Hotlife – Hotter Than Ever!

admin    T-Shirt Discounts, T-Shirt News     Living The Hotlife, biker tees, hip-hop t-shirts, hotlife, tattoo tees

It’s been over a year since I’ve heard from MikeC of Hotlife – a t-shirt label and subculture community and I can tell he’s been very very busy. The site has been completely reinvented with a very kewl hip hop/tattoo style branding and store. To celebrate their massive revamp Hotlife are offering up all their 2010 designed, water-based ink, hand screen printed tees at just $17 each – available in all sizes at their site www.LivingTheHotlife.com.

Here’s a few to give you a taster (and as always they’re damn slick):

Abstract Tee

Totally mint :D

BARS Tee

A ‘graffitee’ with class.

Flamingo Girls Tank

Kitsch as they come. This one’s only $15!!

Felix Tee

Okay this one ain’t in the sale ($20), but it’s still my fave and besides it is a limited edition collaboration between Ruckus and Hotlife. Hotlife has this All Red classic style, Ruckus, has the Yellow and Red style. Both feature a custom printed inner tag and exceptional ultra soft and bold printing.

Phelli Krews

admin    T-Shirt Reviews, T-Shirts     Phelli Krews, biker tees, hip hop tees, skull t-shirts, urban t-shirts

Phelli Krews approached me for a quick review, I have to warn you that the store is damn ugly, however they’re working fast on a new and improved site design for the near future. As far as I’m concerned, as long as they have a few decent tees on offer all is forgiven. Style-wise they’re foremostly focused on hip hop market, although I know they’ll object to that description, it’s cool to want to appeal to a wider audience, but it takes a little more than ethos, I always say “do what you know and do it well”. Which they do. PK were set up in 2007 and all their tees are screen printed to a high quality, and even though there are few surprises in the design department, they’ve some solid talent behind the label that’s worth you taking a moment to check out. Here’s their blurb:

“We are a two man operation and we try to design t-shirt for the urban and edgy consumer.  Such as bikers, skateboards, rockers, hip hoppers/rap, etc.  We don’t design a particular style shirt geared toward a particular lifestyle rather a shirt that would fit your taste, lifestyle, and the way you want to express it.”

The logo tees are a little ropey, and there are a few tees that are conceptually interesting but don’t quite cut the mustard for me. The Ghost Skull With Wings Tee is a good idea but I’d have used half-tones to create that semi-transparent look they’re after, rather than overlaying a skull motif with a pair of wings at the printing stage. Still their Flying Skull Tee is much cleaner looking (if you like skulls), but my fave has to be their Chancellor Seal Tee. All the tees available at their store are selling at an incredibly low $10.95 each in black and white (sizes 2XL- 3XL). That’s damn low for a screen-printed tee, kinda shines a whole new light on the label…

Chancellor Seal Tee

Flying Ghost Tee

See them all at www.pheilikrewws.com.

T-Shirt Collectors Needed For TV Documentary!

admin    T-Shirt News     TV, t-shirt collection, t-shirt collectors, t-shirt documentary, t-shirt fans

Are you a major t-shirt collector? I mean as obsessive as they come? I’ve had a request from a journalist called Julien Potart who’s directing a documentary about T-Shirts for both Canal Plus and for the Canadian channels Bravo and Canal D. Here’s what Julien is looking for:

“I’m looking for real collectors, I mean people that hunt down special limited edition, or vintage shirts no matter what the cost! The ideal solution for us would be to meet someone that is located in NY, LA, London or Tokyo, because we’ll be in those cities in November!”

If you think the above description applies to you then add a comment and a link to a photo of your amazing t-shirt collection and we will pass on your details.

Fame is just around the corner :p

Heraldic Tees

admin    T-Shirt Reviews     heraldic tees, heraldry clothing, heraldry t-shirts, vintage t-shirts

Heraldry Clothing are a Charlotte NC based high-end t-shirt label with a love for heraldic art. The word “conservative” is bandied around quite a few times in their biog, I’m guessing they mean an older crowd, although I’m getting on and I’m still as left-field as ever. I can’t imagine red-carpet events skipping the black tie affair for high-end tees, but hey you never know.

I was intrigued by something else I read at their store, “We chose to name our company ‘Heraldry’ because all of our designs are based on a meaningful story taken from our lives; they are part of our heritage, and spoken from the heart. ” Unfortunately I can see no sign of those elusive stories, it would be nice to have something juicy to read on each product page. Ah well, I’m just nosey I suppose.

