CW goes in search for the ultimate summer T-shirt

A fter a few weeks of ambiguous weather, summer is finally at the door. The economic crisis is still the word on the street, but that’s no reason why you can’t refresh your wardrobe. Ahead of the hot months, City Weekend’s style editor walks the town searching styles from local designers to find this summer’s best T-shirts.

Always the base for local trends and fashion, Nanluoguxiang is a definite stop. The brand [Navel] (http://www.cityweekend.com.cn/admin/app/listing/19558/) is run by a young couple in their 20s. (The name is meant to promote the child at heart in every customer). Their new summer series T-shirts (¥89) “Sand Beach” plays ironically on scenes at the beach. Our favorite is a little boy building heaps of sand that look like a woman’s breasts. Aside from boasting a quirky sense of black humor, Navel takes care to wash all their shirts before printing them. This helps retain the shirt’s color and shape.

Different from Navel, [NLGX]((http://www.cityweekend.com.cn/beijing/listings/shopping/clothing-accessories/has/nlgx-lifestyle/)’s collection is inspired from local life. NLGX cooperates with Beijing’s biggest textile company, the company that did the shirts for the Beijing Olympic volunteers and uses a heavier fabric that offers a closer fit. We were taken with NLGX’s Blue Sky Day T-shirt, a map of China transposed over a weather map. The idea? We want more blue sky days here in Beijing. NLGX also specially designs T-shirts for women that come longer and contoured at the waist. Shirts are ¥110-130.

A younger brand called Star Tribe by a local designer is too small to own its own shop but we found their collection on Yandaixiejie (138-1001-9975). The best patterns are big block printed slogans: “80後,” (born after 1980) and “兄弟” (brother). Star Tribe’s trademark insignia is printed on the sleeve: a fused Sanskrit and traditional Chinese character, an expression of friendship between brothers.

For those who want to buy in bulk, we found C-Pix. Originally from Shanghai, the brand is run by a group of young designers who put out 700 patterns a year. Shirts depict ancient Chinese history, folk stories and current events. In the “I” series, you can pick what you want to put on your shirt. Every year, C-Pix designs T-shirts of all the Chinese zodiac signs. Our pick, of course, is the Niu Year T-shirt to keep us lucky all summer long.

Feer Han