I have cleaning cloths made from my old t-shirts littered all around my house. I cut them myself, tears streaming down my face on most days.
The cheap ones went first. Five for ₹500, bought from a guy outside Linking Road who understood that I valued volume over everything else. They lasted exactly as long as you'd expect — two, maybe three months of summer before the cotton went thin and translucent, before the colour gave up, before the t-shirt stopped being a t-shirt and became a liability. Into the cleaning cloth pile.
Then I graduated. Imported brands, the fast fashion cotton dissolved on contact with water. The expensive, thick cotton didn't dissolve; it just started its slow descent, sagging at the shoulders, and making me discover oversized T-shirts before they were a thing.
The Problem Nobody Was Naming
The cleaning cloths and the sad hangers have one thing in common: I couldn’t find something that was made for my life. The Mumbai heat. The daily commute. The washing machine runs twice a week. And honestly, it was frustrating.
Then I saw an ad for XYXX and did what I always do — assumed it was another brand making tall claims for the aspirational Indian man on a mood board. I bought a few anyway. I'm a sucker for a deal. Turns out the XYXX t-shirts were made for the actual one — the heat, the commute, the washing machine that runs twice a week.
The XYXX Combed Cotton T-shirt is where that thinking is most visible. Combed cotton removes the short rough fibres before spinning, leaving yarn that's smoother, stronger, and holds its shape and colour through repeated washing. The white stays white. The fit stays the fit. This all sounds like the minimum requirement for a T-shirt, but we all know how hard it is to find something that actually works as advertised.
The XYXX Supima Cotton T-shirt runs on the same logic, but with a luxury twist. Supima isn’t just a fancy acronym, its actually some of the rarest cotton in the world, with a longer-fibre that's softer against the skin and holds colour across a full season of washing. Luxury that earns its keep.
When the Sag Is the Point
Then we come to the Oversized T-shirts, of which there are two.
The first kind happens to you. The cotton stretched wrong, the shoulders dropped, the silhouette exists because the garment lost a fight with your washing machine. Most of us have one. Some of us have six.
The second kind is a decision. Drop shoulders, relaxed chest, a fit that reads as ease rather than accident. The XYXX Oversized T-shirt is designed to look exactly like it looks with the same cotton logic underneath: it holds its shape wash after wash, moves without pulling, and doesn't become a different garment by the end of the month.
The difference between those two versions of oversized is invisible until it isn't.
Still Cutting Up T-Shirts
The cutting of T-shirts, unfortunately, has not stopped. There are still mistakes in the drawer from eras I've officially closed, making their slow journey towards the scissors. But the ratio has changed. Fewer bodies. More things I actually reach for.
That's not a transformation. That's just getting tired of being wrong about the same thing for fifteen years.
The maths of five-for-₹500 still works. You just have to decide what you're counting.
Explore XYXX T-shirts and XYXX Oversized T-shirts and find the ones worth keeping.
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FAQs
Is the Supima Cotton T-shirt actually worth it for Mumbai summers?
Short answer: yes. Supima cotton has a longer fibre than regular fabric, which makes it 4x softer and significantly more durable across repeated washing. At 185 GSM it's substantial without being heavy — and the colour retention holds across a full season, which matters when your t-shirt meets a washing machine twice a week.
What makes the Combed Cotton T-shirt different from a regular cotton tee?
The 100% super-combed cotton process removes the short rough fibres before spinning, leaving yarn that's smoother and stronger. The result is a 240 GSM fabric with a solid feel that doesn't pill, doesn't go thin, and doesn't lose its shape. The ribbed neckline retains its structure, too — so the collar still looks like a collar six months in.
The Oversized T-shirt — will it actually hold its shape or just stretch out like every other oversized tee I've owned?
The sag is designed in, not a side effect. The 210 GSM super-combed cotton with a smooth finish means the silhouette stays intentional wash after wash. Drop shoulders and a relaxed chest by design — not because the garment gave up.
Which of these works best for Mumbai heat specifically?
All three are built for it. The Supima's 185 GSM sits lightest. The Pace's 240 GSM is more structured, but the combed cotton breathes. The Drift at 210 GSM lands in the middle — relaxed fit means more air movement anyway. If you run hot, start with the Supima or the Drift. If you want something that looks crisp despite the humidity, the Pace.
Will these T-shirts actually survive the washing machine?
The high IQ colour formula means it holds across repeated washes rather than fading into something vaguely maroon. The combed cotton holds colour rather than going grey-ish by month two.
BY UMAIRE EFFENDI...
About the author: Umaire Effendi is a writer and film & television professional with over a decade of experience across India and Canada. His cross-cultural background gives him a distinct lens on modern Indian lifestyle, one that understands how India doesn't just follow global culture, but absorbs it, integrates it, and sends something entirely new back out into the world. He writes about men's fashion and culture by taking things apart, the why behind what Indian men wear, and what it says about where we're headed.
