Best Tie-dye T-shirts 2019
A tie-dye T-shirt is meant to be easy, laid-back—something you make for an arts and crafts session in the summer. You expect to wear it with Birkenstocks, on your way to do something outdoorsy. Tie-dye has a very specific identity, but it’s still evolving, especially as certain designers have reinvented and reimagined it as a top trend for spring 2019. Translation: Tie-dye is getting expensive.
You can expect to see many more high-end versions of it in the near future. Right now, you can buy a tie-dye Proenza Schouler sweatshirt or Prabal Gurung maxi skirt; in the fall, there will be Maryam Nassir Zadeh tie-dye puffer jackets and Collina Strada leggings. Celebrities are stoked about this revival, gravitating toward one purple-blue style in particular: a $230 Paco Rabanne T-shirt. It’s part of the brand’s ongoing collaboration with Peter Saville, and the “Love Yourself” graphic has been spotted on Selena Gomez and Rihanna in recent weeks.
It’s a pretty straightforward take on tie-dye. The shirt’s main distinctive feature is a ruched, knotted detail on the bottom corner.
Paco Rabanne’s tie-dye cotton T-shirt is one of fashion’s more straightforward tie-dye takes. It looks like something you probably owned years ago. It seeks to emulate “chill” with the ruched knotted detail that makes it look as if you tied it on the side just so.
Influencers, models, and stylists have taken to this Paco Rabanne top too, pairing it with everything from patterned maxi skirts (as it appeared on the brand’s spring 2019 runway) to jeans.
Listen, the shirt is cool. But not all of us have that $230 tie-dye budget. So we set out to find alternatives that get you the same look but are easier on the wallet. Of course, you could always make your own—all you need is a plain white T-shirt and a tie-dye kit from Amazon. If you want to wear the trend right now, though, consider the seven tops under $90 ahead.
