Collected Threads Relaunches jT Invisible Men’s Undershirt

For those unfamiliar with the brand, the jT undershirt from Collected Threads has been around for a long time. I first covered the product line way back in August, and again in September and October of the same year.

To see all article where I mention this brand, click here.

The premise behind scoop-neck undershirts is that they have a similar “U” shaped collar line that is present and similar to tank tops, but with a wider neck opening and made into an undershirt with sleeves. Think of it as a cross between a crew neck undershirt and a tank top.

Well I’ve been in contact with the founder of Collected Threads over the years, and he recently reached out to me to share some new news:

Email From Collected Threads

Hope all is well and thanks for the free press over the years!  Thought I’d let you know in the last two months we’ve made some big leaps to take this from a hobby to a full time gig.  We’re on massive sales and marketing campaign that will bring the jT mainstream.

I wanted to call to your attention a few changes to the jT from Collected Threads:


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  1. More fitted cut reduces slack around the waist
  2. We heard the length complaints and made them longer to stay tucked
  3. Tagless, of course
  4. Reduced colret width minimizes lines behind thin shirts
  5. Fresh colors coming in March.  Look for gray and black in addition to white
  6. Complete website overhaul
  7. Complete packaging overhaul

jt-undershirt-collected-threadsProduct Details

  • Price: $18/per. jT Product/Buy page
  • Price Discount: As low as $10/each (volume discounts available)
  • A super low neck undershirt with sleeves, the jT gives you maximum sweat protection while staying out of sight
  • Soft 100% Combed Cotton
  • Fitted cut contours to your body
  • Tagless label for added comfort

jT Initial Observations

Although I won’t have the chance to do an official review on the jT, I did give it a test drive and wore it all day recently. Here are some of my initial thoughts:

  • Lightweight and breathable. Good overall fabric weight. Slightly stretchy fabric too, something I like in 100% cotton jersey undershirts
  • Feels good on the skin right out of the box
  • Good body/torso fit
  • Sleeves good length, but with a close body fit, I kinda hoped the sleeves fit more snugly. Though, not really a make or break characteristic
  • Very open collar line. Sides of collar opening sat wide on my shoulders. Felt a little like the shirt would fall over the sides of my arms, but of course it never did
  • Front Drop. With two buttons fully open on my outer shirt (which is what I was wearing), you could still see the top part of the jT undershirt collar line. Undershirt collar line is fully hidden with one button undone on outer shirt.
  • Wash test/shrinkage: TBD – I haven’t washed the jT yet

Invisibility

Well, I’m a bit conflicted about this. The term “invisible” as it pertains to undershirts is used in two different contexts: 1) neutral color, like tan or nude or heather grey so the undershirt doesn’t show through lighter colored outer shirts, and 2) open or deeper collar design so the collars don’t show through.

With it’s more pronounced collar opening, the collar seams of the jT can be somewhat visible under a lighter colored outer shirt — no more so than a tank top — and maybe slightly more than a v-neck.  I had a light-colored plaid outer shirt on, and I could see the outlines of the collar. Again, it wasn’t any different than when I wear a tank top, and I was in casual attire, so the faint lines did not bother me at all.

To be fully “invisible”, I think my Utopian definition of that would be that you could not see the undershirt collar with your shirt open or close, nor could you see any lines of the undershirt through a lighter-colored outer shirt. I didn’t get both with the jT, so I’d be hard-pressed to go all-in saying it was truly invisible under my shirt.

Other Questions?

If you have any other questions about the jT, post them in the comments below.


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21 thoughts on “Collected Threads Relaunches jT Invisible Men’s Undershirt”

  1. Good afternoon,

    I had a question regarding the “front drop” (distance from the top of the neck to the bottom of the neck) of the JT Modal shirt. Tug has a measurement workbook for several brands of shirts, however I could not find any of the Collected Threads shirts contained within it. Would you please provide the “front drop” dimensions in inches?

    Thanks!
    -Benjamin

    Reply
    • Benjamin,

      Great question and thanks for your interest in the jT Modal.

