The Friday Find: This Gustin American-Made Pocket Tee is An Ideal Move for Winter Lounging and Layering

Best pocket tees for men.

Building out your ideal menswear wardrobe is an exercise worth undertaking from A to Z, and from the ground up: As I’ve long said here on this Brooklyn style blog, if you’re putting the thought and care into selecting the perfect pair of leather boots, the right belt or the right pair of selvedge denim, the same thought process can apply to the rest of your favorite menswear essentials.

And that even includes the humble T-shirt, especially one of the best American-made T-shirts out there — once you’ve tried what the good folks at San Francisco-based Gustin are slinging, you might never go back to the old ways of T-shirts made without a little extra elbow grease and American-made ingenuity in mind.

The Gustin American Heavy Long-Sleeve Pocket Tee is the sort of casually cool basic that just might make you wonder how you went so long without a stylish, highly durable, upgraded T-shirt in your laidback rotation. Fit for layering under a shawl cardigan, teaming with a flannel shirt jacket or worn with ease alongside tapered joggers for easygoing weekend outings, there might not be a better-made basic than this one, especially at the excellent price of just $39 (other USA-made T-shirts constructed in similar fashion might fetch closer to $120 from some brands, my friends).

The Gustin American Heavy Long-Sleeve Pocket Tee is made from a thick cotton jersey fabric with a heavier weight for a clean drape — and the sort of resulting style that should make you feel comfortable enough to wear this rugged tee on its own, no other layers required (unless, of course, you need to throw on a waxed trucker jacket to tackle winter yardwork).

Billed by the brand as “the perfect, extra-heavy long sleeve t-shirt,” it looks to me as though the handsome Gustin American Heavy Long-Sleeve Pocket Tee should live up to its billing, at least in my experience with Gustin menswear. And in a rich garment-dyed Navy, this tee should prove sturdy yet supple right out of the box. Find out more and pre-order your new favorite everyday long-sleeve tee online at Gustin.

Style Pick of the Week: Gustin Classic Boot

Editor’s note: Expect these posts weekly detailing one standout item coveted by yours truly. Sometimes, these fit within budgetary restrictions and other times, they’re expensive splurges worth saving for. For more Wish List items from Beau, head here, and to see other Style Picks, head here.

The latest release from Gustin — a shockingly affordable and stunning boot made right in America.

The folks over at San Franciso-based Gustin have been on something of a tear in recent months — the brand released its first pocket T-shirt earlier  this spring, and if it wasn’t enough to deliver well-crafted basics on top of excellent everyday wear, the brand then put out some stunning sneakers this summer. Those releases were the cherry on top of its already standout line of durable and well-crafted denim and complementary pieces like chore coats. And each item funded quickly as per the brand’s crowdsourced production model. Consider Gustin one step further into completely dominating your wardrobe now, thanks to the release this week of a lineup of made-in-America boots that look positively outstanding. If the speed at which they’re funding is astonishing, the price point is nothing short of jaw-dropping, too — just $199. That’s a good chunk less compared to similar-looking boots from Wolverine or Red Wing, for starters, yet they’re made by the very same craftsmen.

The Inferno Tan shade brings heavy vintage vibes, an eyecatching color and a heck of a price point.

The Inferno Tan shade brings heavy vintage vibes, an eyecatching color and a heck of a price point.

Gustin’s boots are available in three different looks, ranging from the chocolate brown shade seen at the top to a bright shade of tan and a grey-and-gold tinged Natural color. The specs of the boots are equally impressive, particularly for a pair that retails at what’s normally a final sale price for other brands. Built to last with Chromexcel leather from the world-renowned Horween Leather Company, they feature a tough Goodyear welt. The brand even used a custom last to create a pleasing, slim-yet-rugged profile that should pair well with its dark denim — and particularly rough-and-tumble fabrics like herringbone and tweed come fall. The waxed brown laces and brown metal eyelets on the CXL Brown Classic Boot are the kind of details that make these both a boot that can take a beating and a boot that’ll look all kinds of right when worn with dressier cold-weather essentials — is it fall already?

Will you be funding Gustin’s latest release? How would you style the boots seen here?
Ben Sherman US

Ernest Alexander

Style Pick of the Week: Gustin Pocket T-Shirt

Editor’s note: Expect these posts weekly detailing one standout item coveted by yours truly. Sometimes, these fit within budgetary restrictions and other times, they’re expensive splurges worth saving for . For more Wish List items from Beau, head here, and to see other Style Picks, head here.

Three colors of this pocket T-shirt available for simple, easygoing style.

Three colors of this pocket T-shirt available for simple, easygoing style. Image courtesy of Gustin.

Gustin’s menswear business model is certainly the first of its kind that’s grown to such a large scale so quickly, and for good reason. Each of the brand’s crowdfunded offerings, from denim to workwear jackets, has been closely and carefully considered, right down to the excellent fabrics they use. That’s why it was great to see them add another simple, well-made, American-manufactured item to their rotation earlier this week: the pocket T-shirt.

The heather grey version up close.

The heather grey version up close (on model). Image courtesy of Gustin.

Gustin’s regular crewneck T-shirts were funded pretty quickly when they first launched earlier this year, and new colors have been successes as well. So a pocket T-shirt was in high demand. When it comes to style, this iteration is actually one step above a regular crewneck — the pocket adds some visual interest on its own, and a heathered fabric can also amp things up slightly.  This first round of pocket tees is available for pre-purchase in a three-pack featuring solid white and black jersey cotton shirts, as well as a versatile heather grey triblend option. The set runs for $42 (an astoundingly low $14 per T-shirt if you’re keeping score), and is 43% funded with 12 days left in the run (as of this post). This is definitely the kind of T-shirt fit for easygoing weekend wear — and at that low price, it’s very attainable.

Does this T-shirt make your wish list? Any previous experience with Gustin or the brand’s T-shirts?