Product Details
The Denim Tears Black T-Shirt is the most direct way into the label. Black cotton, the wreath motif on the chest, and a piece of work that carries more meaning than most clothing bothers to.
What the cotton wreath refers to
Tremaine Emory founded Denim Tears in 2019, and the first collection landed on the 400th anniversary of the first enslaved Africans arriving in America. The cotton wreath is not decoration. It points directly at the crop that built the American economy and at the people forced to pick it. Emory has described it as a talisman for America. Wearing it is meant to prompt the question rather than answer it.
Why black is the version most people choose
On black the wreath reads clearly without the shirt shouting. It keeps the piece wearable in ordinary settings, which matters for a garment carrying this kind of weight. The bright colourways make the motif decorative. Black does not.
Fit and sizing
- Boxy through the chest rather than fitted
- Heavier cotton than a standard tee, so the print sits flat
- True to size, or size up for a longer body
- Available in S, M, L and XL
Wearing it
Denim Tears shorts underneath make the obvious set. Straight denim or plain black trousers take it somewhere quieter. Either way, keep everything else in the outfit plain and let the wreath be the only graphic.
Care
- Cold wash at 30 degrees, inside out, with darks
- Hang dry rather than tumble, since heat shortens a boxy body noticeably
- Iron the reverse only, never across the wreath
- No bleach and no fabric softener
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