Popeye Face Sketch T-Shirt, Line Drawing

A sailor's head in a handful of lines

The figure needs no more than a few contours to be recognised. Face Sketch shows the head alone, drawn in pale, even lines: the cap sits crooked, one eye is screwed shut, the heavy chin juts forward and the pipe is wedged in the corner of the mouth. On black cloth the effect is calm and pared back, closer to a sketchbook than a comic. Anyone who avoids large colourful prints will find the quiet option here, because from a few paces away what you read is a drawing rather than a fan motif.

Cloth and cut

Merchcode lists the shirt as a licensed Popeye product. The cloth is cotton and nothing else; the cut is a regular fit with a classic round neck, falling straight, without shaping at the waist, with short sleeves and a bound neck trim. Sizes offered are S, M, XL and XXL. Because the cut runs straight, the drawing across the chest stays undistorted whichever number is chosen.

• motif: the head as a pale line drawing on black
• cotton and nothing else
• regular fit, round neck, short sleeves
• sizes S, M, XL and XXL
• licensed, made by Merchcode

Care as given by the maker

Wash gently at no more than 30 °C, turning the shirt inside out and ironing it from the inside as well. Fabric softener and bleach stay out, since both attack the print. That way the fine lines survive wash after wash.