They may have been considered “underwear” in your youth, or perhaps existed only as something you wore under your snow suit, but thermal undershirts are one of my favorite types of tops. But keeping them only as an undershirt would be a crime against comfort and style. As rugged and utilitarian as they may seem, thermals are excellent standalone tops, and when combined with the right separates, can span everything from casual to sophisticated.
Photo: Carly Cristman
It’s getting to be the time of year when hanging outside starts to require an extra layer or two (or three, or four…), and throwing a thermal under your sweater or button-down shirt can make all the difference between comfort and bone-chilling shivers.
Plus, they’re very, very cute.
Long Sleeve Thermal Shirts Under $15
Aero (ditching the –postale makes me feel like it’s a store for adults) has a couple of cute, henley style (half-button) thermals for only $7.99 each right now. Sizes XS-XXL!
The colors are actually pretty good! They offer a light pink and a medium grey option, both colors have horizontally micro-striped (microstriped = so small it doesn’t look striped from a distance) sleeves cuffs and feature the classic henley button placket.
Target has a good selection of thermals, and you can usually count on Target to have the most of the same inventory in-store as they do online.
The best score at Target would be the Hanes Warm Essentials’ embarrassingly named line, Cuddl Duds®. They offer a waffle knit thermal top with two neckline options: a crew neck thermal, or henley style thermal. There are twice as many colors available if you choose the henley (including red and light blue), though both are excellent staples. They cost the same amount, $9.99 each.
If you’re knocked up – good news! There are long sleeve thermals in limited maternity sizes available for only $5.98 on clearance. If you’re XL or XXL and have a baby belly, jump on this deal!
The other two options I found at Target are part of the “Core Essentials” collection (different than warm) and they both fall at $14.99. Unsurprisingly, there’s a henley thermal and a scoop neck thermal (the product page is all messed up, though, so it may require extra patience) available in several colors and many sizes.
JCPenney owns the Arizona brand, and they’ve got some pretty affordable options, as well.
These Arizona scoop neck thermals are $9.99 each and come in a few different colors – some neon-level bright – and have one of my favorite sleeve features of all time – the ninja sleeve. A much more descriptive name would be “thumb hole”: a hole in the cuff of the sleeve that allows you to poke your thumb through and comfortably keep your sleeves from riding up. Also an excellent feature fit for fidgeters. (Hi that would be me.)
