The pull of the T-shirt

They're not only comfortable, they're fashionable too. They come in all colors and go with practically any item in your closet, from jeans to skirts to formal jackets. Once considered suitable mainly for casual wear, they've since gone completely mainstream. Today the T-shirt is a fashion statement, says stylist Liat Ashuri.

	Photo by: Liron Arel, Keith Glucksman, Ran Golani, Efrat Eshel, Avi Waldman, Gal Tuviyahu

"Big fashion designers like Dolce & Gabbana, and Israelis such as Gideon Oberson, are walking out on the stage at fashion shows wearing T-shirts and blazers, to send a message of less is more," says Ashuri. Indeed, the rules have changed. Formal wear doesn't necessarily mean a suit and tie any more, and a T-shirt isn't confined to the gym or gardening. These days, you can even wear a T-shirt to a wedding.

"TV talk show hosts have abandoned that groomed look of button-down shirts, opting instead to combine jackets with T-shirts," says Ashuri. "It's a way to balance formality with a young, light, more accessible statement."

Everybody wants to look young these days, she continues, and T-shirts serve that end.

With the end-of-season sales now on, which includes fashion tees, TheMarker's intrepid correspondents made the rounds of Azrieli Center in Tel Aviv to find out what's left on the shelves.

Castro Man still has a range of T-shirts with prints, in a range of sizes, going for NIS 50 to NIS 60. There's less left at Castro Woman, but it's worth a try. Diesel also has a wide range of styles, but not many units of each. And you may have to paw through piles of shirts on the bottom shelf - which requires some patience. The Lee Cooper outlet is better from that perspective, with orderly piles of clothing and a wide selection.

Twentyfourseven has especially low-priced tees for NIS 29.90, but the range left on sale at Azrieli isn't particularly attractive. Pull & Bear does have a wide variety of T-shirts still, but they aren't on sale; the price has stayed at NIS 70.

H&M isn't holding an end-of-season sale, but its prices are relatively low to begin with. And while the Swedish clothing chain didn't have the kind of fashion tees we were looking for in the women's section, men can find a nice selection for NIS 40 to NIS 50 apiece.

If you don't feel like braving the summer heat and prefer to shop from the comfort of your own home, several big retailers including H&M and Urban Outfitters offer sales year-round on their websites.

Still, it's a leap of faith to buy a dress or pants online - you can't try them on, for one thing. A T-shirt, however, is a different story. With standard sizes, how wrong can you go?

The site Tshirthell.com has become so popular it has 91,000 friends on Facebook. Its angle? The company offers visitors the option to send in T-shirt designs and promises $200 for the best ones, which also get published on the site.

Kfir Hadad, founder of Kozo T-shirts, also chose to focus on Internet marketing. "A designer doesn't have to invest in a store, pay rent or rely on customers showing up," he says. "Building a website and leasing a domain is much cheaper, and you can offer better prices to consumers." And with the success of Hadad's site, he now also sells his tees through select stores in Tel Aviv.

So why T-shirts? Because they suit practically every occasion, Hadad says. The Israeli man wants to throw something on and leave the house without worrying about ironing it or having to button up.

And it's not only fashionable: Thanks to various prints and writing, T-shirts have become a personal statement.