The talked about "The Bear" white t-shirts are the Merz B. Schwanen 215 and the Whitesville t-shirt from Toyo Enterprise. I got the Whitesville t-shirts from Rodeo Japan Pine Avenue at a good price of $62 which includes FedEx shipping (and no taxes). Not a bad deal at $31 a shirt. I'm more of a navy blue or black t-shirt person so I picked up the shirts in navy blue too. For sizing, I'm a XXL in Japan, XL in Europe, and M/L in the United States.
What makes a white t-shirt great is the feel of the cotton, fit, construction (no seams down the side), and a collar that lasts and doesn't get stretched out too badly. This Whitesville t-shirt is it then because it does feel great, construction is in fact Quali-T, and the collar looks pretty solid.
A few more notes:
- Self Edge has the Whitesville t-shirt for $95 and Redcast Heritage out of Madrid has them for $75.
- I also have Zimmerli shirts but they're expensive, especially the Sea Island. Their Sea Island boxers are for sure a holy grail candidate for boxers that is until you go bespoke.
- Sea Island cotton vs wool vs some blend make the holy grail t-shirt debate tough. Every material has their strengths and weaknesses.
- The James Bond shirt from "No Time to Die" is the Rag & Bone classic flame henley and it is also cool looking if you can pull it off.
- I'm not sure how you justify Visvim or other white t-shirts from ultra high premium brands. I'm curious about them but not curious enough to buy and try. $690 for 3 white t-shirts? I don't think so.
- Somewhat related, is Allen Greenspan men's underwear index still a valid indicator when discussing the US economy? Hard to say.