10 Brands Evolving the Basics Game

Image via Complex Original

Alternative (formerly known as Alternative Apparel) is like the hippie in your crew that takes stances and makes efforts that you admire, but know that you’re too morally shaky of an individual to do yourself, like being a vegetarian. Fortunately, Alternative does all the work for you, so all you have to do is what you do best: cop it all.

This brand is environmentally friendly in every way while still providing its customers with incredible choices. For starters, the vendors and factories it works with are all in accordance with fair labor standards. Alternative also uses organic and sustainable fabrics and go as far as to create custom fabrics so material is incredibly soft, durable, and as green as possible. They even use a special washing method that dyes garments using 60% less water than others. An Alternative basic is great looking and good for the environment, like Beyoncé doing a beach cleanup.

COS makes clothes that are simple, subtly progressive, and will leave room in the budget for more intricate pieces. Taking cues from its Swedish sister brand H&M, COS incorporates elements of fast fashion without all the shittiness and negative connotations that accompany the practice. COS adopts modern trends—such as using bonding for cleaner seams and utilizing side-zips when necessary—and knocks down the price to something that the average person can actually afford. We're not talking about price levels that rival H&M, but that only means a higher level of quality in clothing that doesn't become garbage lining after a few wears. COS makes clothes that last not just through multiple wears, but multiple seasons. If you need an infusion of Scandinavian minimalism into your wardrobe, COS needs to be your next stop. 

In Sunspel’s storied 154-year history it brought boxers to the UK, was integral to the development of the T-shirt, and (1,000 praying hand emojis for this) it was founded as an underwear company that used cotton rather than the traditional material at the time: wool. Furthermore, Sunspel was one of a handful of companies that the Royal Navy and US Navy used when they redesigned the troops’ uniforms. Part of that change was the addition of a shirt to be worn underneath the uniform, which is the very root of the tees that we wear today.

Sunspel hasn’t stopped working on perfecting the T-shirt since. Its Egyptian cotton is manufactured just for the brand, and it owns a factory in Long Eaton that it uses as a lab for new textile development. Sunspel brings its age-old proven techniques and fuses them with perfected fabrics and designs for the modern man to create exceptional basics.

As the current darling of the menswear world, Aimé Leon Dore makes basics that maintain their functional roots without giving up a modern fit. Each item is exceptionally well-tailored, but designer Teddy Santis understands that the average dude isn’t built like a model. That means slim-cut hoodies and sweaters are vented on the side for maximum comfort and fit, and can be layered however you desire. Santis’ sweatpants are grown-up and made with incredibly soft French terry, but stay true to themselves. Designers re-purposing sweatpants into trendy, tailored pairs can lose sight of sweatpants' original intention: sitting on the couch trying to remember the last time you showered. ALD manages to strike a balance between looking good and feeling good better than nearly anyone else.

John Elliott + Co.’s basics are top of the line in every facet, from cool detailing to custom-made fabrics. John Elliott hunts down the best material for every style of garment, and if he can't find it, he'll make his own. The brand has been using Japanese custom-milled terry to create the softest tees and hoodies, including the essential Villain hoodie. Every subtle detail and means of improvement illustrates that Elliott really is adding a level of intensity and quality to basics. The RiRi zippers are sourced from Switzerland, and his flannel shirts utilize quilted yoke made from Italian lamb leather. Many items are flatlock stitched—a more difficult and unique stitch that makes the garment that much softer by eliminating rough seams.

Plus, everything is made in L.A., where you can probably find Elliott taking time out of creating the most beloved basics to talk to us plebeians on StyleForum. Elliott’s customer service is just as good as the clothes; he’s constantly on the popular forum site answering users’ questions about fit and providing info on new collections and the details that make his the Mt. Everest of menswear basics. Every season, Elliott is stepping it up without trying to switch lanes and creating product that is always a step above what he's done before.

Everlane shares a lot of qualities with the other brands on this list: high quality fabrics, clothes made in the US, hand stitching, and an overall great fit. However, the one thing that makes the the Everlane name stand out opens a chasm between it and other labels that are progressing the world of basics. Most brands have tried to establish an online presence, but Everlane puts its focus first and foremost on digital fluency and connecting with a consumer base that now demands complete transparency and immediacy of information.

By the time a garment reaches a store's rack, it's been marked up over and over again to pay for various shipping, salary, and real estate costs. Everlane cuts out all the middlemen and sells directly to customers without marking anything up, which may not be the newest play in the book, but the brand works closely with factories and fabric sources around the world to continuously step up its game. Also, by combining talent from Google, Yelp, J.Crew, Goldman Sachs, and Marc Jacobs, Everlane has pretty much created a dream team to provide dope basics for customers that want a shopping and clothing experience that mirrors other areas of life in 2014.

It’s a true testament to the quality and aesthetic of Copenhagen’s Norse Projects, a brand that consistently creates beautiful basics, that locals refer to it as the Scandinavian Supreme. Norse Projects’ founders Tobia Sloth, Anton Juul, and Mikkel Gronnebaek are descendants of OG skateboard culture, and their rebellious past reverberates throughout all of the brand's clothes, even on something as simple as a T-shirt.

Norse Projects is able to capture the same air of the most vaunted menswear and streetwear names with clothes built to survive a Danish winter, while injected with subtle streetwear twists. The brand is perhaps better known for the knits and outerwear created to combat Scandinavian conditions, but you'd be doing yourself one giant favor if you picked up a few tees, chinos, and other basics for the coming season.

A.P.C. founder Jean Touitou creates clothes befitting of his uncompromising personality. Touitou founded A.P.C. as a response to the gaudy styles of the '80s, and set out to design clothes that didn’t use logos, and were clean and minimal with a focus quality. Then, when Touitou noticed standards lagging on the materials he was getting, he opened up a small weaving plant in France to exclusively make fabric that was up to par for A.P.C.

On top of his stubbornness for quality, Touitou is fashion’s favorite grumpy, brash uncle, laying waste to everything from the fashion industry to organized religion in interviews. Beyond the fandom that A.P.C. enjoys, and its high-profile collaborations, any basic item from the French brand will undoubtedly deliver a level of quality and comfort that will convert you into being a life-long fan.

Everything about Unis is personal. Everything is made in the US, and owner and designer Eunice Lee is involved with every aspect of a business that puts out the type of clothes that feel like you've had them for years as soon as you pluck them off the rack. Unis' tees are as comfortable and well-fitting as the favorite T-shirt you've never been able to bring yourself to throw out (meaning you'll never toss your Unis tees, either). Lee creates basics for the dude she and many others find attractive: someone effortless, classic and masculine. The result is a a series of basic tees, chinos, shorts, and more that are already at their peak levels of comfort. Why wait around for years beating a T-shirt up when you can buy one from Unis that's already cozier than a broken-in baseball glove?

When Alexander Wang created the diffusion line T by Alexander Wang in 2009, he immediately added another high-powered weapon to his already impressive arsenal. Wang's clothes are loved by everyone from rappers like Kanye West and A$AP Rocky to gallery curators to cool kids in SoHo. With the launch of T by Alexander Wang, fans of his shadowy sportswear were able to bring Wang's aesthetic and skills to the basics end of their wardrobe.

Wang takes his basics in a completely different direction than the rest of the names on this list. Most of these other brands deserve praise for their meticulously tailored, slim-fitting garments that were non-existent in basics a few years ago, but Wang’s are notably relaxed. The tops in the T collection are cut generously and affect a cool, laidback feel. Even if it's a solid crewneck or sweatpants, it's clear that Wang's passion lies in each garment, and an element of high-fashion and luxury has been effortlessly blended into every piece.