Before polyester took over, American athletic T-shirts were cut from a particular cloth: 88% cotton, 12% rayon, the “88/12” that Champion and Russell Athletic used through the 1960s and 70s. The rayon gave the jersey a softer, more supple hand than pure cotton and a surface that wicked and dried quickly — and because the two fibers take dye differently, the fabric came out faintly mottled, the heather look that still reads as vintage sportswear at a glance. Warehouse & Co’s Lot 4096 reproduces that cloth.

The jersey is loopwheeled in Wakayama on circular knitting machines built between the 1920s and the 1960s — around four hundred survive — that knit slowly and under almost no tension. Yarns of varying thickness are fed in to produce a loose, textured, slub jersey with the heathered structure of the originals, soft and dry to the touch.

The body is tubular-knit with no side seams and finished with a crew neck in a classic regular fit.

Fit Notes: This T-shirt is not pre-washed and will shrink about 1" (2.5 cm) in all directions after the first wash. Compared to most global American brands, we recommend sizing up one from your usual size: unwashed, that size will feel slightly loose, and it settles into the intended fit after washing. The cut is a classic regular fit. As always, we strongly recommend checking our size chart and comparing it with your best-fitting garment to ensure the right fit.