Is a Christmas T-Shirt Warm Enough?

No, a Christmas t-shirt isn't as warm as a Christmas jumper, and that's the point. Most of December is spent indoors: the office, the pub, someone's overheated front room. A jumper is too much for all of it. A lightweight organic cotton tee with one word on the chest does the job of saying you're in the spirit without the itch or the sweat, and if it's cold you layer it: under a shirt, a cardigan, a blazer. Our Bah and Sleigh tees are 155gsm, light enough to layer without bulk.

When is a Christmas jumper warmer?

There are times a jumper wins. A long walk on a cold Boxing Day. A house where the heating is "on a timer". The queue for the Christmas market when the wind's coming off the river. We're not going to pretend a t-shirt beats wool in any of those.

The answer isn't to swap the tee for a jumper. It's to put something over it. A t-shirt is the base layer; the jumper, cardigan or coat is the bit you take off when you get inside. That's the whole trick, and it's why you end up wearing the tee all month rather than once.

How do you layer a Christmas t-shirt in December?

Three ways we wear ours from the start of December to the end of it:

• Under an open shirt. Denim, flannel or a plain overshirt, left unbuttoned so the word shows. Warm enough for the office, easy to shrug off when the heating kicks in.
• Under a blazer. For the work do or dinner out. It looks like you made an effort without looking like you're in fancy dress.
• Over a long sleeve, with a cap. For the walk. A long-sleeved top underneath, the tee on top, the Offline Cap on your head and your phone in your pocket.

Because the tees are 100% organic cotton, they breathe. You don't get that clammy feeling you get from acrylic when you walk from a cold street into a warm pub. We wrote more about this in the winter section of our organic cotton post: a light cotton tee is the best base layer there is.

Is a Christmas t-shirt as warm as a jumper?

It's the question that turns up in every Christmas FAQ now, so here's the long answer. On its own, no. Layered, it's warmer than you need, and it goes further. You'll wear a jumper to one thing in December. You'll wear a t-shirt to the office, the party, Christmas Day, Boxing Day and, if it's Bah, most of January.

Both tees come in a unisex relaxed fit (Bah in cherry red, Sleigh in forest green, XS to 4XL) and a women's fitted cut (Bah in black, Sleigh in white, XS to 2XL). They're £29.99, machine washable at 30°C, and dispatched within 3 working days.

See both, and the cap, in The Christmas Edit.