      We can get you the standard neck drop for whichever size and style you prefer but the modal undershirt is a special breed. Due to the unique makeup of the material and it’s ability to stretch, a standard neck drop measurement off-the-body might be a bit misleading.

      Reason being, by tucking the shirt with varying ‘tug’ from the bottom (TUG appreciates my puns), the neckline can swing in depth quite drastically to suit just about any number of open buttons. The fabric has a considerable amount of stretch while allowing a real low profile to keep lines at a minimum through your outer shirt. Also, the collar trim is actually some of the thinnest around for this very purpose.

      Hopefully this answers your question?

      Jesse
      Collected Threads

      Reply
      • Thanks for the quick response, Jesse. Sometimes I like to undo the top 3 buttons of a dress shirt outside of work and sometimes the 2 buttons on a “classic” polo shirt will come undone. In both cases I don’t want my undershirt collar to be visible. It sounds like your jT Modal shirt would be the solution for this, am I correct?

      • Benjamin,

        Absolutely. The jT-Modal will give you the greatest neck drop out of the complete lineup. With certain button arrangements, we’ve been able to get up to 3 with the jT Original and the jT-V as well but it will be close. That said, all are guaranteed for 2 buttons at least.

        Hope that helps!

        Jesse

      • heya benjamin — whoa man, you unbutton the top 3 buttons sometimes?? (: good for you buddy!

        i know i could not pull that off.

        i’ve never personally worn an undershirt with a v-neck that would stay hidden with 3 buttons undone, but if you do need something like that, i’d say you need to check out the following items:

        1. american apparel sheer jersey or tri-blend deep v-neck
        2. nu-v undershirt (search my site for it)

        outside of that, the undershirts from collected threads are amongst the deepest front drops i’ve come across.

        you may want to search my site for “deep v” too, b/c there are a couple articles that cover deep v-neck undershirts, and collected threads is listed in those too.

  2. I tried to buy a 3-pack and the shipping was $7.50 extra on jt’s website. They give the idea that shipping is free. I didn’t go through with the order. The three pack was already $40. I finally bought the American Apparel on sale for $10 per shirt in grey.

    Reply
    • heya tom! thanks for stopping by and sharing your feedback.

      i checked the collected threads website, and it looks like free shipping is available on orders $60+. was there something that lead you to believe they offer free shipping on all orders? if so, let me know and i’ll make sure the company is aware of it so they can fix it.

      glad you found a solution with the american apparel grey t-shirts! be sure to keep me posted and let me know how you like them, and also exactly which product you purchased.

      for your future reference, here are some more heather grey undershirt options.

      Reply
    • Tom,

      Sorry we didn’t win your business this time around!

      We’re trying a couple different things with our shipping and bulk rate buying since the end of our Kickstarter campaign. Each of our product pages has “FREE SHIPPING when you spend $60” on the second line of the descriptions and hopefully we aren’t confusing anyone with some other content on the site?

      With the introduction of 5 new styles and a fulfillment house soon to handle our orders, it was necessary to make adjustments to cover the new pick and pack costs. Perhaps we can send you a sample to win you back on future undershirt needs?

      Jesse Szynal
      Collected Threads

      Reply
    • heya ps — two quick things:
      1. looks like the price went up from $11.99 to $18 (though you can get them as low as $10/each with volume purchase)
      2. good quality undershirts are not inexpensive, so you’ll be finding more better-quality undershirts priced $10 or over

      not sure when the price went up — so i’ll have to reach out to collected threads and see when that change was made

      Reply
    • PS, Tug,

      Thanks for pointing this out. We actually went to a Free Shipping Any Sized Order + Bulk Pricing Model in mid December which is better for the end customer in every aspect. The single order was $11.99 + $6.50 for shipping – now it’s $18 flat including free shipping.

      Also, we’re at $39 for a 3-pack including free shipping which used to cost ~$42. Bulk pricing is even better above quantity of 3.

      For guys who shop undershirts in the department stores, there is no bulk pricing offered; e.g., a Calvin Klein 3-pack will cost $32-36 retail no matter how many units are purchased. Also, if customers leave their email address, there is typically a discount once per month that can be used on top of bulk pricing.

