The T-Shirt The Bear Made Famous Has a Few New Cousins

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Merz B. Schwanen, the brand behind Carmen Berzatto's favorite tee, is now a lot easier to find—and keeps cooking up flawless basics.

When The Bear blew up the spot of the 215 shirt, old-world craftsmanship collided head-on with a hype train. The tee, hefty and structured, is made on vintage knitting machines that result in a side-seam-free experience; production couldn’t be scaled to match the hordes of men looking for a crisp white shortcut to Jeremy Allen White’s biceps. What’s more, Merz B. Schwanen, culty as it was, could only be found at IYKYK-type menswear havens.

Merz, founded in 1911 and reborn in 2011, has long been prized in very specific menswear circles that also care deeply about historical construction techniques in service of crafting long-lasting, beautifully made basics. The brand’s products are meticulously made in Germany, often using bygone methods and decades-old machines (the equipment dates back to the 1800s in some cases). None of the brand’s products are “cheap” in the financial sense, but trying a single piece often leads to obsession.

​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​                           Reed Nelson • GQ​