The Best Black T-Shirts for Men Are a Sneaky-Flattering Secret Weapon

If the plain white tee is the Pete Sampras of the menswear world—well-rounded, even-mannered, a preeminent champion—then the best black T-shirts for men are Andre Agassi. Black tees are sexier, sleeker, more direct. You wear a white T-shirt because it’s easy and goes with everything; you pull on a black one when you want to feel good. They give off Danny Zuko-y bad boy vibes with a leather jacket, bring an assassin-like precision to a dark suit, and just generally look smart and modern on their own. You're never underdressed in a black T-shirt, and that’s why it’s important to find the very best black T-shirts for men for your tastes and needs—which, as it happens, is exactly what we’re about to help you do.

The Best Black T-Shirts Shopping Guide

• The Best Overall Black T-Shirt: Uniqlo U crew neck short-sleeve T-shirt , $20
• The Best Value Black T-Shirt: Kirkland Signature T-shirt (6-pack), $25
• The Best Blanket-Soft Black T-shirt: Sunspel classic cotton T-shirt, $90
• The Best Oversized Black T-shirt: John Elliott Anti-Expo tee, $98
• The Best Eco-Friendly Black T-shirt: Everybody.World short sleeve tubular Trash tee, $35
• The Best Heavyweight Black T-shirt: 3sixteen heavyweight T-shirt (2-pack), $98

The Best Overall Black T-shirt

We've said it before and we'll say it again: Uniqlo U is a menswear cheat code. We're not quite implying that this tee will give you an unfair advantage over unsuspecting pedestrians and fashion NPCs. (How nefarious!) We're merely pointing out that it'll get you where you're trying to go, but with, like, a significant head start. $20 bucks a pop isn't multi-pack cheap, but it's certainly within the repurchase realm. And when you add in the fact that these Christophe Lemaire-designed crewnecks boast all the hallmarks of a counterpart quadruple the price—they're cut relaxed from a hefty cotton and remain a total standout even in the most basic colors—the already-approachable asking price feels like a steal. 

The Best Value Black T-shirt

Kirkland Signature, Costco's in-house clothing label , has been the subject of many a member's-only fashion forum, discussed in hushes and whispers, far away from the prying eyes of Google. The consensus? It's surprisingly good. Though not everything Kirkland puts its, uh, signature on is a hit, its tees are almost always stellar. They're made from a combed cotton that weighs in at 205GSM (read: blissfully soft and satisfyingly beefy), and they're cut with a classic, relaxed silhouette that won't look like you're aiming for the dead middle between Brando and Sandler. For around $25 for a pack of six, what more can you really ask for?

The Best Blanket-Soft Black T-Shirt

If hand-feel is your number one criteria, then Sunspel's signature model is a runaway winner. All of the tees on this list are varying degrees of soft, but this one competes with newborn lambs and kitten bellies in the department. It's cut from a crisp, luxurious long-staple supima cotton that drapes gracefully across the torso and feels like wearing a cool breeze. In post-pandemic times, it’s the kind of shirt that just looks so comfy strangers will be compelled to come up to you and ask if they can touch it—for better or worse. 

The Best Oversized Black T-Shirt

Usually, calling something “rough around the edges” is a bad thing. But it’s the main selling point of this tee from John Elliott: the sleeves and hem have been left unfinished, lending the shirt a raw and punkish edge. Beyond that mild swerve, all the typical attention to detail and quality that earned Elliott one of our Best New Menswear Designer honors back in ‘16 are still very much present—it’s got a very-right-now oversized fit tailored from a just-right medium weight fabric.

The Best Eco-Friendly Black T-Shirt

Feels like everywhere you look these days, brands of all sizes—from the tiniest underground streetwear brands to the oldest European fashion houses—are rushing to develop sustainable practices, often in the form of T-shirts purportedly made from recycled materials. But nobody does 'em better than the originators: LA's Everybody.World, who launched their signature Trash tees back in 2017. The brainchild of American Apparel alums Iris Alonzo and Carolina Crespo, the shirts are crafted using the leftover cotton scraps from factory floors, but look and feel like the furthest thing from garbage. Instead, they're buttery soft and perfectly roomy, the kind of tees you'd want to buy even without the added satisfaction of a clear conscience.

The Best Heavyweight Black T-shirt

3sixteen's known for, among many things, tough-as-nails denim. So when the team behind the brand put their heads together to make a tee, they cooked up a beefy, double-patty version. The fabric is a custom-knit cotton jersey that's dense but surprisingly smooth. You can tell they didn't skimp on the collar, either, which miraculously keeps its shape through countless laundry cycles. And the cut is a spot-on classic silhouette you can wear true to size or go up/down for a slimmer/slouchier fit. We've put these hardy, American-made beauts through the wringer for years—and they still look and fit as great as they did on Day One. It remains one of our favorite heavyweight tees no matter which color you get.

Plus 17 More Black T-Shirts We Love