Rick Owens Basic LS T – Brown

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

Brown is the outlier of the three. This designer works in black and in greyed neutrals almost to the exclusion of everything else, so a warm brown is a departure rather than a colourway, and it changes what the shirt can be worn with rather than only how it looks. It is the version that does not want to be put next to black.

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.

Untucked with a trouser in dust or forest rather than in black, where the warmth has something to sit against. Under a leather jacket, with the body showing below the hem. Alone.

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 black the Basic LS T in black. With short sleeves, the V Neck SS T, and without them, the Basic Rib Tank. Everything we currently hold from Rick Owens is listed together.