I picked four oversized shirts that are great to throw on loosely around campus. On the shelf, we have the faithful basics MOONDAL's Classic Lounge Shirt in White and AMOMENTO's Open Collar Shirt, Ivory, as well as season-ready pieces from LOW CLASSIC: the Oversized Flannel Shirt_Blue Check and Oversized Cotton Shirt_Navy. When a shirt fits just right, it holds a neat tension, but draped one or two sizes up, it becomes the coziest outerwear for wandering between lecture halls and the lawn.
In the 1960s across American college campuses, locker loops—small fabric loops attached to the back pleat of a shirt—were all the rage. Originally, they were a practical detail from days without proper hangers, meant to keep shirts wrinkle-free by hanging them on locker hooks or wall nails. But students began using them as a campus romance code: cutting off the loop to signal they were taken, or tearing off the loop of a crush to confess their feelings.
Instead of such loops, today's oversized shirts carry on that free-spirited campus mood through generous fits and silhouettes. Would you like a check pattern with a bluish tint, or shall we start with a neat plain shirt that's easy to toss on anywhere?
↳ With a check pattern
Among check patterns, I picked two thick flannel shirts and three sheer, translucent shirts. LOW CLASSIC's flannel shirts are warm with soft, delicate brushing on the surface, while the sheer check shirts from Moia and LOW CLASSIC flow along the body, revealing a subtle texture. Even with the same check, the texture of the surface gives off quite a different sound in autumn.
The napping process, which scrapes the fabric surface to raise a cozy downy fuzz, originally started from the tradition of combing cloth with the dried heads of wild teasel thistles, which have resilient prickly thorns. In 16th-century Europe, machines that turned thousands of thistles mounted in iron frames were used, to the point that specialized craftsmen called teasel men toured factories to evenly replace the thistle heads. Even after iron combs became widespread, this botanical thorn is still insisted upon for top-grade fabrics because it brings out the texture without damaging the yarn.
Thanks to their thick texture, the flannel shirts on the list are also great to toss on like light outerwear on chilly days. Shall we narrow it down first to cozy, brushed checks, or start by picking from toned-down, calm colors?
↳ With a brushed check
For brushed check shirts, I selected two oversized flannel shirts from LOW CLASSIC. Blue check and black check are lined up side by side. Thanks to the signature flannel texture with a scraped, cozily raised surface, they feel warm worn on their own, and with their generous width, they're roomy enough to throw on like light outerwear when it's chilly.
In 1850, the buffalo check flannel shirt introduced by Woolrich, inspired by traditional Scottish patterns, was originally workwear keeping loggers safe in the Pennsylvania woods. The intense contrast of red and black stood out clearly even in shaded forests, effectively serving as a signal to locate coworkers among falling trees. There is also lore passed down that it was named buffalo because the designer who created the pattern actually raised a herd of buffalo.
Between the vibrant blue check and the quietly subdued black check, which one would you like to view? If you'd like, I can also broaden the options to show you shirts with other patterns.
Final Selected Products
