Over the years not an awful lot has changed in regards to the classic t-shirt. Sure we see a range of different prints and graphics each season. Sometimes we even see different washes, patterns, fabrics and most recently side zippers and curved hemlines to change up the classic tee.
It’s very rare however to see such a subtle change as simply adding some extra length on a tee to become such a game changer in the fashion game. Don’t get us wrong, the tall tee is nothing new but it is definitely trending now more than ever, so let’s take a look at the top 5 ways to style them…
1. The Classic Longline Look
Simple and on-point is this classic streetwear look. Rocking your whitest of white elongated tees with your favourite pair of black jeans not only contrasts amazingly but has you looking fresh in a timeless outfit that doesn’t break the bank.
Shop our basic white tall tee for under $30 or better yet in one of our bundles.
Not a fan of wearing white? The classic longline look can easily be achieved with any colour of our elongated t-shirts but one of our favourite is the all-black-everything look. Black shoes, black jeans or chinos and one of our black tall tees will have you looking fresh to death. If you’re feeling it’s a little too much black you can always easily tone it back by adding a coloured watch or even just a necklace to contrast nicely.
Fun fact: Originally “tall tees” were strictly worn by corner drug-dealers as some what of an unofficial uniform that they could all wear to avoid detection/identification by police officers if their whole crew was wearing similar silhouettes. This however was the 1990’s tall tee, that was generally just a 6XL t-shirt that would be so oversized they earned the nick name “knee-knockers”. Fast forward to today and the tall t-shirt has evolved in to more of a slim cut, elongated t-shirt that’s not only perfect for people with taller builds, but also a streetwear staple that has become a wardrobe essential for both guys & girls alike…
2. The “Chad Muska” Look
For everyone that skateboards, this man needs no introduction. For everyone that doesn’t you more than likely will remember the name from those classic Tony Hawk Pro Skater playstation games, that, or the founder of the Supra footwear company. Chad Muska was one of the pioneers of the tall tee steeze looks in skateboarding.
Wearing both tall and oversized t-shirts or tanks, along with skinny jeans and a pair of fresh kicks to top it all off. It goes without saying that this look is of course a lot easier to achieve when you’re the owner of a massive shoe company and have your pick of shoes each day.
To this day longer length and oversized clothing remains popular amongst skateboarders, bmxers and action sports alike. One of the more memorable skateboarding advocates of the whole oversized look was Canadian skateboarder Grant Patterson, where his Blind What If video began with that classic South Park’esque cartoon and him rocking some outrageously oversized t-shirts. Check it out below:
Vibing on Muskas distressed longline tee above? Well if you don’t feel like throwing yourself down a bunch of stairs on a skateboard and earning your tears and holes the old fashioned way than you can easily look to distress one of our blank tall t-shirts yourself. It’s easiest with a razor or cheese-grater, you can read how to do it here.
3. Layering Your Tall Tee
The elongated t-shirt is perfect to layer clothing on. Whether you’re just wanting an excuse to wear out your favourite basketball jersey but want a t-shirt under it or you are wanting to offset the amount of black you are wearing with a longer length t-shirt under neath this look has you covered.
Here you can see one of our grey tall tee’s being layered underneath one of our black side zipper drop-tail tees. Not only is this look stylish but also perfect for those days when it’s too cold for a the t-shirt but you’re not really feeling the jumper either.
You can shop the above look (grey tall tee & black droptail tee) here.
Other great options when it comes to layering your tall tee are:
- Wearing an elongated curved hem under tee, such as a black and white striped tee. On top of it you can then wear colours such as olive green, navy or old faithful’s black/white to create a cool silhouetted look.
- Wearing a contrasting under tee such as black/white and then folding the sleeves over so that you get a nice little bit of trim on the sleeves happening.
- Shopping one of our longer length mens tank tops to wear as the under garment. Since they’re lighter material they can be great to layer in the warmer months.
- Feeling cold? Check out https://plus2clothing.com/product-category/tall-hoodies/ to find a hoodie to layer one of our curved hem tees under from our 2016 range.
4. Out On The Slopes
Tall tees have long been fashionable on the slopes and mark a great step away from the tighter fitting onesies you would expect to see if you haven’t been snowboarding or skiing in the last 20 years. Although we can’t condone that wearing a t-shirt down to your knees and pants around your ankles is the easiest or safest way to go down the mountain for novices, we will say this:
Longer length tops are incredibly practical at the snow, not only do they help prevent snow from entering your pants with that overhang but they also add that extra layer of warmth over your bum, whilst keeping you looking steezy at the terrain park.
5. Wear It Like Kanye
Love him or hate him, there is no denying that Kanye West is a trendsetter in streetwear fashion. From his Yeezy shoes, to his merchandise all the way to what he wears out of the house Kanye is making his mark on both music & street fashion alike. And whilst we don’t all exactly have the fat stacks or hook-ups that Kanye has to be able to afford high end fashion there is definitely still some style tips that can be taken away from his looks.
Here we can see him layering some track pants with longer length clothing along with khaki coloured army style boots. Not only does this look like it would be incredible comfortable but he also manages to make lounge wear look fashionable, that, and he tops it off perfectly with layering a military style bomber jacket over the top.