      Collected Threads’ jT line is a specialty product with superior quality priced below other name brand products. What’s more, we give customers the option to try a single unit which few others are doing.

      Please continue to send us your thoughts on pricing. We really value Undershirt Guy reader feedback as they tend to be the most knowledgeable in the market.

      Jesse T. Szynal
      President
      Collected Threads, Inc

      Reply
      • “…we give customers the option to try a single unit which few others are doing.”……How do I avail this trial option? I would like to try and see if it works for me. It would certainly help me in my purchase decision later. Thanks.

      • PS,

        We sell all sizes and colors in a beautiful gift-ready box as shown here for $18 with free shipping: http://www.collectedthreads.com/retailers. While we post our return policy, we go out of our way to make sure customers are completely satisfied (even take back washed returns, don’t tell anyone).

        If you need assistance with sizing, please don’t hesitate to contact us!

        Jesse T Szynal
        Collected Threads, Inc

      • ok, i’m gonna side with ps here a little.

        jesse, you know i dig you man, but “we give customers the option to try a single unit…” implies something very different than making exceptions to your return policy (which is very complex/detailed btw).

        i can’t make any distinction to what you guys are doing there. i mean, nearly every company will make exceptions to their return policy under the right circumstances.

        if you really want to offer a try-before-you buy, that’d be cool and awesome and unique, but i doubt that’s what you can practically do as a business.

        you made it sound a little too good-to-be true my friend — but you know what — i still like you dude (:

      • Tug,

        Sorry, didn’t mean to imply a Try Before you Buy policy. I was stressing that we sell our undershirts in single boxes, whereas the CK’s, Polos, Nautica’s of the world just offer 3 packs for the most part. Except for a new breed of $40+ modal singles, you typically have to spend $36 to buy a retail 3 pack while we offer an $18 single.

        The return policy mention was just to let PS know that he wouldn’t be stuck with any amount of undershirts if he wasn’t completely satisfied.

        Lower cost of entry was the major point here, I swear we’re not used undershirt salesmen!

        Jesse

      • btw ps — collected threads is the primary player in the scoop neck undershirt business, so if that’s what you’re looking for, you really should buy from them.

        they make a good quality product that is backed by a stand-up guy like jesse. i don’t think you’ll ever be disappointed with your shopping experience at collected threads.

      • Appreciate the plug, TUG.

        By the way, big things in store for the brand. 5 new samples just came on Saturday. We’re getting closer to a Kickstarter launch, stay tuned for more Undershirts Under Shirts.

  3. I like this but it should really come in a pack of 3 shirts for $25 to sell really well. People don’t buy 1 undershirt at a time.

    Reply
  4. I recently ordered some of these undershirts and they are awesome! I love being able to wear them to my business meetings, without having fabric show like a v-neck does.

    Reply
  5. So I bought some of these awesome tee’s for my boyfriend and he LOVES them!! So comfortable – more so than the average tee. This is a great new idea and we are ordering more for everyone we know!

    Reply
  6. Tug,

    Thanks for the detailed first look!

    Actually pleased you mentioned the one button versus two button point in your write-up. For the short term, tug (pun intended) the front bottom of the jT down and it will disappear under your 2nd button. Tucking it in should keep it hidden throughout the day.

    Option 2, give us another month to receive the 4th revision. In addition to black and gray versions, the neck drop increases another 3/4″. I had a Ted Baker shirt almost to three buttons with the latest production samples and still nothing in the open collar.

    As far as being “invisible:” the jT sought out to be the first undershirt under your shirt. Collected Threads is definitely crushing the competition there. In addition, we’ve made great strides to minimize the colret width and thickness so it will not appear through most men’s shirts. You are correct however, if you are wearing thinner materials or slightly see-through shirts, your jT might still give way to visible lines.

    We love the feedback here at Collected Threads and we look forward to hearing any other improvement suggestions!

    Jesse T Szynal
    President
    Collected Threads, Inc.

    Reply

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