Tiger Shirt

A tiger shirt moves the animal from the casual tee onto a collared, button-front shirt, and the change is bigger than it sounds: the print is split by a row of buttons, framed by the collar and carried down the sleeves. The shirts in this collection take that idea in different directions, from short-sleeved camp-collar shirts with painted tigers to long-sleeved shirts printed all over with orange fur and black stripes, and a long white shirt with a tiger head splashed across it in black ink.

Painted tigers on camp collars

Two of the shirts use a relaxed, short-sleeved cut with an open camp collar, the shape best known from Hawaiian shirts. The Men's Tiger Hawaiian Shirt places a tiger face right at the center of the front, looking straight ahead with yellow-gold eyes, its long white whiskers spreading across the lower front. Around the head, the print fills with blue, orange and pink flowers and swirling shapes in teal and rust, so the tiger seems to look out through a garden. The buttons run straight down the middle of the face, splitting it into two halves that meet again when the shirt is closed. Its color option carries the name Tiger Dream Design.

The Tiger Print Shirt Men takes a quieter route. On a cream background, a white tiger with black stripes sits on gray rocks, seen from behind with its head turned in profile, gazing off to one side, its long tail curling down toward the hem. The soft gray washes and loose brushwork recall East Asian ink painting, and a spray of red leaves across one shoulder and sleeve adds the only strong color. It is listed in white, after that pale background.

The tiger shirt in full stripe

For a print that shows the coat rather than the animal, there is the Tiger Stripe Shirt. Every panel, the collar and sleeves included, is covered in a close-up of orange fur crossed by black stripes, with the texture of the hair visible in the print and the orange paling to gold around the shoulders. The stripes are mirrored on either side of the buttons, so they meet along the center line, much as a tiger's stripes roughly mirror each other along the spine. It is a long-sleeved shirt with a pointed collar, buttoned cuffs and white buttons that stand out against the orange.

The Tiger Stripe Shirt Long Sleeve uses the same kind of orange-and-black fur print on a similar long-sleeved, collared cut, photographed open at the neck over a white crew-neck tee. The two differ in their size ranges: the Tiger Stripe Shirt runs from XS to 6XL, while the long-sleeve version goes from S to 5XL. Both list their color as Tiger Stripes.

Black ink on a long white shirt

The Tiger Shirt Women With Long Sleeve has a longer cut than the others, with a curved shirttail hem that falls past the hips, long sleeves with buttoned cuffs and a pointed collar. Its white front carries a tiger head drawn in black and gray ink, with a steady, level gaze, set to one side of the buttons. On the other side, splashes and drips of ink run down toward the hem, as if the paint were still wet. Part of the design runs across the button band, so the picture lines up when the shirt is buttoned. It comes in white, in sizes L to 5XL.

Sleeves, cuts and sizes

Every tiger shirt here falls on one side of a clear divide: sleeve length. The Men's Tiger Hawaiian Shirt and the Tiger Print Shirt Men are short-sleeved, with an open camp collar and a straight, boxy body meant to hang loose. The Tiger Stripe Shirt, the Tiger Stripe Shirt Long Sleeve and the women's ink design are long-sleeved, with pointed collars and buttoned cuffs that give them a more tailored line.

Size ranges vary by design. The two camp-collar shirts are offered from XS all the way to 8XL, the widest spread in the collection, while the long-sleeved shirts stop at 5XL or 6XL. Each print comes in a single colorway, listed in the options as Tiger Dream Design, Tiger Stripes or White.

Tiger stripes and tiger stripe camo

The orange fur on the stripe shirts is a picture of the animal's coat. Tiger stripe camouflage is something else: a military pattern associated with the Vietnam War, made of narrow, brushstroke-like stripes in greens, browns and black, which borrowed the tiger's name rather than its colors. Our article asking is tiger stripe camo effective looks at where the pattern came from and how well it blends into dense jungle. That military look also turns up in our tiger jacket collection, which includes a tiger stripe military jacket alongside bomber, denim and leather jackets.

Tees, jackets and the rest of the wardrobe

A collared shirt sits between the tee and the jacket, and both neighbors carry the same theme. The tiger t-shirt collection holds pullover tees with chest motifs and full-front prints, from a white tiger lying beneath a starry sky to black-and-white portraits and a dragon facing a tiger in a yin yang circle. All of these sit within our larger tiger clothes collection, which also gathers hoodies, sweatshirts, pajamas, bikinis, caps and belts.

A long tradition of tiger prints

Each of these shirts borrows from an older way of picturing the animal. Hawaiian shirts are known for bold, all-over prints of flowers, leaves and animals, and a tiger shirt with the animal framed by blossoms belongs squarely to that family. The white tiger on rocks follows the long history of tigers in Chinese, Korean and Japanese ink painting, where the animal was a favorite subject for its strength and its striking lines. In those same cultures the tiger is traditionally regarded as a guardian against harm, and it holds its own place in the cycle of the Chinese zodiac.

The stripe shirts take a different path and skip the picture entirely. Printed close up, the coat becomes an abstract pattern of orange and black, recognizable at once even without a face, eyes or claws in sight.

Questions about these shirts

Which shirts have short sleeves?

The Men's Tiger Hawaiian Shirt and the Tiger Print Shirt Men, both with an open camp collar. The other designs in the collection are long-sleeved.

Is there a shirt with a white tiger?

Yes. The Tiger Print Shirt Men shows a white tiger with black stripes seated on gray rocks, painted in an ink style on a cream background.

How is a shirt different from a t-shirt here?

In this collection, a tiger shirt means a collared shirt that buttons down the front, with short or long sleeves. Pullover tees without buttons have their own collection, linked above.