Why Blacksunset uses Tee Jays blanks and why we won’t remove their labels

Somewhere behind Blacksunset, under the collar, is a label. And not only does Blacksunset stand on that label, but Tee Jays as well.

Most brands would take that tag off. Or sew on your label. Because it “looks” like you did the whole thing yourself from start to finish – choosing the fabric, drawing the cuts, sewing with a machine. But we don’t. And here’s why.

Honest talk about T-shirt blanks

First of all – one thing that many people don’t know. The vast majority of designer t-shirt brands do not sew their own shirts. Not in Estonia, not elsewhere. Even many of the bigger streetwear brands use blanks – pre-stitched, pre-dyed, standard-sized T-shirts that are then printed with their own design.

This is not cheating. This is a reasonable division of labor. I am a designer and brand manager. I can come up with a sentence that touches someone’s soul, choose the right typography and build a brand that speaks to people. But I’m not a fabric technologist or a seamstress. These are separate specialties with years of experience.

The question is not whether you sew the shirt yourself. The question is whose shirt you trust.

Tee Jays – Almost 50 Years of T-Shirts

Tee Jays is a Danish company that started in 1976 in Alabama, USA. Founders Terry Wylie and Jim Morris – hence the name,Do(Terry) andJays(Jim) – started producing quality T-shirts and grew rapidly: at one point they had nearly 4,000 employees and 19 production facilities.

Today, Tee Jays is a Danish family company headquartered in Svenstrup, Northern Denmark. Their vision has been the same since the beginning: to produce the best T-shirt in the world. Not the cheapest, not the fastest – the best. And if you’ve come across this shirt once, you’ll understand that it’s not a marketing statement.

They only focus on what they are good at – the basics. T-shirts, polo shirts, sweatshirts. No seasonal fashion, no ‘capsule collections’, no marketing hype. Simply the best everyday fabrics and cuts that they keep evolving year after year.

Sof Tee – our basic shirt

Most of Blacksunset’s designs are printed at Tee JaySof Teefor the model (TJ8000). This is their iconic product, having been in production for over 25 years, which is a rare consistency in the t-shirt world.

What this shirt includes:

The fabric is 100% combed ring-spun cotton, 185 g/m². “Combed” means that the shorter, uneven fibers have been worked out before spinning, making the fabric smoother, softer and more durable. “Ring-spun” means that the fibers have been twisted in a spiral, rather than simply compressed in parallel, giving the fabric a strength and elasticity that cheaper open-end methods cannot achieve.

The neck is double-layered, reinforced with elastane – this means that the collar will not stretch even after hundreds of washes. The seams are double. The fabric is treated with a double pre-shrink, which means that the shirt will not collapse. And a reinforcement tape runs from shoulder to shoulder to keep the neckline and shoulder seam in shape.

This all sounds like a technical specification, and it is. But you can feel the difference when you pull the shirt on. It’s heavier than a cheap shirt. Smoother. Fits better. And after the tenth wash, it looks like new – not like rags.

My Way To The Jays

I didn’t start with the Tee Jays. Far from it.

In the early years of Blacksunset, I replaced the blanks about every six months. I tried different suppliers, different densities of fabric, different cuts. Some were too thin – the print showed through. Some were too stiff – did not sit on the body. Some collars popped out like an old man’s corner after the third wash. Mõni jooksis kokku nii, et L muutus M-iks.

It was a frustrating period because I was selling a product whose design I trusted, but whose wearing experience I couldn’t always control. And that’s not okay. If someone buys a Blacksunset shirt, they’re buying my promise that it’s quality – and I can’t make that promise if I doubt the quality of the product.

A few years ago I got to Tee Jays and in the test phase I realized it was there. Fabric, cut, washing results, printing surface – everything worked. Since then, Sof Tee has been our standard and I haven’t had to look back.

Why the label remains

Now about that label.

Many brands remove the label from the workpiece and sew it in its place. This creates the illusion that everything is done yourself and hides the partner whose work you are actually using. I understand why it is done – brand purity, controlled experience, premium feel. But it doesn’t suit me.

I’m not ashamed of the Tee Jays. On the contrary – I am proud to use this high-quality company. Their label on my shirt is like a manufacturer’s seal that says: This fabric and this stitching are made by people who have been doing this for almost 50 years. I added the message, they added the base on which the message stands.

It’s the same logic as in photography. I’m not a camera manufacturer – I’m a photographer. I’m not ashamed of the Sony logo on the front of my camera. A good camera makes good work possible, but I make the picture. A good workpiece makes a good garment possible, but I do the design.

Is Blacksunset a ‘real brand’ if it doesn’t make its own shirts?

No one has asked me this question directly, but I know the idea is there. And the answer is: absolutely yes.

Blacksunset is a design brand. Our value is message, aesthetics, philosophy and quality control. We select the fabrics, test the print, inspect each batch, and stand by our name to make sure the product is what we promise. But we entrust the weaving and sewing of the fabric to experts who do it every day – because they are better at it than I am.

It’s a more honest approach than pretending you’re a vertically integrated manufacturer when you’re not. And I think people who buy Blacksunset appreciate that honesty.

Interlock – the next level

In addition to Sof Tee, we also offer the option to purchase Tee JaysInterlockon the model. It’s a category unattainable to most streetwear brands – 220g/m² combed ring-spun organic cotton with an interlock weave, meaning the fabric has an identical surface on both sides. The result is a shirt that feels like two layers of silk.

Enzyme and silicone wash, double pre-shrinking, Oeko-Tex 100 certificate, washable at 60 degrees. This is a shirt you won’t get from most premium brands. We will write about Interlock separately, because it deserves its own post.

In conclusion

Tee Jays is not just our supplier. They are our partner in ensuring that Blacksunset’s message reaches your skin in the best possible form. I trust their fabrics, their stitching and their almost half a century of experience. And I think that trust deserves to be publicly recognized, not hidden on a collar tag.

Therefore, the label remains.

References and links:

• Tee Jays – Official Website
• Make Jays History – Images Magazine
• All Blacksunset t-shirts
• How to choose a quality t-shirt that will last for years – blog post
• What is Blacksunset really trying to say? – blog post
• Blacksunset at Tallinn T-shirt Art Biennale – blog post