Mary Mother of T-Shirts

admin    T-Shirt Reviews    

Religious or not you just no that LTD Tee’s latest t-shirt by Adam Isaac Jackson is going to get a lot of praise… Simply titled the Saint Mary T-Shirt, there is, as usual, plenty of comic book/Manga influences oozing from this design, to be honest it’s the best yet from the LTD Tee stable, absolutely gorgeous and for sale now for $26.99 from now until September the 5th. First come first served of course, so if you’re having a “teeligious” moment then say your Hail Marys and get on over to www.ltdtee.com and grab your own shirt in sizes S-XXL for men (why the ladies are missing out on this one I don’t know – I have the pic but the order page doesn’t have any women’s sizes) for $26.99 each box set. Use the discount code “buy-tees” at the checkout and save yourself… a very generous 20%!!

Saint Mary Tee Box Set by Adam Jackson

I have the pic but where’s the link for the women’s tee?

I’m taking a moment to soak this one in, you don’t normally find t-shirts that look this cool that often… as usual you get the full works from LTD Tee including

• T-Shirt
• SIGNED 8” x 10” art print
• Certificate of authenticity
• Screenprinted neck label with artist bio
• Custom box

I’ll email LTD Tee and see what’s up with the ladies’ shirts, hopefully this post will get an edit soon! In the meantime here’s a little info on this highly talented artist:

Adam Isaac Jackson spent most of his life growing up in Japan where he was surrounded by endless manga shops and books stores that filled his young mind will wild dreams. His love for fashion, comic books, rock posters, and cartoons, created a compulsive need to draw anything around him that sparked his imagination. Adam graduated from the Art Institute of Seattle in 2005, he has since been working in the apparel and fashion industry primarily as a graphic artist. If you want more you can read an interview with Adam Jackson here.

Hawaiian Shirts Are Dead In The Water

admin    T-Shirt Reviews    

The kind of gear that surfers and snowboarders wear these days puts the past to shame. Surfwear has been particularly bad in the past, there was the retro period, the day-glo era, a dragged-out obsession with big-panted Australian fashion, and a few other humdingers, but now, even if you’ve never stood on a board in your life you can easily find boardwear that will put even the most niche and clique urbanwear to shame. Take Kamikaze Boarding from Brighton UK for example… Ah Brighton, I “studied” my arts degree there, alongside class C narcotics and sexy babes, but that’s another story. Kamikaze definitely have a slick operation going on here, their site is super savvy, some nice little Flash movies and some very tight designs in their collections.

I’d have liked a zoom navigation on the product images, but then again I may just be picky, what do I mean “may”! Still, the thing is their designs look even better really close up, but sticking my nose to the screen isn’t my favourite of pastimes. What impressed me most about the collection is that it managed to throw a few surprises at me, for instance their Ride T-Shirt takes me back to the beautifully minimalist design ethic of magazine layouts in the early 80′s, you know iD, Face and so on. Although I’m not keen on all the logos everywhere, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. The thing about fashion logos if you have to be really really big, I mean to the point you have factories and international distributors before you can plaster it over everything in your collection. Nowadays even the (evil) mega-global corporate brands out there have realised the public are sick of advertising their wares, almost to the point where they’re begin to hide the logo, or at least secrete it somewhat.

Talking of evil corporations, Kamikaze Boarding are what you might call their nemesis when it comes to business practice, I mean these guys are greener than green and fairer than fair. They use fair trade manufacturers for their shirts and the whole process of production from start to finish has a 90% reduced carbon footprint – which is kind of amazing really. Then again you could say that their business relies more heavily than most on us having a clean environment, who wants to surf oil or board down a dry mountain?

Ride Tee

Boneyard Tee

Hot Chicka Tee

See more of Kamikaze’s slick boardwear at www.kamikazeboarding.co.uk!

Hearts of Kings Tees

admin    T-Shirt Reviews     fashion tees, hearts of kings, lifestyle, spiritual

I always admire t-shirt brands that focus on bigger things than fashion and the bottom line, the thing is they’re not always successful, which is a shame, because there are plenty more ways to improve a company’s image than simply going down the environmental route or donating a little of their profit to charity. The fact is that t-shirt design is still regarded as the poorer cousin in the family of visual arts, but with the best intentions, a little bit of luck, and a decent range of original tees one can work miracles, however small those miracles might be.

