The Science of T-Shirt Design @ T-lab

admin    T-Shirt Reviews     European tees, T-lab, UK t-shirts, graphic tees, minimalist t-shirts

There’s going back to basics and then there’s going back to basics. T-lab are here, to put it as bluntly as possible, to cut the metaphorical crap and boil down t-shirt and hoodie design to a visually sub-atomic level. If you’re looking for beautiful illustrative meanderings, bawdy humour, cute factor, or anything you’ve come to love and expect from t-shirt design then exit the T-lab now. If on the other hand you have a penchant for the abstract, classic European minimalist design  and a cool calm theme for your collection then don the proverbial white coat and safety glasses, and step into the hermetically sealed environment of this uniquely experimental UK fashion brand.

Although their tees are on sale at a slightly pricey £25 each, they do use traditional screen print methods for ultra crisp designs and very high quality shirts from ethical suppliers. What’s more you’ll be very pleased to know I’ve managed to wrangle a very generous discount for all you lucky lucky readers :D Get 15% off all T-lab products by entering the code buytees15 at the checkout!

Downhill Tee

Inspired by a combination of Ski Tirol posters and 80′s one-piece ski suits.

Snoflake Tee

Reinventing a seasonal icon. Check out those subtle psychedelics.

Surveillance Tee

Prying eyes in all 3 dimensions.

For more plenty more graphic abstract tees and hoodies visit www.t-lab.eu.

Home is Where Your Heart is

admin    T-Shirt Reviews     European tees, German T-Shirts, HIWYHI, Home Is Where Your Heart Is, graphic t-shirts, graphic tees

HIWYHI aka “Home is Where Your Heart Is” hark from Germany and most of the site is in German (as you’d expect). However after a little persuasion on my part Moritz Hippich, a freelance graphic designer and head honcho at the label has kindly put up a few English pages for the rest of us. Although the store and blog are still in German :/ Their biog explaines mentions after a brief fling with the wonders of subcontracting they now print all their own tees. The only downside is that some of their later tees are transfer printed rather than screen printed. Still, each to their own I suppose.

The whole collection is available for guys and girls, every tee is on sale at €19.90 each (with the exception of one) which right now is around $27.70/£17.70 – perhaps a little steep for simple graphic/abstract tees although I think that might be more the fault of currency market traders than HIWYHI. What I would say is that label handles itself well, it offers a dry wry look at life, a sweet sense of humour, and clean cut precise design and printing. Here’s a few tees that caught my eye at their store:-

I Love This Festival

I don’t normally go for the minimal look but I have to say that this tee really cuts the crap and hammers that message home! It does exactly what it says on the label, a clean, clear typographic t-shirt expressing the love we all feel/have felt for those muddy mosh pits and toilet queues, not forgetting the warm, overpriced beer served in plastic cups so thin they split before you make it back to the fun. No honestly I do love them lol. Great tee, even for a homebody (nowadays) like me as well as the beautiful if not a tad grubby people at open air events around the world. It’s so slick I could imagine the BBC film crew at Glastonbury begging HIWYHI for a few freebies – hey it’s all publicity after all ;) Anyway this is a relative bargain at €13 – so great for at least one crazy weekend!

Planes Tee

I love the branding on this one, it’s a rarity nowadays to see such a subtle inclusion, the font is mellow to the extreme. Nice sweet design, I’ve seen similar but it’s a cheery number all the same. Available as a hoodie too!

Skull Triangle Tee

Available in 3 colours for both sexes, a lovely little abstract which takes me back to my art school days, kinda Pop Art meets Op Art. Sweet.

Now put ya wiener schnitzel down for a moment and take a look at some more at www.HIWYHI.de.

Word Up To Wordans

admin    T-Shirt Reviews     European tees, French T-Shirts, Wordans, Wordans.com, cafepress, collective, crowdsourcing, designer t-shirts, t-shirt community, zazzle

Antoine the co-founder at Wordans.com t-shirt community gave us a shout at Buy Tees for a review. The site is in many ways a pretty straightforward Zazzle or Cafepress clone, except for a few vital differences. Sure the site design is clearer and friendlier than many of its competitors out there (which there are more than a few now), and yes there’s an English and French speaking version for all the Euro t-shirt fans and designers seeking something just that little bit different than the norm. But what struck me immediately about Wordans is the fact you’ll find no trace of tacky mugs and mouse mats and gawd knows what else their competitors like to dabble in. What’s more they actually have some really decent designers under their wing, and they make sure you know it! read more