Margaret Howell MHL Simple T-Shirt

Linen in a jersey is difficult and worth the difficulty. The fiber is long, stiff, and almost inelastic, so a knit with a lot of it in it does not spring back the way a cotton jersey does, and it hangs from the shoulder in a soft column rather than clinging. Adding cotton to it puts enough recovery back that the neckline and the hem hold their shape. What you end up with is a t-shirt with a dry, slightly papery hand and real drape, which is a different garment from a plain cotton tee even though it looks the same folded. Choosing that cloth for the plainest thing in the line is the kind of decision MHL by Margaret Howell exists to make.

Fit, styling, and care

Drapey rather than close, so it hangs away from the chest. Lettered sizing. Wear it out rather than tucked, under the MHL Worker Jacket or over the MHL Wide Leg Jogger. Wash cool and dry flat rather than hanging wet, because a linen-blend knit will lengthen on a hanger while it is heavy with water. Our general care guidance covers the rest.

The plain t-shirt is the garment most often bought badly. The cloth is the entire difference and this is a cloth rather than a default.

Seventy percent cotton and thirty percent linen jersey, made in Portugal. Color: Assam.

The MHL Open Neck T-Shirt is cotton alone, with the neck opened out and the sleeve cut oversized, and the MHL Big Pocket Swing Shirt is a cotton shirt drafted to widen from the shoulder. MHL by Margaret Howell is a line of its own rather than a part of the main Margaret Howell collection, and there is more on the house on the Margaret Howell designer page.