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At 62, Ray and I finally did the South West in the caravan. I packed one bag. This is a letter about the grey T-shirt I wore in every town
Six things this soft grey coverage tee gets right that a lifetime of clingy, short-sleeved, "it'll do" T-shirts never did, from a Perth woman who had always packed for the trip she was afraid of rather than the one she was on.
Maggie Whitfield · 62 · Perth, WA · 5 min read
I'm 62, and for forty years Ray has been talking about "doing the South West properly." Not a weekend in Busselton. Properly. Margaret River, Augusta, Pemberton, Denmark, Albany, three weeks in the caravan with no plan except the coast. This spring, we finally went. And the night before we left, I stood in front of my wardrobe with one bag and realised I didn't own a single T-shirt I actually wanted to wear for three weeks. They were all too tight, too short in the sleeve, too faded, or one of Ray's old ones I'd "borrowed" in 1998. So this is not a review. It's a woman who finally packed properly, telling you why.
The T-shirt I'm writing about is the Marigold, a comfort coverage tee from Perth Boutique, a small Australian boutique that dresses women our age. Mine is the grey. My friend Lorraine, who never lets me get away with anything, sent me the link with a message that said, "For the trip. Get the grey, it goes with everything you own, which is mostly jeans." She was right, as usual. When Perth Boutique later asked if they could share my letter, I said yes, on the condition I could be completely honest in it.
Here's what forty years of "it'll do" T-shirts taught me. Somewhere after fifty, the humble T-shirt becomes the hardest thing in the shop to buy. The fitted ones cling to every lump. The short sleeves stop right at the part of the arm you'd rather they didn't. And the loose ones are cut like a man's work shirt, so you look like you're about to go and clean the gutters. So you settle, and you keep settling, and you end up on the holiday of a lifetime in a T-shirt you'd hide from a camera.
I'd spent months planning a trip of a lifetime, and about four seconds thinking about what I'd be wearing in every photo of it.
The Marigold is the first T-shirt I've bought on purpose in years, and having worn it in five towns, two wineries, one very windy lookout and a caravan park laundry queue, I can tell you it comes down to six things.
The sleeves are long enough
This is the reason I bought it. The Marigold has longer half sleeves, so they come down far enough to cover the top of the arm, which is exactly where every other T-shirt I own seems to stop. No tugging the sleeve down in photos. No cardigan on a 30-degree day "just in case." It's such a simple thing, and I cannot tell you how many years I've been looking for it.
Group photo at the winery with a coach tour from Melbourne. Didn't reach for my sleeve once. Didn't hide behind Ray once either.
Relaxed, but not a man's T-shirt
The shape is relaxed, so it sits comfortably and moves with you without clinging anywhere, but it's not boxy. It's still clearly a woman's top, with a nice line to it. For three weeks of climbing in and out of a car, up and down caravan steps and along the odd coastal walk, I never once felt it pulling, riding up or gripping where it shouldn't.
Climbed the lighthouse at Cape Leeuwin. All 176 steps. The tee was fine. I was not, but that's another story.
Soft and light, for long days in the car
It's lightweight and soft, and for anyone who's sat in a car for four hours down the Forrest Highway in October, you'll know that matters more than anything. I could wear it for a whole travel day and still feel fresh when we pulled into the next park, and it's light enough that in the Perth heat it's the coolest thing in my wardrobe that still has proper sleeves.
Four hours in the car, two in the karri forest. Still comfortable at the pub that night. Ray in his shirt from 1998 was not.
Why the grey: it goes with absolutely everything
This is where the grey earns its keep. When you've got one bag for three weeks, every piece has to work with every other piece, and a soft grey does exactly that. I wore it with jeans, with my white jeans, with denim shorts, with a black skirt and with my cream linen trousers. It looks right with all of them, and it never looks like you've tried too hard. In Albany, where the mornings were properly cold, it sat under my navy cardigan beautifully.
Packed five tops for three weeks. The grey one got worn more than the other four put together. I should have just brought two greys. Next time, I will.
A classic round neck that dresses up or down
The neckline is a simple, classic round neck, which sounds like nothing, but it means the tee dresses up and down without any fuss. With a silver necklace and my white jeans, it was right for a long lunch at a winery in Margaret River. With shorts and sandals, it was right for the caravan park. I wore it to both on the same day, and I didn't change.
Breakfast at the van, winery lunch, sunset at Surfers Point. One tee, three looks, zero outfit changes. Ray didn't notice. Ray never notices. But I did.
Sizes up to a 20, and a price that lets you buy two
The Marigold comes in AU sizes from 8/10 all the way up to 18/20, and because it's a relaxed fit, I ordered my usual size and it fitted with no fuss. There are other colours too, white, black, pink and a couple of blues, and I'm sure they're lovely. But if you're only going to buy one T-shirt this year, buy the grey. It's the one that works with the wardrobe you already have.
Unpacked. Washed. Put the grey ones straight back in the drawer at the front. Lorraine has ordered two of her own, both grey. She says she's "not copying." She is.
This tee, against the "it'll do" T-shirt
Most of us don't choose our T-shirts. We grab whatever's on the rack, it doesn't quite work, and we keep wearing it anyway. Here's the difference, laid out plainly.
Sleeves stop right where you don't want
Clingy, or cut like a man's shirt
A colour that only goes with one thing
Hidden under a cardigan in every photo
Bought because it was there
Longer half sleeves that cover the upper arm
Relaxed, comfortable, still a woman's shape
Soft grey that goes with everything
Right for the van and the winery
Bought on purpose, and worn every day
About the price
The Marigold is $45.95 at the moment. The website says it's usually $90. I won't pretend I know what a T-shirt like this ought to cost, but I can tell you I've paid more than that for a top I wore twice, and I wore this one more than a dozen times in three weeks.
Perth Boutique also take a bit off if you buy more than one: 10% for two, 15% for three and 20% for four, and it comes off automatically at the checkout. That's how I ended up with a second grey one before we left, which, as it turned out, was the best packing decision I made. You can split it with Afterpay too, which works out at about $11.50 a fortnight.
Shipping was free with Australia Post, tracked and insured, and there's a money-back guarantee if it isn't right. That's what got me to press the button the week before we left, when I really didn't have time for anything to go wrong.
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If you're 55, or 62, or 70, and there's a trip you've been putting off, or even just a summer, and you've been dreading what you'll be wearing in the photos, this is the one I'd put in your bag myself, while the grey is still in your size. Buy two. You'll wear them both.
Maggie
Marigold · Comfort Coverage Tee
Buy 2 save 10% · Buy 3 save 15% · Afterpay available
- Longer half sleeves that cover the upper arm
- Relaxed shape that never feels restrictive
- Soft, lightweight feel for warm days and long trips
- Classic round neckline that dresses up or down
- Soft grey that goes with jeans, shorts, skirts and trousers
- Sizes AU 8/10 to 18/20
- FREE shipping Australia-wide & money-back guarantee
Spring sale on now, while stocks last.
About the writer. Maggie Whitfield is 62 and lives in Perth with her husband Ray, a lemon tree that produces more than they can eat, and a standing Thursday coffee with Lorraine. She worked as a dental receptionist for twenty-six years and is now, in her own words, "saying yes to things."
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