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TL;DR:

  • Jeremy Allen White wears white t-shirts as Carmen “Carmy” Berzatto on The Bear. 
  • Carmy’s white t-shirts are from Merz b. Schwanen and Sugar Cane by Hinoya, according to the TV show’s costume designers. 
  • The character wears a different shirt in flashbacks to convey happier times. 

Spend a lot of time online searching for Carmen “Carmy” Berzatto’s white t-shirts while watching FX’s The Bear? If the answer is “Yes, chef!” continue to get details on the white t-shirts worn by actor Jeremy Allen White. Spoiler: The Carmy white t-shirt look doesn’t come cheap.

The Beef uniforms are inspired by real-life kitchens

Carmy’s white t-shirts are part of the Original Beef of Chicagoland uniform. He wears them while shouting kitchen jargon and trying to make ends meet at the restaurant. Selected by the show’s costume designers, the uniform is inspired by real kitchens. 

From the start, Cristina Spiridakis, who handled costume design for the pilot, and Courtney Wheeler, who did every episode thereafter, had an idea for the uniforms. They pictured white t-shirts, black pants, and comfortable shoes. 

“That’s a real thing we saw in kitchens,” Spiridakis told Vulture. “It’s not a concept we invented.”

Blue aprons, a throwback to Carmy’s days as a big-time chef, complete the look. They also have a connection to real kitchens. 

The costume designers sourced the blue aprons seen on the show from the French Laundry, one of the prestigious restaurants where Carmy worked before returning home. 

Carmy’s apron and those of his Beef co-workers are actually ones the French Laundry didn’t want. “They sold us ones that they considered imperfect, but they were beautiful,” she explained.

Carmy’s white t-shirts on ‘The Bear’ are Merz b. Schwanen and Sugar Cane by Hinoya 

Carmy’s white t-shirts may, at first glance, look like any old t-shirt. Like something he might’ve thrown on as he rushed out the door to the Beef. But, according to The Bear costume designers, Carmy’s white t-shirts are so much more than that. 

“Carmy comes from a place in the fine-dining world where you have to care about how you present yourself. He’s not just wearing a white undershirt,” Courtney Wheeler, who served as costume designer on episodes two through eight, said. 

So what did the costume designers pick as Carmy’s go-to white t-shirt? A $95 cotton t-shirt from German brand Merz b. Schwanen, which they had tailored to fit Allen. 

Per Vulture, the costume designers scooped up as many of the white t-shirts as they could get their hands on. Additionally, they bought Sugar Cane by Hinoya t-shirts as back-ups. Described by Wheller as “very heavy” with a “thickness,” a two-pack runs for $90. 

“I had no idea that by finding the hottest white T-shirt possible, Jeremy would become some kind of sex symbol,” Spiridakis added. “I get 10 DMs a day about this t-shirt.”

Carmy doesn’t wear a white t-shirt in Michael flashback

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In a rare flashback when Carmy’s enjoying a relaxing evening with his family, the professional chef turned sandwich shop owner isn’t sporting a white t-shirt. Instead, while his brother Michael (Jon Bernthal) reminisces about a wild night out, he makes dinner while wearing a long-sleeved henley shirt. 

Carmy’s sister, Sugar (Abby Elliott), is there. So is Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach), Michael’s best friend and Carmy’s now co-worker. “It’s one of the only times we don’t see Carmy in a white T-shirt,” Wheeler said of the episode six scene. 

“We wanted to set the tone of warmth and familiarity,” she explained. “Michael is cooking this meal every Sunday, and maybe the Bears game is on. It’s about who these people were at this time and who they are together.”

The Bear Season 1 is streaming on Hulu. 

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