Want to be cool as far as your fashion choices go, but don’t want to work for it, or give it too much thought? Well, if that’s the case, all you have to do is rekindle your love affair with the white tee.

I’m not talking about the kind of cardboard, starchy feeling t-shirts you find on the discount clothing aisle wrapped up in bundles of three and five in thick plastic. No, I’m talking about a comfy, loose-fitting but not overly-baggy white tee that will go with just about anything a hip, yet casual, guy has stocked in his wardrobe.

The white tee — designer or just well-made — has saved the fashion life of a lot of men (those who actually give a lick about style) who wouldn’t know what to do with their clothing, or how to color-coordinate, if the white tee weren’t around. That’s why I’m writing a love letter of a sort to the white tee — along with a few suggestions to the reader about the different kinds of white tees out there. (If you dig black tees, like the character Hank Moody did in the series ‘Californication,’ perhaps I’ll write a love note to that wonderful clothing item one day too.)

And for those of you who think a white tee is just a white tee, boy, do I have news for you. Sure, you can pick a cheap one up at Walmart or Target, and that will get you by, but if you consider yourself (or aspire to be) a member of the fashion elite, the range of pricey, yet not-so-different-from-ordinary white tees that are available just might blow your mind.

If you don’t mind handing over some hard-earned cash, you can select from such notable tees as the Polo Ralph Lauren Cotton Tee, Hugo Boss V-Neck Tee, Michael Kors Short-Sleeve V-Neck Tee, and the Theory Stay Marcelo Crew Neck Tee, plus a whole lot more. 80 dollars or more for a tee shirt? Why not, if you’ve got the green.

Sure, you can stick with the old standby, white tee from a package, but for folks who want to blaze a trail of simplistic fashion glory, and eventually achieve style-icon status, they’ll have to pay the price. Remember, some people living on this great planet of ours believe fancy labels are actually more important that the quality of the product. (Or they equate a name brand with quality, whether earned or not.)

Regardless if you go the inexpensive or costly route, if you do decide to start wearing white tees as a regular thing, and you wear them with the right attitude, you’ll be in good company. Over the years, men to admire, like James Dean, Marlon Brando and Steve Mcqueen have all rocked the white tee. The large-than-life auras these men put out into the world have endured for a reason. Perhaps it’s merely due to their raw, wild charisma — or maybe it can be chalked up to, at least in part, a few memorable photos of these manly actors donning their always-in-style white tees.