The four shapes, and what each one does
- Crew — The default. A close, round opening sitting at the base of the neck. Structural, works under everything, and the safest thing to own in quantity.
- V-neck — Draws a vertical line down the chest, which lengthens a short neck and breaks up a broad one. Depth matters more than shape: shallow reads classic, deep reads like you are trying.
- Scoop — A wider, lower curve. Softer and more relaxed than a crew, and the better choice under an open shirt or with a layered chain.
- Henley — A crew with a short buttoned placket. The only neckline that changes character depending on whether you button it.
Match it to your frame, not the trend
Here is the rule most style guides skip: necklines work by contrast.
If your neck is short or broad, a V or a scoop opens vertical space and makes the whole upper body read longer. If your neck is long or your shoulders narrow, a crew closes that gap and gives your frame something to sit against.
Face shape matters far less than people claim. Neck length and shoulder width do almost all of the work.
The part nobody inspects: the ribbing
Turn the shirt inside out and look at the neckband. On a well-made tee it is a separate strip of ribbed knit, stitched flat, with a tape running shoulder to shoulder so the collar cannot stretch under load.
On a cheap one it is the body fabric folded over and sewn once. That is the collar that goes wavy after a month and never recovers — no matter how good the cotton is everywhere else.
One test before you buy
Hook two fingers inside the neckband, pull gently outward, and let go.
It should snap back flat within a second. If it stays stretched or ripples along the edge, the ribbing has no recovery, and the shirt is already on a timer.
Where Tarsah lands
We treat the neckband as a construction detail rather than a trim detail — because it is the first thing to fail on a shirt that was otherwise fine.
Same long-staple cotton, made in Egypt, as the body, no synthetic blend, and a collar meant to outlast the trend cycle rather than the return window.
Find your shape
Once you have the neckline, the rest is fit. Our T-shirt fit guide covers everything below the collar.
