Psyched Tees From Disturbia Clothing

First off I’m back, I’ve been to the back and beyond, I’m sunburned and peeling all over but all in all I feel fresh as a daisy so let’s get down to business and lay Disturbia Clothing on the Buy Tees couch and see what makes them and their legion of fans tick. If you’re already familiar with this edgy Brit label then you’re in good company. Check out this documentary of The Prodigy’s latest tour and you just might see Liam sporting one of their best-sellers, their Disco t-shirt.

I always feel right at home, culturally speaking, when I visit their site, everything from their products to the web design to their constantly updated left field blog shimmer with a slightly tongue-in-cheek British fervour for the hey days of punk. Their style spills right out onto their highly flamboyant illustrated t-shirt prints which are all highly recognisable as unique yet strangely familiar iconic pieces that make up their collection. Their ideas are their tour de force, some perhaps more obvious than others, but in a good way, in the way you might think ‘damn, I could have thought of that’ except you know you didn’t, and if you ever did, you know you’d never got around to creating them, because if you had I’d most likely be writing about your label right now :p

Their reputation has spread far and wide into the world of independent fashion retailing with 17 online stockists and what I guess must be another hundred or more stores selling their unique wares around the world. So if you like what you see then there’s no excuses when it comes to tracking down any of their infectiously irrational tees, hoodies and accessories (if you don’t order direct), besides which they have a handy mailing list so you can keep up to date with all their latest offerings no matter what corner of the world you may reside. So without further a due, rip a few holes in your best pair of jeans, stick a safety pin through your nose, kick the TV Screen, deface any image of royalty you may have lying around and get ready to enter the minds of Disturbia. Read more

High Art Tees At OtherCriteria.com

Founded in London in 2005 Other Criteria was conceived primarily as a publishing company by Damien Hirst, Hugh Allan and Frank Dunphy, with creative directorship from Jason Beard. They work directly with Damien Hirst and a number of established and emerging artists to make limited editions and multiples, clothing, jewellery, photographs, posters, prints and books. I was recently approached by OC to review their unique collection of art tees, and I have to say it’s my pleasure to, being an artist myself I can fully appreciate the direction this company has taken, crossing the boundaries between art, design, fashion, and in particular their decision to market themselves to a new breed of discerning consumer, bypassing the need for the gallery or dealer, and offering something of true artistic value to suit every budget.

OtherCriteria.com, their online presence for the vision of an eleven strong team of designers, production managers and assistants, is supported by the off-line exposure of their merchandise at their two London stores, 36 New Bond Street, and 14 Hinde Street, London. I personally feel that this review represents a validation of my own beliefs that the humble t-shirt has until very recently been a neglected medium in the world of the arts and that perhaps now at long last both artist and collector can truly engage in a whole new field of creative consumerism unseen in retail history. From the likes of Damien Hirst to Banksy, a more general public have at long last been able to engage on a deeper level with every echelon of the artistic community, conceptually and emotionally helping to support their practice, forming their own base of opinion and venturing forth where no consumer has ventured before.

My own experiences of the British arts education system have left me somewhat jaded, with tutors and galleries alike assuming that only the elite can appraise, criticise or even purchase art. This seemed an outdated premise even then, some 20 years ago, but at long last with the progressive attitude of companies such as Other Criteria, the urban art movement, the rise of the global Internet community, and a general awareness by all of the context both sociopolitical and historical that we find ourselves in today, we can expect this to be but the beginning of a far more self-aware consumer revolution. The  art market is also shifting in a new direction, unaffected by the establishment’s world weary view of what should constitute creativity. Art for the people = power to the people. Mass consumption has led to many problems in our age, yet now at long last the individual seeks more than an aggregation of the familiar, they crave the unique, the fundamentally altered, a higher perspective of both their own existence and the world we live in.

