T-shirts are by far some of the most popular products you can make in the apparel business. The humble shirt is sitting at an outstanding $72 billion industry, and thousands of apparel brands are built off the back of a few strategically designed t-shirts. In such a saturated market, how can your brand stand out from the crowd? Don’t sweat it–no two t-shirts are the same, after all, and there are plenty of hip niches you can fill in the current market. Here are some of the 5 trendiest types of t-shirts for your apparel brand you can try right now.
1. Oversized T-Shirts

For a period of time in the 2000s and 2010s, it seemed like apparel was ruled by the law of “the tighter, the better.” It comes as a surprise, then, that the oversized t-shirts from the 90s have gained great love in many apparel circles, becoming a staple out of all the types of t-shirts sold in youth circles.

First originating from the urban hip-hop and skater punk scene of the 1990s, the oversized tee is characterized by baggier short sleeves that fall below the elbow and a stretched-out hem below the hip. It’s a gender-neutral look that appeals to all sorts of circles now, regardless of how well they follow the law. Something about the comfort of a baggy tee adds to a casual but stylish look. 

The best part? There are a lot of different variations to an oversized tee. The Shirtual assortment offers different patterns and designs for all sorts of oversized tees, from waffle patterns to duo tones to polo or reinforced collars to blends and much more. 

2. Raglan and/or Duo-Tone T-Shirts

Raglan sleeves are a popular pattern most often seen in baseball uniforms. As a result, it has an old-timey sportsman charm to it, looked on fondly by Gen Z and Millenial nostalgia sensibilities.

The signature of a raglan is a differently colored, triangular, almost cape-shaped cloth sewn into a shirt’s shoulders, arm sleeves, and small portions of the collar. Raglans also count as duo-toned shirts, since they show off two colors. 

Any number of color variations makes a raglan look boyish and vibrant, as you can see from the Shirtual selection. However, the ‘main’ fabric is normally lighter in color than the raglan sleeves to give a more impressive look. Raglans are one of the types of t-shirts that are particularly good for stylish font-based designs, like a sports team’s logo or a catchy slogan.

3. Muscle T-Shirts

If your client base goes to gyms often, this is likely one of the best types of t-shirts to sell to them. Muscle t-shirts are sleeveless and breathable shirts that often hang off the shoulders. While they’re similar to singlets or tank tops, they’re loose enough that you can print unique designs on the front without having the design be crunched up or wrinkled during wear.

As the name implies, the muscle tee caters to very athletic use and often leans towards a masculine audience. Considering that, most muscle tees are either simple (like a logo near the left chest) or more bombastic and direct (like a full-body design with cars, fire, or bold typography). 

The tee’s lack of sleeves also gives an opportunity for designs that wrap around from back to front, though keep in mind that may be more complicated to execute in the printing phase.

4. Ringer T-Shirts

Vintage nostalgia isn’t exclusive to the raglan–in many ways, the ringer is much more of a classic and much more versatile in comparison. A ringer tee is a regular t-shirt with a different color for its arm rings and collar. As a result, you have more space to work with graphic designs on the front of the shirt.

Ringer tees can come in a lot of color variety, but the most popular ‘formula’ is a white fabric shirt with whatever bright primary color for the rings. Dark blues, bright reds, and greens are just some of the most popular variations of this. If you’re interested in making another color as the main fabric, white or black rings can also be a good choice, along with complementary colors (i.e. red fabric with green rings).

There’s an endless number of designs you can print on a ringer tee, though you’ll mostly be focusing on the front half. However, for a more united design, we’d recommend choosing graphics that match the colors of your rings. Ringer tees lean more gender-neutral and versatile, so cute monochromatic designs fit the best in these scenarios. 

5. Acid Wash T-Shirts

While some of the other shirts on this list simply modernize vintage styles, this shirt type directly emulates it in the fabric. Acid wash tees are defined by their worn-out style, with faded colors and a slightly rougher texture than other tees. This is because, as the name implies, the tee has been washed out in muriatic acid and bleach several times, eventually doing away with some of its former colors. 

Acid wash shirts, like oversized shirts, are immensely popular in punk and hipster circles. In a modern world of repetition and samey fabrics, the appeal of a washed-out shirt is the implication of individuality. It’s a unique effect that adds character to any tasteful urban client’s wardrobe. 

The faded colors also give an oddly appealing look to any t-shirt, especially when contrasted with a vibrant graphic design at the front. You can acid wash any color of t-shirt, but the darker colors make for some of the best contrasts in this style. You can see how they’d look in our collection. 

Most of these t-shirts can be suited to any scenario for your apparel brand, though you may struggle to find the best ones for you. We’d recommend testing out your designs or iterations on different types of fabrics first before settling on one of these types of t-shirts or the other. You can check out our lookbook if you’re interested in other equally trendy options, as well.