Evol

admin    T-Shirt Reviews     Evol, Evol clothing, art shirts, graphic t-shirts, indie tees, original tees

As yet I haven’t once mentioned Evol, who’ve been around for a decade now, and can easily be described as a mainstay of the indie tee scene. They sell their graphic t-shirts, sweats, hoodies and more right across the States and have had tons of coverage from the media, as well as an involvement in the music industry which includes sponsored events. This label is for real. Their tees are cool too, great designs, sassy cuts, and plenty to keep both guys and girls enticed.

Marilyn Tank

Let’s begin with a really slick tank for the girls featuring the inimitable icon of the Silver Screen herself, Marilyn Monroe. Very sexy. $32 XS-L. If you like this one you’ll probably like their Luscious Lips Tank too, which comes in pink and white.

Boom Tee

A lovely Pop Art/Street Art style tee, Boom is dead subtle with a nicely placed imagery that really piques your interest. Reminds me of a mix between East London street art and an old Keith Haring. Very nice! $28 S-2XL – also in charcoal.

Dr. Evol Tee

Nice piece of product placement in this subvert tee, I love spoofing brands, bring ‘em all down I say. We’ll have to wait for Evola Cola which I am sure is just around the corner :p $28 in S-2XL and sweats available too.

Spaceman Tee

Love it, nice old Soviet style space graphics, my favourite. I feel real at home with this one, especially the denim version. Very cool, kitsch but not too much, get it for $28 in S-XXL. Also in natural and sweats.

See plenty more fine graphic gear at www.Evol.com.

Dephect

admin    T-Shirt Reviews     Dephect, UK t-shirts, designer, graff t-shirts, graphic tees, hip-hop t-shirts, indie tees, urban tees

I’ve been meaning to get around to reviewing UK label Dephect for ages, I have no excuses bar the fact they’re so well known I wasn’t sure what I could “add to the mix”, but seeing as I’ve already reviewed their mates over at Sutsu it seems only fair! If you haven’t come across Dephect before (where have you been?) then you’re in for a treat. As for all those more familiar with the label I’ve lined up a few of their delectable screen printed tees from their latest Spring / Summer 2011 Collection. So it’s all good ;)

Dephect was borne from the mutual love of skater culture, the 90′s hip hop scene, and the passion of four friends in London for underground art and design. All this and more was to collide in a symphony of creative energy that eventually developed into a signature urban Brit fashion label with fans across the world. The site is as slick as the tees, and this latest collection pulls out all the stops when it comes to street savvy style with a London bad ass attitude that takes no prisoners.

In addition to their classic graphic tees Dephect have released a selection of high-end progressive cut and sew pieces, heightening the quality and experimentation for this unique brand all the more. Original design is abound at their store, created by hand picked artistic talent from around the world, each with their own cool biography page. Men’s tees are RRP. £24.99 but with the sale on there are plenty up at just £14.99 and for the girls £22.99 RRP and just £9.99 for the sale items!

Scrawl Tee

Damn, nice style! Designed by UK graff artist Dan Kitchener, this takes me back to the good old days, 2000 AD, Alan Moore knows the score. Sweet. (Also available in white).

Face Tee

This one’s by El Niño de las Pinturas (The Boy of Paintings) who’s something of a cult hero in the streets of Granada. A dreamy graffiti style tee that’s available in a selection of colours and cuts.

London Black Book Tee

This limited edition shirt, designed by old school London graf artist Met, to accompany the London Black Book which features rare and unseen sketches and characters from over 200 of London’s top graffiti artists including Elk, Zomby, Drax, Mode 2, Cazbee, Goldie, Teach, Coma, Vibes, Neas and Met plus many more. Also available in white. Funny thing is the book is cheaper :0

Skull ‘N’ Mics Tee

The ultimate pirate tee, if you’re gonna’ rip that beat do it in style ;) Also available for guys in heather.

Finally a couple of real bargains from the sale section…

Mr Vinyl Tee

Love it, vinyl nostalgia, the best there is. Get this one in heather and charcoal for the guys and olive for the girls.

Staying on the vinyl theme here’s another total bargain from the sale…

Remixomatic Tee

Ver..ver..ver.v..v..v..very funky with a nice set of colours to match you can get this at £9.99 for girls and £14.99 for guys. Loving the gold version to bits, or should that be bytes?