The contemplative, inspirational and highly acute products of OC are one example of a progressive wave of entrepreneurs and creative collectives aiming to offer an alternative vision, one that suffices more than mere need or want, supplanting the desire for the object with a heightened sense of realism, a proposal for a new and deeper relationship between consumer and producer. In this context, at this time of political, social and economic turbulence,  quality of life, quality of experience, and quality of the product are at the forefront of public expectation. Now is the time to consider Other Criteria, and of course in particular their own fine range of art tees. Read more

Eastern Promise At Fabrikade

Fabrikade.sg is a Singapore based online clothing store that draws upon the collective talents of a network of designers from Singapore and further afield, formed by a web collective of Jonathan Kong and a few friends bouncing ideas back and forth over a coffee at Vivocity, their belief that their was a vast niche in the t-shirt market was confirmed by the escalating popularity and success of their truly international store. Drawing upon the creative talents of home grown and global artists, designers and indie labels has helped to quickly build up a solid and unique label showcasing some of the best in t-shirt design from around the world.

There’s a friendly atmosphere at Fabrikade, the site is slick and easy to use, there’s a useful blog and they’re bang on Twitter with plenty of regular updates offering everything from advice on design to interesting t-shirt links to keep you interested from the word go. The Fabrikade ethos is to share and share alike, by helping one another artists and fans can help build a mutually beneficial community worth being a part of - especially if you like great tees! Of course Fabrikade offer a lot more besides, they are after all a fashion label and so if you’re tempted you may want to scout around their other categories for some top quality designer jewellery, iPod sleeves, polos and soft toys. However as you will have surely guessed by now we’re sticking with the t-shirts here at Buy Tees! Read more

Fontastic T-Shirts at Type Tees?

Threadless.com have spread their wings, expanded their empire, and generally made their next play for dominion over the t-shirt market with their latest venture TypeTees.com (along side The Select Series and Threadless Kids - yes yes I will get around to them one day). I have to admit I’ve been holding back on this review, the fact is I’ve had some crummy experiences in the past with Threadless, it’s quite a brutal place if you’re thinking of submitting a design, I’ve seen some rather similar ones to my own scrape through when mine have hardly made it past the first stage.

What’s more a lot of their best artists have naturally come to the conclusion that if their work is making enough sales to support the staff and directors of a multi-million dollar operation why not set out on their own? Plenty have, plenty more have been ‘poached’ by the competition and literally treated like artistic royalty, sure they’re not exactly riding around in limos (yet) but those with the business savvy to make the grade have managed to get a far fairer slice of the pie when it comes to profits.

The fact is that for most of us humble designers it’s more a case of who you know (and how many) rather than what you do. It’s become a numbers game and that’s no surprise considering the size of the operation. If you have an army of friends and fans on Twitter or Facebook you might just make the grade - I mean - you’ll still need to create something stunning but a legion bigging you up will always start a wave of positivity given the right conditions. Timing, markets, originality, it all comes into play… but this isn’t another griping review of Threadless, it’s a feature on Type Tees, and seeing as the ballpark is wide open on this one, if you have a flair for one-liners you might just be in with a chance at this still relatively early stage of the game. You don’t need to be a typgraphic expert, you don’t need to be able to draw, you just need to make wise cracks until the sun goes down and all will be well with you and the world of Type Tees!

So, the other reason I’ve been slow off the mark is that text t-shirts aren’t really my favourite things in the world, perhaps it’s trauma brought on by a branding burn out, at school and college so many kids wore Nike and Adidas that if an alien had landed and walked in the canteen they’d have assumed all our parents had very little imagination and called us all by the same names. But these aren’t sports brands, these are, for the main part, jokes. There’s the other problem, once you know it you don’t usually want to hear the same joke twice - unless you didn’t get it the first time - but hey some people like to make strangers laugh, so who am I to get in the way of a few anonymous chuckles? No one, just a miserable git with a graphic t-shirt fetish that’s all.

