The moment that Jeremy Allen White started searing meats on The Bear, an internet-wide manhunt ensued over his form-fitting (and appropriately named) Whitesville tees, sweat and grease stains not included. And that was only one guy. A handful of silver-screen studs all share an obsession with an entirely separate obscure Japanese shirtmaker, it's just that no one is talking about them. Yet.
Inspired by West Coast travels and a gig at the namesake Los Angeles hangout, Gen Tarumi founded Tokyo's Hollywood Ranch Market store in 1972. It was later scaled and incorporated into his Seilin & Co. umbrella firm, alongside esteemed denim label Blue Blue. In the years since, HRM's in-house apparel line has collaborated with partners as disparate as the Japanese branches of Hanes and Wrangler, as well as Yohji Yamamoto's affordable Wildside imprint.
But quite literally beneath it all, there’s Hollywood Ranch Market Stretch Fraise.
Since 1995, Hollywood Ranch Market has produced what Tarumi’s son, current CEO Sohkoh Tarumi, describes to Highsnobiety as "comfortable, long-lasting innerwear.” Otherwise better known as, well, underwear, Hollywood Ranch Market's thick crew-, v-, and turtleneck Stretch Fraise shirts have since become quietly ubiquitous, popping up on red carpets, late-night appearanes, and pap shots.
Even though these waffle-y, stretchy tees have been seen on the sharply dressed likes of everyone from Drew Starkey to Joe Alwyn, Glen Powell to Cillian Murphy, they're so low-key that they’re all but unrecognizable from afar, perhaps heightening their need-to-know (and need-to-touch) appeal. Their only give-away is a small logo embroidered toward the hem of the left sleeve.
What's the appeal? The perfect fit, evidently. Stretch Fraise specializes in body-hugging, subtly textured basics that are snug but not pinched, sort of like shapewear for guys but more forgiving. Because instead of shaping, Stretch Fraise simply stretches.
So, why is no one talking about them? Simply, Stretch Fraise has yet to have its The Bear moment. Word is also not spreading as fast as it could (or should) because Stretch Fraise does not advertise its wares. It relies solely on “word-of-mouth referrals between people who have worn [the shirts],” says Tarumi. "Our strength is in our commitment,” to clothes that are “simple, basic, and truly comfortable.”
It's working, though. Stretch Fraise boasts both a clientele of Hollywood's most handsome and the sales to match. In 2024, nearly 70,000 Stretch Fraise undershirts were sold in Japan alone, with Seilin & Co. reporting a nearly 125% year-over-year growth for 2025. It now has plans for the line's international expansion, perhaps the final step before the whispers turn to wide-spread chatter.
Stretch Fraise clothes slot in nicely with the ongoing top recession, after all, available in a range of universal colors and styles between 40 and 70 bucks apiece.
These tees, their famous fans, and their swelling popularity reflect an increasing affinity for sensible, normie garments intended for everyday outfits rather than statement dressing.
Even as consumer desire fades for trend-driven fashion, there's clearly interest in coughing up far more than an average three-pack's worth of cash for something as standard as a single tank or tee, so long as it's got something a little extra.
For some, that may be the star power of Kim Kardashian's SKIMS, for others it's how something sculpts the bulging arms of TV's hottest chef. In the case of Stretch Fraise, it is simply the perfect fit, tiny H and all.
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