There’s plenty more on offer including sweats, hoodies and prints, plus videos and tunes when you’re brassic. Unleash your dephectiveness at www.Dephect.com.

Eau de Mars

admin    T-Shirt Designers, T-Shirt Discounts, T-Shirt Reviews     British t-shirts, Craig Robson, Eau de Mars, Helmi Himawan, UK tees, art t-shirts, indie tees, t-shirt discounts

Hmm… the smell of Mars? If it did have an atmosphere I think it have a whiff of sulphur, but who cares this brand spanking new indie Brit label is definitely not a stinker! In fact Eau de Mars are already firing all guns in order to quickly find their place in the market, with a very slick site and store, a couple of discount codes, and top street fashion t-shirt designs by top artists, many of whom have worked in the past for cool labels like Vicious History and Honour Over Glory.

A few tees are already available already, namely their selection of artist designed (highly) limited edition shirts (200 each), there’s also a premium and classic section, however you’ll have to wait for those. Here are the discounts:

For a massive 20% discount on any limited edition tees use the code SECRETSALE at the checkout.

Take the time to click ‘like’ at their Facebook page and get an even bigger 25% discount off all their tees using the code WELOVEUBACK at the checkout.

Here are the latest tees, each comes with a free poster illustration and other freebies when you pre-order.  Ships 01/03/2011 and be warned there will be no reruns for these:

Ritual 2.0 Tee

Available in both black (looks more like dark grey to me) and white editions, pre-order for £24.95 each in unisex sizes XS-L. Another classic heavy metal/tattoo style design from Craig Robson.

Undercover in Creature Town Tee

This one’s by the illustrator Helmi Himawan. Again black and white editions on offer. If u love monsters you should be in mutant hog heaven by now… pre-order for £24.95 each in unisex sizes XS-L.

For more updates on their latest tees catch a whiff of EDM at www.eaudemars.com, or via Twitter and Facebook.

Lead & Light

admin    T-Shirt Reviews     Lead & Light, Lead and Light, goth tees, indie tees, punk t-shirts, silkscreen printed

Lead & Light are an Indiana-based indie tee brand offering a selection of outstanding grunge shirts. Each is individually hand printed at East Fork Studio print shop on a 4 colour silkscreen press. The average price is usually $15 each plus shipping and sizes range between XS and XXL. Graphically there’s something superbly retro about the collection, half way between Gothic and Punk, lingering on the sidelines of a Joy Division album cover, tempered by the wear and tear of a two-bit life on the bad side of town.

In case you’re wondering about the name of this particularly grungetastic label, the word “Lead” is indeed a reference to the element and not leadership. My initials make up Lead’s chemical symbol, abbreviated from the Latin word “Plumbum”. I think you can guess the amount of grief I had at school for that one. Oh happy days.

Feast your eyes on these:

Sleep Tee

You are feeling very…

Telemanipulation Tee

Open your mind.

Satellite Tee

The all seeing eye.

Static Tee

White light, white noise.

See more of this hypnotic collection at www.leadandlight.org.

Think Peace Tee

admin    T-Shirts     cultural cotton, festival tees, hippy t-shirts, indie tees, peace tee, think peace t-shirt

Hey I know that Xmas is over but what the heck, let’s keep that feel good feeling going on for as long as we can. To help keep your spirits up check out the Think Peace Tee by Cultural Cotton. It’s available for just $12 right now  in women’s large sizes and unisex sizes S-XXL. BTW they’ve an extra deal for you, “60% 40% 20% OFF selected t-shirts plus free shipping when you order $25.00 or more!”. Work that one out for yourselves.

Think Peace Tee

That is one sweet design, I’m surprised no one has thought of it before. If I was Cultural Cotton’s head designer I’d do the same with the anarchy symbol i.e.

Who know it might happen? Look at me giving away design ideas, what am I like? Anyway, I’m sure it would go down well at all the festivals CC visit!

See more at www.CulturalCottonT-shirts.com.

