A letter from a reader: the Hazel tee

I have kept a cardigan on through six Australian summers. This is the white tee that finally let me take it off.

A note from a reader on the outfit she had given up on, the sleeve nobody designs for, and the plain white $64.95 cotton tee that got it right.

Robyn Whitfield

By Robyn Whitfield · 61 · Wollongong, NSW

5 min read

The white Hazel tee on a wooden hanger over a timber chair in morning sun

The white one, on a hanger by the window. The first short-sleeved tee I have owned since 2020.

I am 61, and there is one outfit I have admired on other women my whole adult life: a plain white tee and a good pair of jeans. Nothing else.

I tried it more times than I can count, and every time the tee let me down. The sleeve stopped at the widest part of my arm. It clung to my middle. In bright light you could see straight through it. So somewhere in my late fifties I started wearing a cardigan over everything, even on a thirty-degree day in the Woolworths car park, and I told myself the white tee and jeans were for younger women.

So this is not a review. It is a woman who changed her mind, telling you why.

The tees in the shops come in two piles. The first has a little cap sleeve that stops at the widest part of the arm and draws a line right under it, which is the one place you do not want a line drawn. The second is cut like a box, and you put it on and look like you have stopped trying. So most of us choose the cardigan, and we pretend it is a style.

Then Bev turned up at our walking group on the first warm morning of October in a plain white tee and jeans, no cardigan, and I noticed that I had not noticed her arms.

Bev is seventy-one and does not buy anything without a reason. The reason was the sleeve. It stopped below her elbow. The tee was the Hazel, from Eleanor & Co Australia, and I ordered the white one that afternoon.

I have lived in it for three weeks now, on the Blue Mile, at the shops, at lunch and at my granddaughter's netball, and it comes down to five things.

The five things I noticed

1The sleeve comes down far enough

This is what every other white tee got wrong. The Hazel's sleeve stops just below the elbow, the narrowest part of the arm, so the line falls exactly where you would put it yourself and the whole upper arm is covered. And because it is light cotton and not a cardigan, it does not add a single degree of warmth.

From my notebook · week oneMorning walk along the Blue Mile. White tee, jeans, no cardigan. Did not tug at a sleeve once.
The white Hazel tee laid flat on the bed, showing the length of the elbow sleeves

Laid out on the bed. Look how far those sleeves come down. That is the whole difference.

2It skims, and the hem does the covering

It is cut generously through the body, so the air moves underneath instead of the fabric grabbing at the middle, which matters more in white than in any other colour. The hem is softly curved and sits a little lower over the hip, so it drapes over the waistband of your jeans instead of riding up to meet it.

From my notebook · week oneCaught myself side-on in a shop window in Crown Street Mall. Did not wince. Kept walking.
Robyn in her kitchen wearing the white Hazel tee with jeans, the sleeves ending below the elbow

Me, first cup of tea of the day, in the white one with my jeans. Sleeves past the elbow, and the hem sits over the waistband instead of on it.

3Soft and light, and not see-through

Australian light is not kind to a thin white tee. This cotton is soft and light, and it does not turn transparent the moment you step into the sun. One honest tip, because I promised myself I would be honest in this letter: wear a nude bra under it, as you would under any white top, and it looks clean and neat all day.

From my notebook · week twoThirty-one degrees at the netball, in the stand in full sun. Cool enough, and nobody could see a thing. That is all I ask of a white tee.

4A round neck that dresses up in seconds

The neck sits flat, does not gape and has not stretched in the wash. With jeans it is a Saturday. Add a necklace and earrings, or an open linen shirt over the top, and it is right for lunch.

From my notebook · week twoLunch in Thirroul with my sister. White tee, white jeans, my good earrings. She asked whether I had lost weight. I had not. It is the sleeve.

5Buy two, because it is white

It comes in sizes AU 10 to AU 20, and because it is a relaxed fit I ordered my usual size and it fitted straight away. It comes in other colours too, but here is my advice on the white: buy two. It is the one you will reach for most, it is the one that meets the tomato sauce, and you will want the spare clean and ready in the drawer.

From my notebook · week threeSausage sizzle, tomato sauce, front of the tee. Changed into the spare at home. Nobody knew.

I went back that week for a second white, and then the blue, the rose and the red. Ray said nothing, which was wise.

White, blue, rose and red Hazel tees folded on a rattan armchair

Back from the wash and folded on my chair. The white is still the one I reach for first.

→ See the Hazel in white, while the colours last

The Hazel, against the white tees you have been buying

Most of us did not give up on the white tee because we got too old for it. We gave up because the tees let us down. Here is the difference, laid out plainly.

The usual white tee
  • Sleeve stops at the widest part of the arm
  • Clings, and shows every line
  • Thin, and see-through in bright sun
  • Rides up over the waistband
  • Hidden under a cardigan “just in case”
The Hazel in white
  • Sleeve below the elbow, no extra warmth
  • Skims, never grips
  • Soft cotton, neat in full sun
  • Curved hem that sits over the hip
  • The white tee and jeans, finally

Now, about the price

The website has the Hazel at $64.95, down from $134.95. I will not pretend I know what a plain tee ought to cost, but I know I have spent more than that on tops that ended up under a cardigan.

Eleanor & Co Australia also take more off when you buy more than one: twenty percent for two, twenty-five for three and thirty for four, and it comes off by itself in the cart. Two whites came to about $104 all up, which is how I justified the spare. Shipping was free, and there is a 30-day money-back guarantee if it is not right.

$64.95Was $134.95
AU 10–20Relaxed fit
30 dayMoney back

What I would tell you if we were friends

If you are 55, or 61, or 70, and somewhere along the way you quietly decided the white tee and jeans were not for you any more, this is the one I would hand you myself.

Start with the white. Order two, because it is white. Wear it with the jeans you already own, and leave the cardigan where it is.

It is November. Summer is a month away, and this is the tee I would want hanging up when it arrives. It was never your arms. It was the sleeve.

Leave the cardigan on the hook.

— Robyn

The Hazel — Relaxed Elbow-Sleeve Cotton Tee

$134.95$64.95
  • Sleeve below the elbow that covers the tops of the arms
  • Skims, never clings, with a curved hem that sits over the hip
  • Soft, breathable cotton that stays neat in full sun
  • Crisp white, plus grey, black, blue, red, rose and green · AU 10 to AU 20
  • Free shipping & 30 day money back guarantee
See if your colour is still in stock

Stack and save: buy 2 save 20%, buy 3 save 25%, buy 4 save 30%. First run of the summer.

About the writer. Robyn Whitfield is 61 and lives in Wollongong with her husband Ray. She walks most mornings, reads more than she sleeps, and only buys clothes she can wear to the shops and to dinner without having to change.

This is a personal account from a customer of Eleanor & Co Australia. Robyn was not paid to write it. She did receive the tees she ordered.