To be honest I’m not a great fan of heraldry, being British and the son of a school teacher I was dragged around hundreds of castles and manor houses as a kid, call it ‘historical overload,’ although I can imagine it must all seem rather splendid from across the pond. Despite all that, Heraldry Tees have managed to wake me from my slumber and catch my attention, they have some high quality gear on offer, there are even a few foil printed burnout tees at relatively fair prices when you consider their competitors in the high-end market. I can’t help but think that Heraldry needs to focus more on the boutique chic market, tiny indie stores on the swanky side of town. They do seem big in Carolina, however I’m thinking they’d do better in NY (they have one retailer there), Paris, Tokyo, London etc. Then again they do have a big PR company working on their campaign right now so who knows what’s around the corner. Here’s a big saving for you though… 25% off at checkout with the code BUYTEES)

Harbinger Tee

Here’s the first of two lush tees for ladies I want to feature, this one has a really nice Japanese style to it. Appreciating the detail on the back too. But… “where is the heraldry?” I honestly never thought I’d ask that question in this lifetime, still, they do seem to have spun off the conceptual road a little. Who cares – it’s pretty, my gf likes it, it looks like crushed velvet and women still like flowers don’t they? It’s pricey at $48.50 (S-XL), then again, if you’ve got it flaunt it. (25% off at checkout with the code BUYTEES).

Infinity Tee

Again a little Japanese in style this time (and not at all heraldic) with a little foil-print which always go down well. The sheer burnout fabric is rather sexy too. Available in sizes S-XL  from $48.50…. Sure we’re in a recession but this stuff is so posh the Queen probably wears it on her day off :p

Royal Eagle Tee

Finally a real heraldic tee. Sure it looks a little Germanic, perhaps even Albanian, but it’s symmetrical, there’s a shield, some eagles and even a crown. Definitely heraldic. I love the worn-out look of the print, if you put one of these in a Medieval museum collection I doubt anyone would bat an eyelid. Who knows a knight in shining armour has to wear something to stop the chaffing?

If you’re not too fixated on the whole heraldry idea, which is after all a massive part of the brand, it’s a pretty good collection. See more at www.HeraldryClothing.com.

T-Shirt Recession

admin    T-Shirts     Clint Tees, I Love New York, N.Y, N.Y.C, recession

I found this rather apt tee at Clint Tees ( a sub-label of the very cool HeadHoods) the other day, if you’re feeling the pinch you might want to say it with a t-shirt.

I Can’t Afford To Love N.Y Tee

Available in black and white in sizes XS-XL for a recession busting $14.99 each. Broke is the new rich.

Beware of Shadows

admin    T-Shirt Reviews     death metal, metal, punk t-shirts, punk tees, skull t-shirts, skull tees

Evelyn from Beware of Shadows contacted Buy Tees for a review of their alternative streetwear brand, if you tread the darker side of life, in its multifarious forms, and have a penchant for punk, death metal and the supernatural, you should enjoy their character-based collection. BOS offers a lot more besides highly illustrated tees, they offer a rather novel community called “The Brood”. When you subscribe to their newsletter you also get online access to their graphic novels, all of which feature and fill in the details on all their characters featured in their t-shirts. Besides The Brood their are plenty more freebies on offer including free wallpapers, buddy icons, screensavers and videos. This is definitely a 101 for all aspiring t-shirt brands out there looking for pointers on how to build brand loyalty!

All the tees are printed white on black (and vice-versa), in the inimitable in-house BOS style which remind me of 80′s punk-style illustration for bands like The Creeps, but with a vintage edge. Available in all sizes at $21.99 each in sizes M-XL. There seems to be a mixture of photo-montage and old school ink going on here, some designs are stronger than others, but there’s definitely a cachet of coolness about BOS’s product.

Skull Jammin’ Tee

Very hardcore, this design is so grungy you can almost feel the grit between your teeth. It shouldn’t work but it does, it’s just so nasty it’s cool. BOS delves into the dangers of melting faces through guitar feedback. Now that would damage the music industry ;)

Punk Skull Tee

Most definitely my fave in the BOS collection, now that’s a mohawk! Seriously punk to the enth degree, the design is grungy as you’d expect, but damn, so well executed. I wish the print covered the whole of the front panel, I have an aversion to “rectangular boxes” in t-shirt design, still you can’t have everything. I do however love the tattoo-style, obligatory skull, snake and wreath included for free – heh.

Dead Draw Tee

Has their been a decent zombie-western yet? I think it’s about time we had some dead cowboys shooting it out, or perhaps their hands might fall off when they draw? Oh well. Great concept, I don’t like the little white spot in the bottom right corner of the design though (left if you’re wearing it), not unless it’s some kind of microscopic skull or even a logo. Still, at least BOS are breaking out of the box to some extent.

