The antithesis to quiet luxury’s androgynous oversized fits, the baby tee is loud, proud and not afraid who knows it – quite literally, in fact, as many of the most popular styles have slogans emblazoned across the chest. A selection from baby tee purveyor Ruby Loot include “Eyes up”, “F*ck your run club”, “Hot line” and, a fan favourite, “Too old for Dicaprio”. Yet, unlike many of the OG styles of the ’90s and Noughties, these new-gen iterations have a wry knowingness that allows the wearer to reject the male gaze that defined designs of decades’ past and instead spell it out on their own terms. So perhaps when it comes to addressing “toxic male norms”, babygirls and baby tees aren’t so different after all.
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While the likes of Charles Jeffrey Loverboy and Mowalola were touting the baby tee back in 2023, it hasn’t been until this year that the style has truly hit the mainstream. It’s near-impossible to traverse a city street in the UK right now without encountering a tighty whitie tee. Over in A-list land, we’ve witnessed a slew of It-girls jumping on the baby tee bandwagon: Y2K queen Bella Hadid stepped out in a Re/Done baby tee at Paris Fashion Week back in March; Alexa Chung also posted a photo of herself in a “Career girl” slogan tee on Instagram. Meanwhile, Kendall Jenner and, of course, Charlie xcx have also pledged their allegiance to the trend.
When it comes to sourcing your baby tee, there are plenty of options to be found at high-street stores such as Weekday, Asos and Free People, but we love the idea of sourcing a vintage original from the likes of Rokit, Etsy or eBay – the more tongue-in-cheek the slogan the better.