Moving briskly along here’s the low down if you have a joke burning in the back of your mind and you fancy making a few spare bucks. A very healthy $500 in fact, not bad if you’re a pub bore with a few hundred corny jibes you can knock out - one of them is bound to grab some attention. Okay that’s unfair but when I think of all the worst t-shirts I’ve ever seen they’re nine out of ten times a dodgy joke like “I’m With Stupid”, the only idea I’ve ever had for a slogan tee was way back when fashion casualties were wearing big bold lettered print tees with the words “Rave On” in the UK - we are going way back here. I was s**tfaced with a mate at an illegal rave in South London when two of them walked through the door with red faces, soaking in sweat, necking vodka and cokes at the bar like it was free - anyway I made a joke that the tees should have said “Brave On’. Cruel I know, but I doubt they’d have preferred my alternative anyway.

So to cut a long story short - let’s see if we can have a larf at Type Tees :p Read more

Have A Whale Of A Time At Finroo

Before you start on me - yes it’s another crowd sourcing t-shirt contest site - this time the web design is absolutely top notch, they offer truly limited edition tees, there’s at least one very very highly talented artist on their books and Finroo’s attention to detail is unparalleled. All of their t-shirts are made from softer than soft bamboo which is a delight to wear as well as great for the environment - machine washable, all natural and a hypo-allergenic, absorbent, and fast drying. The tees are sold at an average market price of $34.95, I was recently approached for a review by an independent label that also sold bamboo tees and couldn’t afford to offer them less than $49 and so Finroo’s figures seem impressive. What’s more they donate $1 from every t-shirt sold to charity so you can literally feel the good karma effervescing from this company.

Finroo are very much aware of the secret to their success, their artists, and they duly provide full and profiles for everyone of them. Their creations are featured in a variety of amusing categories including Endangered Species (which I suppose are sold up), Newly Evolved, Biggest Fish and Freshly Caught. There’s also a currently empty (but I doubt will be for long) Hall of Fame which is reserved for their all-time best-sellers, and a friendly blog to keep up with all the latest goings on at Finroo. It’s big, it’s bright, it doesn’t bite, Finroo has a killer set-up here and I can see them catching on, especially with the artistic vision of their numero uno right now John Fitzpatrick who has a marvellous comic art style and is incredibly prolific to boot. I promise not to make this a John Fitzpatrick review but in all honesty this guy has set the benchmark so high I don’t know when he’ll find himself creatively nipped at the toes as it were. If I was running Finroo I’d make the guy a partner - lol, that should stir things up. Anyway Finroo have given John the accolade of being the first Spotlight Artist and the interview is definitely worth checking out. Let’s dive in to Finroo and see what’s down there… Read more

Tie Dyed And Gone To T-Shirt Heaven?

Okay the site needs a little work I admit it, but Rock Band T-Shirts do something quite rare considering how mechanised and automated the world is these days, they airbrush and hand paint every one of their über psychedelic tees, and if you’re one for trippy prints, then www.rock-band-t-shirts.com should definitely be on your journey of self teescovery

Yes, yes, there are some problems with the site design, the navigation bar is floating and some of the title tags are showing up html codes like <br> but ignore it if you can, the dudes behind this label have their sights set on greater things and I’m sure they’ll get a nerd in to spruce it all up in the end, The reason I’m not laying into RBT ’s site design (as I normally would) is because they’re obviously first and foremostly artists, t-shirt artists, creative types who just want to do what they do which is simply this:-

Immortalise guitar and rock heroes in the medium of the t-shirt.

You can’t ask fairer than that can you? They take the trouble where it counts, offering the best of the best in rock legend T-shirts from the 60’s, 70’s, 80’s & 90’s. inspired by rock music heroes like John Lennon, Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix, The Grateful Dead’s Jerry Garcia, Janis Joplin, Led Zeppelin & Reggae legend Bob Marley. If you’ve had it up to here (imagine my hand above my head) with rock legends (can’t understand why though) there are other categories to choose from - Biker Tees and Science Fiction / Fantasy Tees, so you can still get your mad and trippy coloured mayhem no matter what you’re tastes. RBT obviously are a lot more level-headed than may appear on first impression, for example they are meticulous in their production process.  Always conscious to maintain uniform colour balance and pattern consistency whilst still ensuring that each tie dyed tee is totally unique. A tricky balance some may say.

