Rick Owens Basic LS T – Black

The sleeves are the design. They are cut long past the wrist, far enough that they gather at the hand rather than ending at it, which is one of the two or three proportions this designer is recognised for and is the whole reason a plain round-necked shirt from this house does not look like a plain round-necked shirt from anywhere else. The cloth is what lets it work. Viscose and silk jersey is denser and cooler in the hand than cotton, carries a faint lustre rather than a matte finish, and has almost no spring, so the excess falls and gathers softly instead of standing in rings at the wrist. Semi-sheer at this weight, and cut long enough through the body to be worn untucked. There is nothing else on it at all.

The colour

In black the extra-long sleeve does something different. The excess gathering over the hand is not read as bunched cloth; it is read as the arm continuing, so the silhouette runs unbroken from shoulder to fingers and the wearer looks longer than they are. Semi-sheer in black registers as depth rather than as transparency, which is why this is the version where the proportion is legible and the cloth is not.

We bought this once and took all three colours, which is unusual for us and was decided by the sleeve rather than by the palette. An extra-long sleeve changes the proportion of whoever is wearing it, and it does that differently against a pale colour, a dark one, and a warm one, so three colourways of this shirt are three different effects rather than three stock options. It is also the least demanding way into a proportion this designer has been working on for decades.

The extra-long sleeve is one of the proportions this house is identified by, and this is the plainest garment it puts on.

Eighty-eight percent viscose and twelve percent silk, made in Italy. Semi-sheer jersey with a rounded neckline, an elongated body, and extra-long sleeves.

The sleeve length is intentional and sizing down to correct it will shorten the body instead. Semi-sheer at this weight, so it reads as a layer even worn alone, which is more obvious in a pale colour than in a dark one. Viscose and silk jersey has limited recovery and follows the body, relaxing across a day and settling back with care. Take your usual size; the length is in the pattern rather than in the sizing.

With black trousers, where the whole outfit is one colour and the only variation is length. Under either leather jacket, with the sleeves pulled through the cuff. Under the Peter Cardigan.

Viscose is markedly weaker wet than dry, so hand wash cool, never wring it, and dry it flat rather than on a hanger, where the weight of the wet cloth will lengthen it. Our care guidance covers viscose in more detail.

The same shirt in milk is the Basic LS T in milk and in brown the Basic LS T in brown. For a ribbed long sleeve, the Rib LS T and the SS26 Cropped Rib Long Sleeve. Everything we currently hold from Rick Owens is listed together.