I’m sure that there are plenty of examples throughout history where t-shirts contributed to political change, social consciousness, or generally a more positive attitude to a generally grim life for many out there. Positivity is rather thin on the ground at the moment, there are plenty of reasons to get down in the dumps, which is why it’s always refreshing to see labels like Hearts of Kings put content over style, message over media, and a belief in humanity over the usual suspicion most of the media peddles these days.

Here’s what Terrell Lewis from HOK had to say about their t-shirt collection “he brand and name attempts to inspire and encourage, while always maintaining perspective and having fun.  It is about that thing inside of you that drives you to accomplish all you seek to do.  No posers. Just being you and being the best individual you can be. Hearts Of Kings is about that ideal and attitude.”

See if any of these shirts can lift your heart…

The Hearts of Kings Tee

This is their signature shirt available in black and white, the whole ethos of the label revolves around the ideas of strength and perseverance. A very tidy design, perhaps not the best of the bunch but punchy all the same. It seems a natural course for HOK to consider something along the lines of the Richard The Lionheart for the future, the idea of urban knights and street chivalry could be a winner. Get the Hearts of Kings Tee in a range of sizes for $20 each in the current sale.

Unbreakable Hearts Tee

A nice blend of vector and tattoo styles available for girls and guys for $26 each in a range of sizes, a nice if a little sentimental for anyone who’s experienced their own dose of tough love, a bad break up, or even losing that “one that got away”. Wean yourself off those broken romances and relaunch in style!

Hearts of Kings Track Club Tee

People are far too afraid of failure these days, at one time or another in history we garnered wisdom through our mistakes, through trial and error the human race has produced great athletes, artists, scientists, philosophers. No one is born a genius, or rather few who are ever “do anything with it”. I love the motto on this shirt “Fail Fast, Learn Faster”. Available for guys and girls in white and grey for $26 each.

“The brand is inspired by music, sports, art, street and urban culture, and life growing up in the 1980′s, 90′s, and 2000′s.  Designs will include fun, creative, and original designs that will seek to be substantive and define the heart of a king.” See more of their tees at www.heartofkings.com.

Running Moms Tees

admin    T-Shirt Reviews     Fluid Flair, running tees, sport tees, sports t-shirts

Fluid Flair are a Chattanooga-based t-shirt brand run by two running moms (well seeing as I’m British they’re running ‘mums’ but let’s not let one letter cause a transatlantic scuffle). Inspired by their own experience, including running half and full marathons, Julie and Amy want to share the highs and lows of their sporting endeavours with marathon mad mothers around the world. These two are a perfect example of ‘multi-tasking’, a skill that’s usually attributed to women (although right now the guy writing this post is making tea for the builder, working on his latest artwork, arguing intermittently with some drain inspectors in the street by the nearby church, talking on the phone to the local council and emailing his GF. Still, that’s just me I suppose :p ).

Building on a love for fitness and fashion, what began as a hobby is quickly building into a full-time business for these two feisty mums. They really understand their market and it shows, with colourful and cute designs, quality printed on super soft tees suitable for running, a night on the town, or even lazing around the house (if you ever get the time). There’s a real community feel to Fluid Flair’s site, they actively encourage their customers to set up small fun run groups with other mothers, to hook up at their Facebook page and even receive free tees for all their hard work.

If you want to show the world you are the mother of all runners then take a look at these for starters…

Fly Girl Tee

Very cute, the design almost looks like a piece of patchwork and a nice spin on a familiar phrase, it’s reduced from $24 to just $15 right now and is available in sizes S-L here.

She Goes A Mother Mile Tee

A play on words and a cool subdued retro style, the ‘She Goes A Mother Mile’ tee is available at $20 (reduced from $34) in S-L sizes here.

Runnin’ Groovy Tee

Now this as niche as it gets, running mums with a penchant for the Psychedlic Era should love this one, there’s another hippyish tee called Peace Love and Run in case you want to double your groovy quota. A cute design, I’d like to see it printed on a ‘less busy’ t-shirt and perhaps scale up the image to fill more of the tee. Still I am sure it sells well as it is. You can buy the Runnin’ Groovy tee for $25 (reduced from $36) in sizes S-L here.

For more running mom tees visit www.fluidflair.net.

