Nando Heavyweight Cotton T-Shirt Maxi - Cotton Jersey Maxi for OEM

A short sleeve maxi listed as 100% cotton, unlined, pull-on with no zip, in a heavyweight cotton jersey, hand wash cold, made in China, ranked fifth in the retailer's t-shirt dress list, at 160 dollars. There are no reviews and no fit votes, so there is no score to quote. This garment gets one decision exactly right and it is worth saying why, because the same category is frequently got wrong for a reason that is easy to see once it is pointed out. There is also a measurement here that does not fit the category and which we would want to check rather than explain away. And there is a small correction to make to something we said recently about washing, because hand washing is not the same as not washing. The reference is the Nando Short Sleeve Maxi Dress by LESET in Black. Dongguan Bafinasa Garments Co., Ltd. develops comparable cotton jersey dresses on OEM and ODM terms, from yarn sourcing to retail or FBA ready packing. We publish this as a development reference and build your own version of it, and we do not supply the branded original or reproduce anyone else's label.

Key Features

• 100% cotton as stated
• Heavyweight cotton jersey as stated
• Short sleeve as stated
• Pull-on with no zip as stated
• Unlined as stated
• Hand wash cold as stated
• Four sizes from XS to L
• Ranked fifth in the retailer's t-shirt dress list

Customisable Options

• Fabric: heavyweight cotton jersey as the reference, with the weight set from a tested sample
• Weight: we would keep it heavyweight, for the reason set out below
• Shrinkage: we would pre-shrink before cutting even though the instruction is hand wash, for the reason set out below
• Fit: we would measure on a body, since the published bust does not fit the category
• Length from midi to maxi, sleeve options, size set, colour development, private label and care labelling

Specifications

Size Chart

The published size S gives a 28 inch bust, a 24 inch waist, a 36 inch hip and a 54 inch length against a model at roughly 34, 23 and 36. The waist and hip are comfortable. The bust is six inches under, which is unusual for a t-shirt dress and which we would measure on a body rather than accept from the chart.

Occasions and Styling

Suits daytime, weekends, travel and layering. A heavyweight cotton maxi is an everyday piece, and it is worth photographing it after washing as well as new, since how the cotton behaves after a few washes is what the customer will live with.

Production and Quality Control

There are no reviews and no fit votes on this listing, so there is no score to quote. There is a fabric decision here that is right for a reason worth stating, a measurement that does not fit the category, and a correction to something we said about washing.

Heavyweight is the right choice and the reason is opacity, and that is the first thing, and it is worth setting out because it is the reason this category so often goes wrong. A t-shirt dress is made from jersey, and jersey is the same construction as a t-shirt, which means a company making one is tempted to use the same weight of cloth as a t-shirt. That is a mistake, and the reason is length. A t-shirt covers the torso, where it is backed by the body at almost every point and where the cloth is short enough not to hang. A t-shirt dress hangs from the shoulders to the ankle, and everything below the waist has nothing behind it. A light jersey in that situation does two undesirable things. It clings, because a light cloth follows the body rather than falling away from it, and it becomes transparent where it is lit from behind, because there is nothing behind it to block the light. Both are much worse in a long garment than in a short one. A heavyweight jersey avoids both: it has enough weight to hang rather than cling, and enough density to be opaque. So heavyweight is not a quality upgrade here, it is the minimum weight at which a cotton jersey maxi works at all, and it is worth knowing that before someone tries to save money on the cloth. There is a second benefit worth noting, which is that a heavier cotton jersey also recovers better and creases less than a light one, and cotton jersey in general has the advantage over a woven cotton that it does not crease in wear, which we noted when comparing a knit shirt dress with a poplin one.

A t-shirt dress should not be tight at the bust and this one is, and that is the second thing, and we would rather flag it than explain it away. The published bust is 28 against a model at 34, so six inches under, and the composition is 100% cotton with no elastane. We have spent this series working out what to do with numbers like this, and the method has been consistent: ask what was measured and what mechanism exists, and if there is no mechanism, treat the figure with suspicion. Here there are two things to weigh against each other. On one side, this is a jersey, and a jersey gets give from its structure rather than from its fibre, because it is made of loops and a loop can open. That is a real mechanism and we have accepted it several times. On the other side, this is a heavyweight jersey, and a closely knitted heavy cloth stretches considerably less than an open lightweight one, because there is less room in the structure. And against both, the category: a t-shirt dress is by definition a relaxed garment, and a relaxed garment cut six inches under the bust is a contradiction in terms. So this number does not fit the garment it belongs to. It may be that the measurement was taken differently, or it may be that this dress is more fitted than the t-shirt dress category suggests. We would measure it on a body and find out, and we would not put this figure into a pattern on the strength of the page. That is the general rule and it is worth repeating: a published measurement is the beginning of a conversation with a sample, not a fact to be copied.

Hand wash is not the same as not washing, and that is the third thing, and it corrects something we may have left misleading. We have said several times in this series that a machine wash instruction is the one that places the burden on the factory, because it promises the customer she can machine wash the garment and therefore commits the factory to pre-shrinking the cloth before it is cut, and we worked through the case of a polyester viscose knit where that obligation was real. It would be easy to read that as meaning a hand wash garment carries no such obligation. It does not mean that. Hand washing is still washing, and cotton still shrinks in cold water, by less than in hot but by a meaningful amount, and it keeps shrinking over the first several washes rather than settling in one. So a cotton garment that is cut without pre-shrinking will shrink on the customer whether the label says machine wash or hand wash, and the difference is only in how much and how fast. The obligation is graduated rather than absent. For this garment we would pre-shrink, and we would test the washed dimensions, and we would also note that a heavyweight jersey in particular has the mass to distort while wet, so it should be dried flat rather than hung, which is the same caution we gave for a viscose gown and for a bias cut one, and which applies to any heavy garment that gets wet. Every bulk shipment gets a measurement report against your approved chart.

Optional upgrades include the heavyweight cloth maintained as here, pre-shrinking specified and washed dimensions tested, flat drying stated on the care label, the bust measured on a body and published, alternative sleeve lengths, alternative lengths, extended sizing, colour development and private label, hangtag and care labelling.

Pre-production sample approval, in-line inspection during cutting and sewing, and a final AQL inspection before packing, with measurement reports and photos shared before shipment.

Send us your tech pack, a photo or a reference garment and we will quote within 24 hours. Contact bafinasa@bafinasa.com or WhatsApp +86 13827222469.