Since The Bear aired in June of this year, Allen White has been declared the internet’s new boyfriend several times over. This is no doubt partially because, like the internet’s old boyfriend Mr Ryan Gosling, he looks good in a white T-shirt. Gosling continues to get mileage out of the clothing item. In this year’s Netflix spy caper The Gray Man, the actor wears a white T-shirt for a crucial action scene, as various suited baddies swirl around him. The blankness of it is crucial to the internet boyfriend title. The white T-shirt is an empty vessel, meaning online culture can project whatever qualities it wants to onto the man wearing it.

In a sense, this idea isn’t new. Gosling in The Gray Man is an update on that other classic action hero (and proto-internet boyfriend?) Mr Bruce Willis, wearing a white vest in 1988’s Die Hard. However, the white T-shirt been associated with male sex appeal since WWII. A soldier was photographed on the cover of Life magazine in 1942, wearing a tight white T-shirt, biceps flexed. The 1950s saw this symbolism grow – but with added rebellion. See Brando in 1951’s A Streetcar Named Desire (he was reportedly sewn into this T-shirt), and Mr Sidney Poitier and James Dean in Blackboard Jungle and Rebel Without A Cause respectively in 1955. Nearly 70 years later, with these images iconic but somewhat played out and predictable, the white T-shirt idea was looking a little tired. Until now.

Because as well as its TV cameos, the white tee is also getting play on the red carpet, where stars including Messrs Michael B Jordan and Austin Butler have switched out shirts for white T-shirts under suits. This trick has been around for a while, but it’s a look that feels notable now. Stylists Mr Zadrian Smith and Ms Sarah Edmiston, who work with celebrities on award show looks, have used it with actors Mr Phil Dunster (Ted Lasso) and Mehdi Dehbi (Messiah) in recent months. “[It is] great to break up the traditional suit and shirt look… and really lean into a more smart-casual vibe,” Smith says. “Specifically, with colour-blocking suits, such as Phil’s Paul Smith sky blue co-ords.”

Smith namechecks TOM FORD and Versace as recent catwalk moments for the white T-shirt, as well as a red-carpet legacy. “A couple of years back Chadwick Boseman did a really great pastel suit look with a classic T-shirt underneath,” he says.

Of course, finding the right T-shirt is a task in itself. The Bear’s Wheeler recommends aiming for “100 per cent cotton, of a good quality that will break in nicely and just get better with age” while her colleague Ms Cristina Spiridakis says the ideal is “a T-shirt you notice, [one] that doesn’t wear the wearer.”

With this in mind, the brands that keep it simple are the ones that excel. Sunspel have been making T-shirts for more than 100 years, and their Classic and Riviera designs use long staple cotton, meaning they will wash and wear better over time. Mr David Telfer, the creative director, says this isn’t just a practical bonus, it’s make-or-break when it comes to achieving an Allen White-ish boyfriend look. “A white T-shirt more than any other product needs to be clean and look new every time you wear it,” he says. “There is nothing worse than a white T-shirt that looks creased and faded.”

When asked for white T-shirt no-nos, Mr Erik Torstensson, chief creative officer of FRAME, shares this view. “Keep them crisp [and] white,” he says. Adding the white cotton-jersey T-shirt to FRAME’s offering was a no-brainer for the denim brand because, as Torstensson says, “the two go hand in hand.” Telfer agrees – and says the denim worn with it is a way to update the white T-shirt from anything to retro: “wearing a raw or slightly less washed jean will make the look more contemporary.”

Taking tips from those working within Hollywood is also wise. Smith recommends “super-fitted styles under suiting for a more dressed-up look”. Meanwhile, Wheeler and Spiridakis emphasise the importance of fit. “The only alteration we did to Carmy’s tee was the length to best suit Jeremy,” Spiridakis says. “Don’t be afraid to take a good-quality tee to a trusted local tailor and adjust the length, body fit and even the sleeve to make you feel your best.” Wheeler adds that when you find the one, invest in it: “You must try on many to find the perfect one and when you do find it, don’t buy one, buy a few of them.”

Both Telfer and Torstensson point to the versatility of the white T-shirt but, in pursuit of that boyfriend look, don’t see it as a lowly basic. Instead, play to its power. Torstensson says the presence of the item comes back to that humblebrag quality: “It’s the seemingly nonchalant look of a white T-shirt that exudes that alluring appeal. [It’s] that sweet spot of looking like you have hardly tried at all, when it’s actually a very considered look.”

On The Bear, Spiridakis and Wheeler were very aware of the white T-shirt’s lineage – and wanted to place Allen White in the tradition of Brando et al, but for a new era. “It goes back to that classic sex appeal,” Wheeler says. “He’s a little troubled, he might be trouble, but there’s something very appealing in finding that out for oneself.”

It’s also relatable. “The T-shirt has had every person watching thinking of a favourite T-shirt they’ve stolen from a partner or ex, or the T-shirt from the bedroom floor that they have ended up in the morning after,” says Spiridakis. “The T-shirt is part of the fantasy.”