Witzkrieg Battle Shirts

admin    T-Shirt Reviews     Witzkrieg, battle shirts, funny tees

Witzkrieg is the imaginary war child (okay it’s a t-shirt label) of the rather popular comic artist Mark Seydewitz, and just before I continue, if you’re looking for bullet proof military armour or even an upgrade for your W.O.W character, you’re reading the wrong post, if you’re not, rest assured you’re going to love this brand! The inspiration for Witzkrieg, as with all great ideas, began with a question, the all-time classic “who would win in a fight between X and Y?”. Witzkrieg takes the concept the whole way too.

Each match-up has two shirts, both shirts share the common front match-up graphic and on the back of the each shirt is the winner.  And of course the customer gets to choose who they think would win – with a winning version for each contender! Their tees are already selling well, and with titles including Tesla vs. Edison and Teddy Roosevelt v. The Brazilian Manfish it’s no wonder! They’ve just came out with a one shot design of the terrifying Robo Jesus – who I suppose doesn’t have a contender, although ‘Chainsaw Buddha’ might have been a nice addition – lol. New battles are added frequently and the next battle to be released will be H.P. Lovecraft v. Edgar Allan Poe!

All the designs at Witzkrieg are quality printed on 100% cotton American Apparel t-shirts and are available for $15-$18 each in sizes S-XL (unless they’ve sold out). Here’s a few battle shirts to get you in the swing of things…

Funky Tees For Boys

admin    T-Shirt Reviews     Mister Mista, boys t-shirts, graphic t-shirts, illustrated tees, kids tees

When I was a kid the best I could come up with as far as t-shirts went was a Scooby Doo tee that crackled the first time it hit the washing machine, within a few weeks I was fighting my mother off as she tried to bin the ugly thing. Fortunately times have changed, men and especially boys get a far less raw deal when it comes to fashion, whether it’s quality or choice. One fine example for boys has to be Mister Mista who specialise in t-shirts for boys, the big difference being this is a “proper” indie label with an in-house designer, a unique range of incredibly well conceived designs, and a devotion to quality screen printing, just how I like it. What’s more each tee is limited to 100 and here’s a really sweet detail, the “background story” to each character is printed on the back of each personalised swing tag. A very nice touch.

Mister Mista are based in Australia, made up of a highly talented husband and wife team, Renee Price having a strong background in marketing, and Travis being a successful illustrator, it seems like the perfect set-up. You can see more of Travis’ illustrations at www.travisprice.com.au. He’s worked with plenty of major agencies and online companies, I think you’ll be impressed. I actually first came across Travis’ work when I spotted this piece featuring Bill Murray as Hermin Blume in the movie Rushmore (a must see!). His work really reminds me of the animator Genndy Tartakovsky – a great talent behind toons like Samurai Jack and Dexter’s Laboratory. If I’ve piqued your interest then check these out:

Do Believe The Hype!

admin    T-Shirt Reviews     Hype, Hype Industries, graphic tees, hip hop clothing, street, urbanwear

Here’s another new clothing line hot off the press for you. Hype Industries is an up-and-coming urban streetwear brand that prides itself on creating instant classic stylish tees with attitude. I don’t mean bad ass kid’s crap, I mean the real deal. Cool, confident, straight-talking style. Their ultra clean designs, use of quality fabric, and originality sets them in good stead for a growing following. Think street, urban, hip-hop, blended with a positive spin on life, a smattering of corporate subversion and iconic nostalgia and you’re there. To get the ball rolling here’s a 20% discount code “HYPESTIMULUS” – just enter it at their checkout for a great saving and that’s no hype :p

Based in Southern California, Hype Industries values “fresh fashionable lines that represent a classic look mixed with the twisted reality of the daily grind. Independent minded and overflowing with passion, the Hype brand is a positive take on a negative world and beacon of hope for all.”

Check out these three tees as a taster of what’s to come at H.I…

Evil One Tee

I used to think Evel Knievel was “the man” when I was a nipper, asides being an astronaut I couldn’t think of a cooler career. Although I didn’t realise at the time just how many bones the guy broke throughout his. I begged for an Evel Knievel toy for years, yes my single mum was as broke as they came, so I never did get it. I even liked the jump suit, although it was the Seventies so who could blame me?.Anyway if you love all things Knievel, and hate all things empirical, then this tee’s for you. Available for $18 in sizes S-2XL here.