Right - enough of the banter - let’s take a trip to the tie dyed land of Rock Band T-Shirts… Read more

Prestigious Tees - An Esteemed Reputation

The name says it all ThisIsPrestigious.org focus on the heights of perfection whether it be their fine art tees, their dedication to the environment and fair trade, their production process, or their gracious attitude to customer service, be under no illusion that this label means business in a new and forward thinking manner that matches up to expectations of their name. In the t-shirt industry, as with all commercial sectors, and to some degree in life, reputation is everything. If someone makes a promise they cannot keep there are those who are willing to forgive, but for the majority their reputation is tarnished by a lack of providence, no matter the reason or excuse. This Is Prestigious are well aware of the fact that to be a success in this cut-throat market one must make a lasting first impression, and continue to do so whatever trials and tribulations may cross their path.

TIP offer a refreshingly open and welcoming way of doing business, providing a straightforward store in a straightforward manner, holding their heads high in everything they do, in order to satisfy both their own personal needs as creative people and in offering an incomparable service that they themselves would expect to receive no matter what the sector. William Matte, Jr. along with a hand-picked group of select artists aim to raise the expectations of almost every aspect of the t-shirt market, carefully designing and producing products they know both they and their customers will be proud of, dealing with those who buy their tees as people rather than numbers, and making sure that their impact on the ecology is kept to an absolute minimum whilst in their own small way bringing attention to the plight of those less fortunate and the exploitative working conditions in many countries today.

Their t-shirts equate to an expressive collection of vibrant colour and sumptuous illustration that one would normally expect from the fine arts market, stretching the boundaries of what is considered the norm in urban fashion design and forever heading onwards to a broader horizon of historical and abstract influences in their exploration of perfect design. Their choice of colours, tones and hues reflect a love and longing for the glorious diorama of the American landscape, from the sun-kissed beaches to the busy metropoli to the Shamanic desert skyscapes beyond. Never obvious in their interpretations TIP have managed to walk a fine line between pure art and pure design. invoking more emotional than intellectual response in their loyal following and beyond.

This Is Prestigious - an apt description for a label with the highest of artistic and business sensibilities. Read more

410BC - An Age of Teemocracy

410BC is a New York based clothing company and arts collective with their finger on the pulse and their eyes on the horizon of change and equality. With a strong ethical background and a total commitment to the ecology and conscious consumerism in every aspect of the brand, they focus on strong conceptual design in equal measure favouring a wide spectrum of subculture arts including skater, punk, hip-hop, indie and D.I.Y. There is a really strong sense of community at their site www.410BC.com and they actively encourage participation from both their wide and loyal customer base and their eclectic band of designers and artists.

I usually ‘wing it’ when it comes to t-shirt reviews, preferring not to get to bogged down with subjective ideas from designers and focus on what I see the way I see it, sure it’s not particularly objective but it can be informative for both the label and the general t-shirt fan to see a different point of view to the traditional bog-standard interview format. However I have to admit I cheated a little when it came to the name of this particular brand, Nicole co-founder of 410BC enlightened me to its origin - “410 BC stands for the year Democracy was restored in Athens. The Athenians were at war, but they managed to restore their own institutions by fighting for what they believed in. We chose that name because it resonated with us strongly. Through the company we promote conscious consumerism and fighting for what you believe in. We believe in supporting artists, sending a positive message, only using sweatshop free and organic cotton tees and giving back to our community.” A rather admirable mantra for any fashion brand I am sure you will agree.

The company have definitely stuck to their roots from day one, unlike many brands in the market they like to stay as connected with their audience wherever possible, from their humble beginnings they have certainly picked up plenty of good habits, constantly pushing their positive message and encouraging public interaction all the way. Do have a read of their blog if you have a moment - there are some great fashion, style and other features going on there and whilst you’re at it check out their LookBook which features plenty of photos of past customers donning their marvellous clothes. Plus of course you can also meet and greet 410BC via Myspace, Flickr and see their latest vids at Youtube - oh and check out their latest contest too!

