Yeung Chin Embroider T-Shirt

There is a version of this that would be a novelty, and the thing that keeps it from being one is that the garment underneath is entirely ordinary. A black short-sleeve cotton shirt is the least demanding thing anyone owns. Putting a lace overlay on it does not change what it is for; it changes what it is made of, and those are different kinds of decision. The overlay is what you notice at close range and almost nothing at any distance, because black lace on black cotton has no contrast to work with and arrives as texture instead. The practical consequence is that this goes wherever a black tee goes and looks like more than one.

Why we selected it

Most of what this house makes asks something of the person wearing it. We wanted the piece that does not, so that everything else has something to sit against.

Yeung Chin’s recent work is about what can be added to a surface after the cloth exists, and this is that idea put onto the least demanding garment it could be put onto.

Materials and construction

One hundred percent cotton. Short sleeve, with lace overlays. Made in Hong Kong. Color: Black.

Fit notes

A short-sleeve cotton shirt, so it sits the way one does, with the overlay adding a layer of thickness and no structure. Cotton with no elastane gives across a wearing and comes back with a wash. The openwork will catch on jewelry and on anything worn over it with hardware on it.

Styling

Under the Oversize Shirt, with the ties left loose. With the Straight Pants With Raw Edge Detail or the Embroidered Long Pants in black. Under the Crop Vest Jacket.

Care

Cotton, so cool water and no heat, with one addition that comes from the overlay rather than the cloth: wash it in a mesh bag or by hand, and never in a load with zips or hooks in it. Openwork finds hardware. Our care guidance covers the rest.

Related pieces

Everything we carry from Yeung Chin is listed together.