Emblematic Problematic Tee

The Emblematic Problematic Tee is so cool, I mean really, when was the last time anyone subverted Rolls Royce’s branding? The fact is RR has really lost it’s sheen over the past few decades, if it wasn’t for the oil billionaires of the Middle East I doubt the car would still be made. The amount of amazing forms of transport available to anyone with a few hundred grand might have something to do with it. Very very slick design, available for $18 in all sizes here.

Home Jersey Tee

This one is so retro it hurts, a total classic, beautifully put together, it feels that natural as a design it almost precludes comment. My favourite of the bunch, the Home Jersey Tee is available for $18 in all sizes here.

This is one hell of a confident brand, they definitely know what they’re doing, a few more like this and everyone will have heard of Hype Industries. Keep your eyes peeled at www.bewareofthehype.com.

Arteefact

admin    T-Shirt News, T-Shirt Reviews     arteefact, custom tees, heat press, vinyl tees

John from Arteefact, a brand new t-shirt label contacted me yesterday for a review. Uniquely they hold no stock, instead, when they receive an order they plot it, weed it and transfer it on a t-shirt especially for you. Each of their tees comes with a unique number printed on the back, and they even offer custom designs. Now, I’m not known as a fan of vinyl tees, I’d take water-based printing over heat press every time, it’s better for the environment and feels much nicer to wear, but who knows, you might think differently.

Amongst their slightly shambolic first collection are some real beauties, I adore their Determination T-shirt, which again is an abstract design, not my favourite kind, but this one seriously works. On the other hand there are a few I’d rather skip. Over all I’d suggest the collection needs some work to get going. The designs that do work are strong, the store is beautifully laid out, and their commitment to a more personalised service is very reassuring, I just wish there was a way I could convert them to a more eco-friendly approach, something that would add to their mounting kudos rather than detract from it. Still, there’s definitely talent at Arteefact, check these shirts out to get my drift…

Determination Tee

Not only is this a fantastically visual abstract design, it’s enabled Arteefact to be incredibly sparing with the vinyl which is most definitely the direction they should follow if they want to stick with heat press tees. There’s a real iconic dynamism to the look of this one, almost leaving you hanging in expectation. I want to see a lot more like this one in the future. The Determination Tee is available in 3 colours in sizes S-XL for €28 (Free Shipping) here.

Free Yourself From The Prototype Tee

I’m not keen on the text in this one, but I do appreciate the sentiment and the design is again very sparing, I’d focus more on making the image express an idea rather than “backing it up” with a slogan, however it’s still a very cool idea. The Free Yourself from the Prototype Tee is available at €35 (Free Shipping) each in 3 colours here.

Full Face Tee

Loving the vector stylings in this design, a beautiful use of line and sparingly laid out for maximum contrast. I prefer it in black as it really does stand out a treat. The Full Face Tee is available in black and white for men (€28) and  women (€30) in all sizes (Free Shipping).

I’m sure that Arteefact will think I’ve been a little harsh, but if I can steer them in a more eco-friendly direction now, it could spell the difference between survival and even failure as a brand and the chance of breaking into a far wider market and growing a cult following into something big, at least in the indie t-shirt world. Anyway… take a look for yourself and make your own minds up at www.arteefact.com.

One-Off Tie Dye Tees

admin    T-Shirt Reviews     custom t-shirts, custom tees, hippy tees, tie dye, tie dye tees

Here’s a brand new label for you, B’s Tees at Shopbstees.com run by Bettina Bairley, a past U.S Taekwondo champion offers something of a rarity these days, absolutely unique individual t-shirts. Yep, that’s right, no two of her shirts are the same, if you fancy wearing something that no one else in the whole world will ever wear, read on.

Bettina got hooked on dying t-shirts when she first tried it with her daughter for a little bit of fun on her 13th birthday party in 2007. From there she began to invest in better dyes and self-taught herself to an expert level. Her daughter wore many of Bettina’s shirts to school and kids would ask where she got them. Soon the orders began to roll in. Bettina’s done a lot of experimenting over the last 3 years and has developed a unique style that vastly differs from most dyers out there. With a good eye for quality, both her blank shirts and choice of colours are superb. She’s also been learning and experimenting with Shibori technique which can be very intense as it is really detailed. I’ve recently worked on designs for dresses, handbags and leggings but have not added them to the line as of yet. My main focus is still t shirts.

