Say Hi To Seibei

Seibei must be one of the most famous “underground” t-shirt labels out there, everyone who loves tees knows who they are, their dinosaur character being a cult figure for thousands around the world, but as the saying goes you can’t have too much publicity, and seeing as they have a whole heap of treats on offer right now, we couldn’t resist giving this fun and funky brand a big shout out! First off, David Murray, the guy/guru/madman/genius behind Seibei has kindly offered up a discount code for all you lucky readers, get a whopping 10% off any of their products by entering BUYTEES at the checkout!

If you want more? (Yes more more!) We’ve just been tipped off about their latest contest where you can win a very generous $200 CASH just for re-tweeting the following:-

RT @davidSEIBEI: JOIN THE INTRAMURAL ZOMBIE HUNTING LEAGUE! RT & follow thru 10/25 for a chance to win $200! http://tinyurl.com/joinizhl

So, for those not in the know here’s what to expect from Seibei, their name is based upon a character from a story by Naoya Shiga, David is sick of explaining the reasoning behind it by now as he’s been asked 100s of times, but if you really want the full low-down there’s an excellent interview at T-shirt Magazine that’s well worth checking out. They produce a lot of monster tees, not your usual ghoulish sort with blood dripping from their mouths and gore splattered backgrounds, but rather innocent and colourful ones that scream kitsch and collectible. I can imagine a lot of Seibei’s customers buying one design after another, it’s a case of ‘if you’re into them, your addicted’. They have a fine collection of iconic tees all designed by David Murray, who if you haven’t had a chance, do read his about page as there is a hilarious retort aimed at his former Japanese teacher, Professor Meera Viswanathan of Brown University. All the t-shirts are expertly printed by American Icon, which as it happens are David’s former employers, so you can be assured if anyone knows how to design for print it’s this guy.

Seibei have recently taken a very interesting direction, having formed the Intramural Zombie Hunting League, hence the Twitter promotion, you can see the t-shirt celebrating the fact here. Unfortunately international hunters won’t be able to order in time for Halloween, but if you’re in the USA you’re in luck, just get your order in by October 19th and you should be safe… phew. However they’re available all year round all the same. These are personally customised too with an optional sleeve crest and personal name and number for the back, great fun I have to admit.

Whilst you’re at Seibei do make sure you visit the blog, it’s funny, informative, and it offers far more than merely info on the brand and their latest exploits, right now they’ve posted a feature on an excellent new t-shirt book ‘Tees: The Art of the T-Shirt‘ by MAKI Design which honestly looks superb and you guessed it, Seibei are included, as are plenty of other great brands on the scene. Plus of course you can keep up with all of Seibei’s latest exploits at Twitter, and remember to retweet their message! Right, let’s take a look at what makes Seibei’s tees so cool:-

Superpredators Tee

Love it. Big, bold and beautiful, simplicity always wins me over every time and this is a perfect example. I really like giant prints, and this silhouette version of Seibei’s favourite monster-at-large is definitely one to remember. Even at this size this cartoon T-Rex still doesn’t seem so mean, definitely a striking print for the beach, make sure you don’t wear this in Tokyo though or you might find yourself in the middle of a B-movie mass panic, okay it’s not that big (lol). A lot of fun for all the family, get the Superpredators (aqua) tee in sizes Small to XXL for Men and Small to XL for Women, between $20 and $22 depending on the size (the bigger the cheaper!). If you’d like to buy this in bag form get the tote here.

The Power of Love Tee

My gf adores this one, The Power of Love strangely enough features a flying hammerhead shark, and as it happens is based on a design David’s girlfriend Kate created as a hand-sewn sweater for Valentines Day. Although it’s supposedly rays of mystical energy shooting forth from the horn I have to admit at first glance I assumed it was a rubber-band powered set of helicopter blades – typical male analysis from me. Still it’s all good, it flies, it’s beautifully designed and printed and somewhat reminiscent of a piece from Douglas Adams‘ 4th book in the Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy, where all the dolphins fly off into space leaving Man mystified by the message “So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish“. A classic tee available in black, in sizes Small to XXL for Men and Small to XL for Women, between $20 and $22 again depending on the size.

Miniboss Tee

For those who remember the NES and SNES there’s not much to explain about the Miniboss tee, a really fun t-shirt for anyone (including David) who’s lost a considerable slice of their life hammering away on their console trying to complete Super Mario Bros. Inspired by a Post-it mosaic that David created at a show in L.A. Very cool pixelated effect provides yet another classic Seibei tee available in silver for $20 and $22, same sizes as above up to XXL for Men and XL for Women.

Best Friends Forever Tee

This has to be my favourite tee in the Seibei collection, it’s kinda freaky, perhaps a little gross, but I think it rocks. The funny thing is we don’t get much call for BFF’s in this country, I know that America goes in for the whole Best Friends Forever phenomenon, including rings and braceelts and such, perhaps we’re just not that friendly in Britain or we like to keep our options open (lol). To be honest I hadn’t come across the idea of BFF’s until I saw an episode of South Park years ago, hilarious. Still it’s a superb image, a great t-shirt, and I’m sure it will ruffle a drop a few jaws should you choose to buy one for your best friend or family next Xmas. The Y-fronts are a particularly gross-out detail, superb t-shirt available for $20 and $22, although the medium and XXL sizes are sold out at the moment, more will be available real soon.

So say hi to Seibei for me at get over there for some truly monster tees – www.Seibei.com