Beware of Shadows has a lot of promise, I’d avoid the photo-montage/stencils and move straight on to pure ink/vectors, some more detail would be nice, although I wouldn’t want them to lose their inimitable grunge edge. Still, that’s just my opinion. See, read, learn all that is at the heart of darkness of Beware of Shadows at their site www.BewareOfShadows.com.

Host Your Own T-Shirt Design Contest?

admin    T-Shirt Articles, T-Shirt Contests, T-Shirt News     99designs, T-Shirt Contests, Threadless, t-shirt design, t-shirt design competition

I received a rather exciting email from Eddie Miles at 99designs.com yesterday and it didn’t take me long to clock what all the commotion is about. 99designs is offering anyone the chance to hold their own t-shirt design contest starting at the very reasonable price of $211 per project. 99designs.com is already big on the net, they’re way up there in traffic ratings, but even they’ve noticed a massive spike since introducing the service.

“We’ve been having several tee designers and tee stores crowdsourcing their ideas and inspiration through our design community instead of doing it themselves. ..now that anyone with a general idea of business (not creativity) can start a tee line.”

There’s the beauty of the service, anyone can start a highly popular t-shirt brand, no more begging to commission top designers from sites like Threadless, now they will come to you! 99designs will help you host a “design contest” where thousands of designers compete to create a design you love, or your money back! Here’s how it all works:-

Breast Cancer Awareness @ Hype Industries

admin    Charity T-Shirts     Charity T-Shirts, Hype Industries, breast cancer, charity

For those who aren’t aware as yet, this October is “Breast Cancer Awareness Month” and Hype Industries, a great streetwear label I have reviewed in the past has stepped up to the mark and are going to donate an extremely generous 25% of all their profits for October to the cause. They should certainly be applauded for their magnanimous gesture, it isn’t often that I see a label go so far in a humanitarian cause, and this is most definitely a worthy one to follow. In 2010, over 200,000 new cases of invasive breast cancer will occur in the USA alone whilst an estimated 39,840 women will actually die. Hype Industries are doing their bit and you can do, here’s how it works:

Hype Industries has teamed up with Susan G. Komen for the Cure and will donate 25% of all sales that take place in the month of October during Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Each purchase will be immediately followed by an official confirmation by the Susan G. Komen organization showing that a donation was made on your behalf through your purchase and the total amount donated. After a long hard fought struggle against breast cancer Susan G. Komen’s heartfelt wish to improve the situation for all sufferers was continued by her sister Nancy G. Brinker who promised her that she would do everything in her power to end breast cancer forever. That promise is now Susan G. Komen for the Cure, the global leader of the breast cancer movement, having invested nearly $1.5 billion since inception in 1982. As the world’s largest grassroots network of breast cancer survivors and activists, it organises events, provides support and funds the research for a cure.

A great cause I am sure you will agree, plus some great tees to help you shell out a little to help women across the world.

DHYB Collab Tee

admin    T-Shirts     Atticus Clothing, Brian Ewing, DHYB, Don't Hold Your Breath Tee.comic art

The DHYB Collab Tee totally rocks. It’s based on the latest print by women/Day of the Dead/Skulls/Comic Art obsessed illustrator supremo Brian Ewing. You might know his work from a ream of gig poster designs for über cool bands like The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Faith No More and Mars Voltaire. He has a whole heap of cool tees on offer at his own store but the best shirt for me has to be his collaborative work with Atticus Clothing (who I really have to get around to reviewing one day!).

DHYB Collab Tee

The DHYB/Don’t Hold Your Breath T-shirt is available for $24.99 in sizes S-L and I don’t think it’s a limited edition print so there should be plenty to go around if your after one! A lovely slice of Pop Art meets Comic Art with a nice collaborative motif on the back. Whilst I’m at it take a look at the original art print by the man of the moment, Brian Ewing.

The Bandits Tee

admin    T-Shirts     Elusion Clothing, N.Y, The Bandits Tee, comic tee, graffiti t-shirt

I love this graffiti/retro-gaming/manga influenced tee available at Elusion Clothing. The Bandits Tee is printed on a limited edition 100% pre-shrunk combed cotton t-shirt and on offer now for $34 each in sizes S-XL.

Elusion Clothing was first imagined i n2001 by four freshman at Toldeo University in Ohio. Although the brand didn’t get up and running until 2006 when one of the originators Danita Davis launched the label in her hometown of Cleveland Heights. Soon it branched out to cover Illinois and New York. Now their clobber is available in several stores across America aswell as online at www.ElusionClothing.com. All I’d say is that however slick their affordable fashion clothing collection, they need a lot more tees like Bandits!