Customer service is her priority, almost all of her tees are produced on a custom basis. After a brief consultation regarding design and colour Bettina tailors each shirt to that specific client. Each shirt is individually numbered (where runs are involved) and signed with a silver Sharpie discretely on the inside hem to ensure authenticity. She’s also been a featured artist at the arts and crafts portal Dharma Trading website last Autumn which was really her first recognition as an artist and since then word has spread like wild fire. Right now her best sellers are little hearts and peace sign tees, however she’s had requests for crosses and so she’s currently working on a good technique for those.

I only have one slight criticism (although I’m nervous I’ll receive some kind of Taekwondo death blow for mentioning it), I fully understand B’s domain name choice, it’s just unfortunate that the name also spells out Shop ‘BS’ Tees, which might inadvertently attract a few bad taste shoppers from any Google rankings. Still I’m sure Bettina can convert their t-shirt tastes once they realise what she’s offering, something very thin on the ground these days, true uniqueness. Ah well, we live and learn. See all her tees at www.shopbstees.com.

DeathGob Tees

admin    T-Shirt Reviews     British, Death Gob, DeathGob, UK designers, UK t-shirts, indie tees

I have a feeling that the alternative t-shirt label DeathGob is based in Margate in the UK judging by this shirt, however no matter where they are you can tell by their pithy anti-establishment line of humorous tees, bags and badges that they’re British, oh most definitely. Run by five friends who won a car in a local contest and sold it down the pub, got drunk and still (in the end) managed to pull a great little t-shirt company out of the bag, they offer up a hearty portion of cool designs and one-liners that suit a wide range of peeps from your local squatter anarchist to international jet-setter. It’s just that kind of label, you know, it starts off as a tiny little cult label and then everything starts to explode, they have that vibe about them for me anyway.

It’s obvious from the moment you visit the site that these guys (and gals) really love t-shirts, they even offer a FREE Pimp My T-Shirt service, here’s what they do… “We want you to tell us about your most hideously shameful shirts. Send us a pic and tell us a little bit about why it’s so bad, and we’ll pick the worst of the lot and get you all pimp-daddied up. Yes, we’ll take your shirt off you and modify its ass until it becomes the envy of every lounge lizard fashionista the world over, and what’s more, we’ll do it absolutely free of charge.“

Asides a healthy selection of genuinely funny shirts there are a few cool classics, stylised illustrative, even diagrammatic if not a little geeky designs that really shine out for me. Take a gander at this lot…

Jukebox Gold Tee

A classic jukebox design adorns this shirt, oh so retro, oh so cool. It reminds me of greasy transport cafes and old man’s pubs in the 1970s. By the 1980s most places cleared these out and replaced them with CDs. I was working in a bar in Brighton trying to make ends meet as a student and on my first day there the manager was thumping his CD jukebox as it kept skipping, I begged him to let me listen for a while. About 3 years later I heard almost exactly the same kind of sound on the radio, it was Fat Boy Slim. Who knows he might have been a regular there ;P Anyway get the Jukebox Gold Tee for £18 for men and women in a range of sizes and colours.

Mac T-Shirt

I was late when it came to Macs, but not for the want of trying, I asked for a Mac in the 1980s one Xmas and was laughed out of the room. When I first tried to get into the graphic design industry I needed a Mac to get the experience to apply for the shift-work so many graduates slave away through in umpteen design houses around the world. Vis-a-vis: no job = no money = no experience = no Mac = no job. Still what looks like a heap of crap these days was like Manna from heaven back then. Love it, the style is as cool, calm and collected as the content. Get the Mac Tee at £18 for girls and guys.

Truck Tee

Totally old school, probably older than the actual saying “old school”, this fine illustrated shirt is probably my fave tee at DeathGob right now, there are funnier ones for sure, but just for the sake of style I’d stake my claim with the Truck Tee. I love old illustrations, it’s probably nostalgia or a flashback to playing with trucks as a kid, who knows, it’s got me all the same. I’d like to think it was a beer truck just to finish it off :) Get this tee for guys (sorry girls no trucks for you! Complain if you wanna’ lol.) in all sizes and a four colours for £18.