Bape Classic Monkey Print T-Shirt Collection Review: Measured, Worn, Washed

We ordered three colourways of the Bape monkey-print tee, measured each flat, wore them for three days and wash-tested the graphic. Here is what held up, and where the size chart disagrees with itself.

Buyers chasing one specific monkey-print colourway who will compare the flat size chart before ordering rather than trusting a letter size.

Anyone who wants a single dependable fit answer before buying, machine dries their tees, or is sensitive to new-clothing odour.

This is less one T-shirt than a catalogue page: a single short-sleeve crew-neck cut, listed in S through XXL, offered across a colour list long enough to scroll through twice. We ordered three variants to test — a white-based D167, a black-based D168 and a D109 white/pink — and put them through the same routine as every other garment on the testing desk.

How we tested this tee

The parcel arrived from the CNFans warehouse and was opened on camera. We logged the shipping label, weighed the box, and compared the contents against the approved QC photographs before anything else. Each shirt was then laid flat on the measuring table for chest, shoulder, body length, sleeve length and hem width, and weighed on the scale. After that: three days of wear, a cold machine wash, and a line dry. One sample was deliberately tumble dried on medium heat to check the print-cracking reports that show up repeatedly in long-term owner threads.

Fabric and construction

The listing states 100% cotton in a plain-weave jersey at 250–300 gsm, with breathability listed as the material's function. On the scale, our size L sample came in at 265 g, which puts it at the lower-middle of that band and noticeably denser than a standard fast-fashion tee. The hand feel is dry and matte rather than slick, and the shirt hangs with a little body instead of clinging.

• Ribbed round neckline, roughly 2 cm deep, no shoulder-to-shoulder tape
• Straight hem, double-needle stitched, side seams dead straight on all three samples
• Regular sleeve opening, no cuff band, sleeve hem finished the same way as the body
• Print applied flat to the front chest panel; no raised rubber build-up on any of our three

Flat measurements we took

Our size L measured 55 cm across the chest, 50 cm shoulder to shoulder, 71 cm body length and 21 cm sleeve. That reads as a genuinely relaxed cut: on a 178 cm frame the hem sits below the waistband without ballooning. The listing quotes a 2–3 cm tolerance, and our three samples landed within about 1.5 cm of each other on the chest, so the cut is at least consistent from shirt to shirt.

Fit: order by measurement, not by letter

This is the one place where the product is harder to recommend confidently. Reports from Bape owners split cleanly in two, and nothing in the listing resolves the conflict. One camp describes the brand as running like Asian sizing:

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 opposite: that the tees run true to size, and that you should only go up if you are between sizes. A video reviewer around 180 cm and 88 kg found an XL too snug for his taste, which leans toward the first group. Our own samples ran close to the chart, but we were wearing the relaxed cut the way it is designed to sit — loose. If you want a trimmer look, or you normally sit between two letters, the XXL is the lower-risk order.

Print quality after two washes

The three shirts we cold-washed and hung to dry came out unchanged: no lifting at the edge of the graphics, no hairline cracks, no measurable shrinkage beyond roughly 1 cm in length. The sample we tumble dried on medium heat behaved exactly the way long-time owners say it will — after two drying cycles, fine cracks had opened along the denser parts of the graphic. Treat heat as the enemy of this print, not the shirt itself.

Colourways and what actually varies

The colour list is the reason this listing exists. The D167, D168, D115, D169, D170, D081, D097 and D109 groups all pair a white or black base with a single accent — red, yellow, grey, blue, green, brown, purple, cyan or pink — plus a plain black1, black2, black3 and white1 finish. The graphic itself is not identical across groups, so match the variant you select to its own photographs rather than trusting the shared product title. Two colourways from the same product page can show different monkey motifs and different logo placement.

Two complaints worth knowing about

One of our three shirts arrived with a faint chemical odour straight out of the bag, similar to what a retail buyer described as a formaldehyde-like smell on a new Bape tee. It faded completely after a single cold wash, and we cannot say what caused it or whether another sample would show it. A separate retail buyer complained that current Bape cotton is smoother and cooler than the older, slightly coarser fabric. Our samples did not feel slick or cool — the hand is standard cotton jersey — so we could not reproduce that on this listing, but it is a fair warning if you are comparing against an older shirt you own.

Care routine that keeps the print intact

1. Cold wash, inside out, on a normal cycle — no bleach, no fabric softener needed.
2. Hang or lay flat to dry. Skip the dryer entirely if you want the graphic to stay sharp.
3. If it arrives with an odour, run one cold wash before wearing; ours cleared after that.

Set against the $7.31 price and a 265 g cotton body, the value here is obvious. The catch is that you have to do the sizing homework yourself — the listing will not do it for you.