Bape Classic Monkey Print T-Shirt Collection Review: A Midweight Cotton Crew-Neck in Dozens of Colorways

What we ordered, and how we checked it

One tee, ordered through Kakobuy PL as a single unit from the listing, SKU 7715767163, at the listed price of $7.31 against a stated original price of $8.41. The listing was marked in stock when we last checked. Our testing team ran the standard checklist: unpack, photograph the packaging, measure and weigh on the bench, compare flat measurements against the size chart, complete a fit check, then re-photograph after a week of wear and two cold washes.

Our sample matched the supplier's chart within the tolerance the listing itself declares, 2–3 cm, so it did not trip the size-chart failure flag. That is a narrow claim and worth reading precisely: it means the garment we received was the size the chart described, not that the chart describes your size. Fit is the weak point of this product, and the section below explains why.

The listing, in numbers

Fabric and build in the hand

This is a midweight cotton tee, not a papery budget blank. The body holds its own shape when hung, the collar keeps a firm edge, and the straight hem sits level rather than curling after the first wash. It breathes the way plain-woven cotton should, which makes it a reasonable summer piece rather than a layering piece for a cold spring.

Two honest caveats. First, the 250–300 gsm range is a listing claim. Confirming it properly means cutting a swatch and weighing it, which we were not prepared to do to a garment we also had to wear; treat the number as marketing that is consistent with how the fabric feels, not as a bench result. Second, the colour list is enormous, and a range that wide is not made in one run. Fabric weight, print size and even base shade can drift between batches, so two tees from the same listing may not feel identical.

Buyer reports on retail Bape cotton also point the other way from the description here. One buyer complained that the brand's current tee fabric has moved from a slightly coarse cotton toward something smooth and cool, closer to a synthetic-feeling base layer:

"The material has changed, from a cotton that felt slightly coarse to something like Uniqlo's Airism — a bit smooth, a bit cool ... now made in China."

Our sample was neither that smooth nor especially coarse. We would rate fabric and build as good rather than excellent: consistent for the price, with the usual caveat that a $7 tee is not a boutique blank.

Fit: the one part of this listing you should not trust blindly

Everything else about this tee is straightforward. Fit is where the evidence splits, and it splits hard. One camp describes Bape tees as Asian sizing, where a regular Gap or 5.11 XL wearer needs an XXL:

"I would call it Asian sizing. I normally wear XL with 5.11 and Gap tees. When it comes to Evisu and Bathing Ape I go XXL."

The other camp says the tees run true to size and that you should go up only if you sit between two sizes. A video reviewer around 180 cm and 88 kg found the XL too snug for his taste, which is the kind of report that matters if you are buying the relaxed fit expecting room. Independent Bape sizing guides mostly side with the first camp, and the brand's own men's chart tops out at a 2XL body range of 188–196 cm height and 112–120 cm chest — a narrower ladder than the equivalent US label.

What we can say from our own fit check: the cut reads relaxed on a standard build, the neck opening is comparatively small and firm, and the body length is modest rather than long. If you are tall, or you want the oversized look the brand is associated with, the chart alone will not get you there. Measure a tee you already own — pit to pit and top to hem — and compare it to the supplier's flat measurements before you commit.

Print durability and washing

This is the strongest part of the case for the tee. Long-time owners of Bape screen-printed tees report prints that survive for years, and they are specific about why:

"My Bape shirts never crack. Had them for years. I wash cold and hang them up. Never dry, because the heat makes the screen print crack up."

Our week of testing was too short to prove a multi-year claim, and no long-term testing was possible in that window. What we did see: the print survived two cold washes and line drying with no lifting at the edges, no visible cracking across the motif, and no change to the white base behind the graphic. Follow the same routine — cold wash, hang dry, and heat out of the equation — and the print is the least of your worries.

Odour and first-wash notes

One reviewer reported something we always check for on unbagging: a faint formaldehyde-like chemical smell, with the comment that an odour is the one thing they cannot accept in a Bape piece.

"The garment gave off a faint formaldehyde smell. I never expected a Bape piece to have an odour ... I really can't accept a smell."

Our sample arrived odour-neutral, which is not proof that every unit will. This is a single-batch garment bought at a very low price, so a first cold rinse before wearing is sensible regardless. If you are sensitive to new-garment smell, treat that report as a live risk rather than a footnote.

Reading the colour codes

The listing's codes — D167, D168, D115, D169, D170, D081, D097, D109, plus black1 through black3 and white1 — are not a standardized brand system. Near-identical code sets appear in wholesale supplier listings with the same base-and-accent naming pattern, which means the code is a graphic reference, not a guarantee of what you will receive. The image set is the only reliable guide, and even there the naming is loose: D167 white-red and D167 black-red are two different garments with one code prefix, and the difference between some groups is a single accent colour rather than a different motif.

Practical approach: pick the code whose photograph you actually want, ask for confirmation of that exact code before the purchase is placed, and expect a small variance in print scale and base shade between batches. If the exact shade matters, this is not a listing to order blind.

Styling

The garment does the work for you. A white-based graphic tee with one accent colour sits cleanly under an open overshirt or coach jacket and reads as deliberate without competing with denim, shorts or track pants. The black-based variants are the safer everyday pick because the accent colours read as a detail rather than a focal point. Keep the rest of the outfit plain and let the motif carry the look.

How we score this

On our five-point scale — 5 excellent, 4 good, 3 adequate, 2 poor, 1 very poor — this lands at 4.2. The print survives proper washing, the cotton body is genuinely wearable in summer, and the colourway depth is unusual at this price. It loses points for fit that you cannot take on faith and for a listed fabric weight we could not verify without destroying a garment.

What we could not verify

• The 250–300 gsm weight range, which requires cutting a swatch to confirm.
• Whether every colourway uses the same fabric and print process, since the range is far too wide for one production run.
• Multi-year print durability. Our evidence there comes from long-time owners of retail Bape tees, not from our own sample.
• Whether the unbagging odour reported by one buyer is occasional or batch-wide.

Full source list and reader-facing answers are below.