T-Shirt Connoisseur Examines the Famous Three Wolf Moon Shirt
I’m kind of a fan of T-shirts. I never became an adult, so I wear them almost every day. And since you asked for it, I bought the Mountain Three Wolves and Moons shirt to look over. This is fine.
This is part of the Lifehacker Reviews Anything series in which we review any random content you want from us . Today’s pick: The Mountain Three Wolves Moon Tee .
I may not be quite an adult, but I am a very serious journalist ™, so I feel like I should first share my qualifications for such a review. I am a 27 year old man who works from home and therefore wears too many T-shirts, much to the chagrin of my wife. I buy it at almost every heavy metal show I go to. In total, I have 44 T-shirts of different brands, fabrics and colors. As a result, I have strong feelings about which T-shirts are “good” and which are “bad,” although this rarely influences my buying decisions.
So when I tell you that I thought a lot about this shirt, you know that I am serious. Whoever suggested this review is ironically a joke on you because I turned this into a real article with tips on how to buy and care for T-shirts.
Fit and fabric
The Three Wolf Moon shirt is made from what The Mountain calls “mid-weight cotton.” It’s actually just a fancy way of saying “mostly heavy cotton”. When you see this on a web page, that should be your first warning: heavy cotton isn’t good. Thick cotton shirts tend to be slightly less proportional and slightly rougher to the touch. Manufacturers claim they last longer, but in my experience they tarnish faster than their quality softer counterparts. (This is very anecdotal, however, and I have not done any serious scientific research on the durability of T-shirts.)
So I didn’t have high hopes that the shirt with three moons and three wolves would sit still and to the touch. The fabric is about as rough as I expected (slightly better than my “heavy cotton” shirts, but not much) and didn’t fit me very well. I wear a small size, but even though Amazon users rated its fit “as expected,” I found this shirt to be roomy. In fact, of all the little T-shirts I own, the Three Wolves and Moons shirt is one, if not the largest, in size. The shirt is looser than all my other shirts, and the torso and sleeves are longer than anything I own.
I am skinny, so many shirts will feel oversized for me, and not everyone will like the slim fit I do. But this is the smallest size The Mountain offers and is larger than most of my shirts, which contradicts this a bit.
Tip : If the company you shop from has a sizing chart, use that. Most of them, including Amazon. Find a pair of your favorite T-shirts and write down their neck, sleeve, chest and shoulder measurements in Evernote (or in your file cabinet) so you know your “ideal” T-shirt sizes. In an ideal world, you would just try on things before buying them, but when you shop online, knowing these sizes can help you shop for your shape.
Social magnetism
I was shocked to find that this shirt does not have any magical social ability. Despite Amazon reviews, men didn’t want to be me and women didn’t want to be with me. It was very disappointing. In fact, I went for tacos with about twenty friends, and only one of them even mentioned a shirt. This really bothered me because it seems to suggest that no one knew I was wearing a shirt, ironically, and just thought it was my regular outfit. Maybe I need new friends, or maybe I’m a lot more nerdy than I thought.
Or perhaps the shirt of the Three Wolves and the Moon is not visible enough to others. Perhaps I should have bought the purple version, or the one with the glow-in-the-dark wolves . But I was stupid, and bought a simple blue one, which, apparently, does not give me instant pleasure and popularity.
Tip : Most people don’t care what’s on your shirt. Also, playful shirts only look funny the first time around, so they’re not a good investment in clothing. (See: T-shirts with sarcastic slogans on the front.)
Durability
I honestly haven’t tested the durability of this shirt. I thought about washing it 30 times to see how it would wear out, but that would waste a lot of water and I live in California. Plus, I’ve already spent $ 16 on this damn shirt I’ll never wear again, and I’m not going to spend more on water and detergent to wash it. Yes, I’m a curmudgeon and I’m sorry.
Tip : In any case, I recommend washing the printed T-shirts inside out and in a “cold” environment. This will prevent the graphic side of the shirt from rubbing against other objects and will last longer as a result. I’m upset that it took me 25 years to learn this. They also make a detergent specifically for dark fabrics that can help keep colors from fading.
Verdict: Fur
I didn’t like this shirt very much. Not bad on its own, but the cut and fabric weren’t up to par in my (admittedly T-shirt snob) opinion. Of course, if you really like the graphics, go for it. I bought a lot of low quality shirts because I liked the design on them, so there is no shame in that. Just know that it can be a little bit big and it is not exactly soft and cuddly.