Every specimen needs a reliable field garment. Hush Hollow uses the Comfort Colors® 1717 as its standard printed tee because its weight, muted color, and relaxed structure suit field-guide artwork particularly well. Since people ask—and since the internet is full of vague answers—here is what the shirt under the ink actually is, how it fits, and how to choose a size without consulting an unreliable omen.
The short version
The Comfort Colors 1717 is a heavyweight, garment-dyed, ring-spun cotton T-shirt with a relaxed tubular fit. At 6.1 oz per square yard, it feels more substantial than a lightweight fashion tee, but garment washing gives it a softer, already-lived-in character. Its colors are intentionally muted rather than perfectly flat and uniform.
This is an independent fit guide. Comfort Colors is a Gildan brand and does not sponsor or endorse Hush Hollow.
What does garment-dyed mean?
Most shirts are cut and sewn from fabric that was dyed beforehand. A garment-dyed shirt is sewn first, then dyed and washed as a finished object. The consequences are part of the appeal:
- The fabric feels broken-in from the first wear.
- The color has a weathered, slightly varied character rather than a perfectly uniform surface.
- Much of the expected shrinkage happens during the factory dye-and-wash process.
Garment-dyed shades are why dark artwork sits well on these shirts: the background already looks like dusk, so the print does not appear to float on top of it.
How the Comfort Colors 1717 fits
The manufacturer describes the 1717 as a relaxed-fit tubular body. Tubular means the body is made without side seams. Relaxed means it is not cut like a close-fitting fashion tee. Expect a classic, slightly boxy vintage-tee silhouette with room through the body.
Your usual size is the best starting point if you already prefer a relaxed T-shirt. For a more intentionally oversized look, compare the measurements and consider sizing up. Size down only after comparing the garment with a fitted shirt you already own; labels vary between brands, while a tape measure is considerably less imaginative.
How to measure a shirt you already own
Lay a shirt you like flat on a firm surface without stretching the fabric:
- Width: measure straight across the chest, approximately one inch below the armholes.
- Length: measure from the high point of the shoulder beside the collar to the bottom hem.
- Compare those measurements with the chart below rather than relying only on the size printed on the neck label.
Is the Comfort Colors 1717 unisex?
Effectively, yes. The manufacturer sells it as a single adult heavyweight tee rather than splitting it into separate men's and women's cuts, so everyone orders from the same size range and the same measurements apply.
What that means in practice depends on the shape you are dressing. The tubular body has no side seams and no waist shaping, so it hangs straight down from the chest rather than following the figure. On a broader frame that reads as a classic fit. On a narrower one it reads as deliberately boxy, which is the look many people are after in the first place.
If you want something closer to the body, the honest answer is that no size of the 1717 will do it, because the cut has no shaping to give. Choose by the flat chest measurement rather than by the letter on the label, and treat the length as the second decision: the relaxed body runs long, and sizing up adds height as well as width.
Comfort Colors 1717 size chart
The figures below are finished-garment measurements in inches from the current 1717 specification. Width is measured with the shirt laid flat, so it represents half of the garment circumference. The sizes and colors offered on an individual Hush Hollow product page may vary.
| Size | Chest width, laid flat | Body length |
|---|---|---|
| S | 18 1/4 in | 26 5/8 in |
| M | 20 1/4 in | 28 in |
| L | 22 in | 29 3/8 in |
| XL | 24 in | 30 3/4 in |
| 2XL | 26 in | 31 5/8 in |
| 3XL | 27 3/4 in | 32 1/2 in |
| 4XL | 29 3/4 in | 33 1/2 in |
Manufacturing tolerances are normal. The specification allows approximately one inch in chest width and 1 1/4 inches in body length, so treat the chart as a practical range rather than a laboratory verdict.
Should you size up for an oversized fit?
Choose your usual size if you want the intended relaxed fit. Size up when you deliberately want additional width and length. There is no honest universal “size up” or “size down” rule: body proportions, preferred sleeve position, and the shirt used for comparison all matter.
How heavy is a Comfort Colors 1717?
The 1717 uses 6.1 oz/yd² ring-spun cotton, placing it in the heavyweight T-shirt category. For comparison, a standard promotional tee usually sits nearer 4.5 oz, so the difference is noticeable the moment you pick one up.
Heavyweight describes fabric mass, not stiffness. The garment wash and ring-spun yarn give the shirt a softer character than the number alone suggests, while the extra weight helps it hang with more structure than a thin promotional tee. Ring-spun means the fibres are twisted into a finer, smoother yarn before weaving, which is why a heavier shirt can still feel soft rather than coarse.
The manufacturer's specification lists a 7/8 inch double-needle topstitched collar, double-needle armhole, sleeve and bottom hems, and twill tape across the neck and shoulders. These details do not make any shirt immortal, but they help explain why the 1717 feels more like an enduring object than a disposable blank.
Why the colors look lived-in
The shirt is dyed after construction. Comfort Colors describes pigment-dyed colors as having a vintage appearance that remains for the life of the garment, and reactive-dyed colors as having a more traditional dyed appearance with the same softness. Slight variation is part of the process rather than a defect.
Two shirts bearing the same color name can therefore differ slightly. Screens, lighting, and photography also affect color. Treat product images as a close representation, not a calibrated swatch. Pepper, for example, reads as a softened charcoal rather than a uniform jet black.
Does the Comfort Colors 1717 shrink?
Barely. The manufacturer states that its garments are pre-shrunk during the garment dye and wash processes, for almost no shrinkage at home. That is the practical answer for most people: wash it normally and it will stay close to the size you bought.
Pre-shrunk is not the same as incapable of changing, though. Cotton can still respond to high heat, and the normal manufacturing tolerances noted above remain relevant, so a shirt can arrive at the generous or the modest end of its size without anything having gone wrong.
To protect both the garment and the print, follow the care label attached to your specific shirt. As a general rule, wash inside out with like colors in cold or cool water and tumble dry on low heat. Avoid high heat and do not dry clean. Product-specific instructions supplied with the Hush Hollow item take precedence.
Before ordering a Hush Hollow shirt
- Check the size chart on the exact product page; available sizes and colors can differ by design.
- Measure a shirt you already like rather than relying only on your usual label size.
- Expect subtle garment-dyed color variation.
- Read the product-specific production and care information before checkout.
Why we chose it
Our specimens are drawn like old field plates and printed like archive documents. A bright, plasticky blank would betray them. The 1717 already looks found rather than freshly manufactured, and its heavier structure gives the artwork a suitable place to live.
Browse the wearable specimens in Field Notes, or visit the creatures most often taken home in Bestsellers. The shirt supplies the fabric. The field notes supply the documented inconveniences.