TLDR: If you sweat a lot in your armpits, invest in a slim fit (made of bamboo and is soft AF) Thompson Tee. It will change your life. It changed mine.
I sweat. A lot. I tried a variety of antiperspirants, and none of them helped. What I could wear was severely limited, as I would sweat through everything. I ruined dozens of shirts, suit jackets, etc.
And then I found out about Thompson Tees. Thompson Tees are undershirts that have sweat catching patches sewn into the armpits. They cannot be worn without a shirt on top of them (because everyone would see you’re wearing a shirt with sewn in sweat catching pads), but as an undershirt they do a great job of preventing any sweat from getting through to my next layer.
You can see the sewn in sweat catching pad up close on the t-shirts. These are the original fit shirts. I prefer the slim fit shirts, as they are more form fitting and they are made of bamboo which feels soft and nice against my skin.
I initially bought a women’s one (several years ago) and didn’t like it. The sleeves were too short, and my sweat exceeded the little armpit sweat catcher. I returned it for a men’s slim fit shirt and my whole world changed. I could wear button up shirts again, of any color or pattern! I could wear suit jackets and not ruin them by sweating through them. I could raise my hand or put my arms above my head and not worry or wonder if I had sweat through my shirt or jacket. My wardrobe increased significantly and so did my confidence.
What started as one t-shirt has grown to 10 different Thompson t-shirts in my closet. I have bought the men’s slim fit t-shirts which fit me well and have long enough short sleeves for extra sweaty days. The women’s cut slim fit shirts have increased a bit in sleeve length from a several years ago when they first came out, so I’ve bought more of these as well. I’m planning to buy a couple of men’s long sleeve sweat catching shirts this season too, as I think I would prefer them under my button up flannel type shirts this winter for a bit of added warmth. I am hoping that Thompson Tee will make a women’s long sleeve shirt sometime soon as well.
Y’all. Sweating is a natural thing and we shouldn’t stop it or let it stop us. Thompson Tees are what I’ve found to be the perfect solution — they allow me to sweat all my sweat, but they catch all the sweat, so that I don’t look “pitted out” and ruin any more of my dress shirts. They also keep my temperature regulated really well when exercising outdoors if I have a wool base layer on over them. I know that “outdoors folks” say the wool base layer should be next to your skin, but I have found that even with 100% merino wool, I still can get a bit chilly and wet when I sweat, so adding a Thompson Tee underneath my baselayer is what has worked best for me to not get too cold or feel too wet when I’m active outdoors and wearing wool.
Thompson Tees has good customer service and a good return policy too. If you order a shirt, try it out and don’t like it, you can return it for a full refund within 30 days. For that alone, it’s worth trying it out. They occasionally have sales, especially around holidays, so keep an eye out for those too.
This shirt has literally changed my life — in fact I think it’s perhaps the most profound piece of clothing that I own in terms of its impact and significance in my life, which feels funny to say about a shirt, but it really has made such a difference. I hope you take a chance and try it, especially if you are a sweaty person who can only wear certain colors or patterns or fabrics because of your level of sweat. The shirt is costly, but priceless. Truly. I have drank the kool-aid and cannot recommend anything better than this shirt for sweat protection and comfort.