The &Daughter Guide to T-Knits
“I kept coming back to the T-shirt as the thing people wear most for summer, in the same way that they wear a knit in winter,” says Buffy Reid, founder and creative director of &Daughter.
T-shirts are among the hardest-working pieces in any wardrobe. They are packed into suitcases, pulled over swimwear, layered beneath jackets, worn through long days. The best ones become familiar through repetition and wear, shaped as much by everyday life as by design.
This relationship with clothing became the starting point for T-Knits, over a year ago. We wanted to approach the T-shirt with the same level of expertise that we bring to knitwear, questioning how something functional could feel elevated, while still retaining its essential ease.
“The pieces people wear on repeat are always the most interesting to us,” says Buffy. “They are our companion pieces that become essential over time.”
The ease of a T-shirt, the elegance of a knit; this became our design shorthand. We wanted the familiarity and wearability of a favourite T-shirt, but with the shape, drape and tactility that knitwear naturally allows.
The Making of T-Knits
Like all &Daughter knitwear, T-Knits were developed collaboratively. For the collection, we partnered with Corah, an English maker with longstanding expertise in lightweight knitted garments. Each component is knitted precisely to shape in a fine 12-gauge before being linked together by hand, allowing the seams to remain clean and flat while preserving softness and movement throughout the garment.
The development process required meticulous sampling and refinement. Sleeve lengths were adjusted, necklines reconsidered and proportions refined until the balance felt right. “It takes at least a year, if not two, to really refine something properly,” explains Buffy. “There’s a lot of partnership involved because everyone has the same end goal,” she continues. “You’re all trying to make the best possible product.”
Worn on Repeat
The ultimate litmus test came in the studio itself. As samples began arriving, conversations quickly emerged around favourite shapes, colours and ways of wearing. “People all put them on differently, but they all had the same reaction: ‘Oh, I'd really wear this,’” says Buffy. “When people begin imagining something as part of their everyday life, that's when we know it's really working.”
The result is a collection that feels easy without feeling casual, and refined without being precious. The T-shirt has always occupied a particular role within a wardrobe because it combines utility, familiarity and ease. T-Knits reinterpret that through a knitwear specialist’s eye, bringing softness, structure and permanence to the foundational pieces that shape our everyday dressing.
