yeas and nays, likes and dislikes of the T-shirt plus thoughts from our experts and testers. This extensive Hanes Beefy-T review will help you decide if the $10 tee is really all that great or if you should splurge for something pricier.
I feel more confident when I wear an outfit that I love, so the appearance of a T-shirt is my biggest consideration when evaluating a tee. The overall look of this T-shirt is as simple as it gets, and one tester said it was like "other basic tees but better." If someone says "T-shirt," my mind conjures up an image that looks exactly like the Hanes Beefy-T: solid color, square shape, crew neck and a straight silhouette.
The Hanes Beefy-T is the blueprint of a T-shirt, though it's not my ideal T-shirt. It's labeled as a unisex top on Hanes's website, but it's a men's cut and appears very boxy, long and baggy. While it was very oversized, it was stiff and designed for a flat chest, so I did not like how the shirt lay against my chest. Plus, the seams at the shoulders drooped low on my arm, making my already broad shoulders look even broader.
My first thought when I pulled on this tee was: "This looks and feels like a slightly elevated T-shirt from the craft store." I was determined to make it work and after I cuffed the sleeves, tucked the shirt into my jeans and accessorized with my favorite jewelry, I thought the shirt looked minimalist, clean-cut and appealing.
The best part about this T-shirt may be how opaque it is, earning it a 4 out of 5 for opacity in our Lab testing. "I placed the shirt on a bust form with a black tank top underneath, and you could barely see the black through the white T-shirt," Constantine said.
When it comes down to it, most T-shirts can be worn by any gender, but the sizing and silhouette will look different on every body type. I dislike boxy men's tops because I have a smaller waist and larger bra size, so I prefer more fitted tops that conform to my body shape (like this ribbed option from Old Navy). On the other hand, the T-shirt fit my brother perfectly, and he said, "I love this shirt."
In my opinion, my brother looked infinitely better in the shirt than me since it's a typical men's cut top. The sleeves are the perfect length and the shirt fit true-to-size for him. He tried on the shirt in white, which was much more opaque than his white Hanes Authentic Men's T-Shirt, which looks more like an undershirt. While white is a great option for a staple wardrobe item, you can choose from 11 different color options or go for the Hanes Beefy-T with a pocket.
The Hanes Beefy-T excels in comfort, especially with regard to the fabric's softness. Made from 100% ringspun cotton, this T-shirt is soft, breathable and high-quality. Constantine notes the "substantial" material of the T-shirt, which she says "is a bit thicker and has a sturdier feel overall with better construction."
While the tee feels amazingly soft on my skin, the fabric still holds its shape and feels sturdy, though sometimes too stiff. It's made with a high-density stitch count and double-needle stitching, according to the product's description, giving the shirt that durable, sturdy feel for wearing out and about, rather than as an undershirt.
The oversized, baggy silhouette and breathable cotton fabric made this a stellar pajama shirt. I did not overheat or sweat in the middle of the night and instead, I woke up snug as a bug under my comforter. Although the fabric is ultra-comfortable, I didn't love the feel of the shirt around my chest while wearing it out because of the flat, squarish shape.
It's best to go up a size as this tee experienced considerable shrinkage after I washed it (something that I very much appreciated because it caused the shirt to fit me better). Of all the tees Constantine tested in the Textiles Lab, she shared that the tees from Hanes shrunk more than the others. "It started at 30 inches from shoulder seam to hemline, and after one wash according to the care instructions (machine wash cold and tumble dry low), it shrunk to 28.5 inches from shoulder seam to hemline," she says.
Constantine also noticed that the shirt no longer felt or looked as crisp after being laundered. "There was some dimpling at the shoulder seam, but the collar stayed in great shape without waving," she says. I appreciated that the stiffness in the collars, cuffs and material seemed to ease up, making the shirt look less boxy and flowier and allowing for more mobility. As long as you size up, you'll still be able to get that oversized style.
While the size of the shirt will most likely shrink, the comfort and softness may improve. Constantine was impressed by how soft the T-shirt felt after being washed, noting that the score for softness increased from a 3.5 to a 4 out of 5.
The iced coffee and croissant I bought the other day cost more than this T-shirt. A few subway rides cost more than this T-shirt. Life is expensive, but this shirt is offered at an incredibly low price without skimping on quality.
I am a pro at talking myself out of buying something, expensive or cheap. (Sometimes being indecisive has its perks!) Considering the 100% cotton material that's soft, opaque and sturdy, I would say this shirt is a fantastic value. Plus, Amazon offers a Hanes Beefy-T two-pack for less than $15 in eight different colors, so you can save money and fill your closet with more tees. The price for the two-pack is still less than the price of one T-shirt I'd typically buy.
The size range for the Hanes Beefy-T is hard to beat, with a range of sizes from S to 6XL. Unfortunately, there are no petite sizes or sizes smaller than small, but the shirt does shrink a considerable amount after washing.
It's important to note that the shirt is labeled as unisex, but the size chart corresponds to men's sizing. I am typically a small or medium in T-shirts and the medium was incredibly large on me, even after washing it. My brother is also a medium in tops, and it fit him very well after laundering, so the shirt seems to be true-to-size for men. If you're going for a baggier fit or you're between sizes, it's best to size up from your typical size in men's clothing.
If you're anything like me or Jess from New Girl the endless possibilities of DIY projects with the Hanes Beefy-T will have you leaping for joy. Create a vibrant tie-dye design (which works best on cotton) or iron letters and images onto the blank canvas. Online stores like Custom Ink even offer a personalized design on a Hanes Beefy-T.
I love to embroider small designs, and this t-shirt's fabric is thin enough to easily thread through the cloth by hand while being thick enough to hold each stitch in place. From embroidery machines to tie-dye kits, fabric paints and iron-on transfer paper, the budget-friendly price and 100% cotton fabric make this shirt ideal for crafts.
The short answer: Yes. It's soft, sturdy and cheap.
The long answer is, it depends. While I may not love wearing the shirt, I do believe this shirt is the ideal basic tee for anyone who wants a traditional men's cut T-shirt. It comes in plenty of colors, the white color is opaque, it's 100% cotton, incredibly soft, keeps its shape and is relatively inexpensive.
The Hanes Beefy-T has no frills and fuss — it's just a T-shirt, y'all. It's the simplest T-shirt design there is, and it's made from soft 100% cotton. It's a great value and it's better than pricier brands by a long shot for a plain, basic tee.
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Isabella Cavallo is an Assistant Commerce Editor with experience covering shopping and fashion content. Combined with Constantine's notes from testing, Cavallo curated this review by wearing this T-shirt with jeans during the day and as a pajama shirt at night to compare the comfort and style to other tees.
Amanda Constantine has a background in fashion and is GH's resident style expert. She has covered apparel content including roundups of the best white T-shirts for women and men. Constantine tested 15 white T-shirts in the Textiles Lab, assessing the construction, fabrication, style, opaqueness, washability and comfort — with the Hanes Beefy-T ranking as one of our top pics.
Isabella (she/her) covers commerce and product-related content in the home, lifestyle, fitness, technology and beauty. She graduated from Binghamton University in 2022 with a bachelor’s degree in English: Literature & Rhetoric. Before joining GH, she was an editorial assistant at Prevention, where she covered health topics and celebrity news.
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