However ethics asides what’s as if not more satisfying for me is that their creative stance is as powerful as their ecological one with a cornucopia of great designs available at the store, an ecelctic range of sources and ideas for their particularly unique style, and to top it off a rather fabulous website to showcase their work. Let’s take a trip to 410BC and see exactly what makes them so special in the market today… Read more

Graffiti, Humour and T-Shirts From The Toilet

I’m surprised we haven’t featured John Tootabeanie’s label before (is that his real name?) - if you’re ever in a seedier public toilet on the bad side of town you might just find yourself trying to pass the time (or block out the experience) of trying to evacuate your bowels in one of the nastiest settings imaginable by scrutinising the bathroom graffiti around you. Well John has gone one step further than that, no actually quite a few leaps and bounds, and set up his own label at www.letterfromjohn.com

Now don’t expect fancy art here, the designs are iconic but you have to remember they are for the main part subconscious scribblings of demented and drunken guys who spend a little too much time on the toilet for my liking - still they’re in your face and some are quite hilarious especially when you think that you one of you out there might just bump into one of the artists in a pub without even realising it. Well you will, because they’ll most likely run over to you sloshing their beer every which way and point at your tee before slurring “I did that, I did, I did that!”.

I’m surprised at the lack of crude references to the dimensions of sexual organs, past girlfriends and other subjects of that nature, well I’m not because I’m sure most toilet graffiti would get this store closed down before it had ever got started. But fear not, it’s not all done in the best possible taste, with a rather fine selection in the obscure, the almost offensive, and the downright bizarre I can tell that John’s tees have caught on already judging by his press page. John is also on the verge of releasing another whopping 30 t-shirt designs, his sources being immeasurable, I can guarantee that a healthy slice of the profits have been devoted to his research into bar toilets for miles around. Then again I have a feeling he has an army of photographers wandering in to toilets all over the world, if you fancy adding to the collection you can submit yours here. Whilst you’re at it take a look at the gallery of original images (in situe) here.

At just $15.95 each his tees are a relative bargain too, so if you want to show the world your love of toilet humour you know where to go. Right now he’s selling his George Bush Eats Babies tee for just $13.95, perhaps a rather historical subject now, but a good choice for posterity? Anyhoo let’s venture into John’s loo and see what’s up for grabs… Read more

Tuck Into Pyknic’s Tees

Here’s a rather tasty review for you featuring the fabulous t-shirts of Pyknic Clothing at www.pyknicwear.com - serving a great sense of humour alongside some fantastically well drawn designs, the two guys behind the label Andrew Marshall (aka The Chef) and Stephen Thompson aka (The Butcher) have created a unique branding concept that literally has their fan base eating out of their hands. Their slant on the t-shirt market has gone from strength to strength as they turned their backs on the traditional surf/skate market a few years back and headed off in a weird and wonderful alternate reality where fashion and food collide in a frenzy of colour and creative flair. Even their site is a veritable feast for the eyes, mocked up to closely resemble a retro diner, the graphics are smart, the impact immediate, the navigation a breeze, the prices highly competitive (check out their sale) - this label has their market nailed and are going from strength to strength with a wide range of retailers stocking their goods across the world in the USA, Europe, Australia and well just about anywhere you’d expect to find a cool t-shirt store. In fact even Hot Topic stock a few of their tees, so you know they’ve hit the big time, let’s hope the recession doesn’t begin to cut back on their plans for world domination, somehow I doubt it will make any difference.

Most of their designs, though conceptually conceived by Andrew and Stephen are illustrated by a variety of top artists under their wing, and it’s obvious by the startling diversity of style and composition that they’ve most certainly got an eye for talent. What’s more Pyknic are extremely adept at building a phenomenal brand with a wide variety of social networking hooks to pull in the punters including their blog, a popular Myspace page, Andrew’s Twitter as well as a whole heap of bands who adore their clothing that together make the Pyknic Family. They also offer a mailing list at their store so you can keep up with all the latest news on sales and if you really want to bug them for all they’re worth they openly invite your questions via AIM - their username is PYKNICwear. But before you do maybe you should check out exactly what all the fuss is about, so hand me your plate and I’ll pile it high with the best of the best from the crazily creative camp at Pyknic! Read more

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