Wasted Heroes

admin    T-Shirt Reviews     Russell Reid, UK t-shirts, Wasted Heroes, art shirts, graphic tees, indie tees

Russell Reid is a British designer, the founder of the UK fashion label Wasted Heroes, and a maverick. His most popular designs are more surreal, more twisted than the norm, and that’s just the way I like them. He works in all areas of design, and is closely associated with the music scene, especially in Liverpool. But for me his t-shirt designs simply jump off the store page they’re that strong. Creating a collection that’s a step ahead of the usual graphic styles of many labels is no mean feat, and Russell has done it from the ground up. He creates everything in-house including screen printing the tees himself (as well as prints on paper) and takes meticulous care when it comes to producing his line.

Wasted Heroes can be broken down to three distinct styles, amusing pithy typographic designs, salubriously surreal photo montages, and my personal favourites, beautifully conceived and deceptively simple graphic arts pieces. All of the tees at Wasted Heroes are available for £18 each, there are admittedly a lot more on offer for the guys, though there are still a few stunners for the girls which I will endeavour to include here. Take a look..

Droplet Face Tee

Classic abstract design. Superb.

Triangle Signature Tee

One of two new additions to the collections. Currently only available for the guys :/ The other new tee is called Lion.

Butterfly Vs. Blade Tee

A lovely iconographic combo.

Circles of Mickey’s Tee

The Circles of Mickey’s Tee is a dedication to two of my all-time fave artists – Samo (Samo was the street name of Jean-Michel Basquiat) and The Radiant One (The Radiant One is in reference to Keith Haring), two artists who where heavily influenced by the original street graffiti movement of seventies New York and inspirational figures to guest designer Framedink. Also available as as a set of 3 hand pulled screen prints.

To see more visit www.WastedHeroes.com and whilst your at it you can read a rather cool interview with Russell here.

The Thug Tee @ Socialfabrik

admin    T-Shirts     Brit t-shirts, Socialfabrik, UK t-shirts, indie tees, street art tees

I got an email from Eddie Sadowski who runs and designs for Manchester, UK based indie fashion label Socialfabrik. Now that is a great name for a brand! In particular he wanted me to pay particular attention to their latest shirt Thug – which I must admit is absolutely awesome! It’s based on a police marksman target that’s been used since the 1960s and definitely fits in with the whole “fabric of society” theme I’m picking up off this brand. It’s available for £20 in white and grey in all sizes.

The Thug Tee

Here it’s being modelled by Gary Briggs, frontman and guitarist of UK rock band Strays.

Adult Classifieds Tee

Whilst I’m at it I did spot this Adult Classifieds tee, I created a print on similar lines a while back – hey great minds think alike after all… Love it, but it just ain’t available quite yet – sorry folks :/

Socialfabrik already have a strong cult following in Manchester, soon their store will be an art gallery for limited edition art prints and the t-shirts will be the canvas. They aim to take street art from the city walls and onto the public themselves! Check out the rest at www.socialfabrik.co.uk.

The Sick Kids

admin    T-Shirt News, T-Shirt Reviews     British tees, The Sick Kids, character t-shirts, hip-hop t-shirts, indie tees, music tees, rap, toon shirts

The Sick Kids is a streetwear brand launched in South London during the Summer of 2009 by comedy female rapper Kelly Jackson aka Jackson Kid, who makes up one third of ‘The Sick Kids’ alongside her sister Lele [SPEAKS], who is also a published solo artist through EMI Records. [SPEAKS] set out on her own, fresh from finishing up at ‘the Brit school of arts’ in Croydon and started working with various random producers making beats and sending them over to her on Myspace, as well as collaborating with her rapper boyfriend ‘Worthless’ and their beat maker friend ‘Pig Man Dan’, recording on basic home studio equipment and software.

It was whilst performing gigs that she and her sister came up with a few t-shirts for a show in Camden Town, it wasn’t long before the team branched off into t-shirt design, and what started as band merchandise has now become a fully fledged indie t-shirt label. The Sick Kids’ influences include a love of street fashion and music, from hip-hop sportswear to punk rock studs and denim… from cartoons, Disney, and comedy to horror, TV, the news, film, the 80’s and 90’s, toys, photography, churches, graveyards, junk food, crooked teeth and Rosehill Council Estate.

Here’s a few tees from their first collection, all are available for girls and guys in all sizes at £16.99 (some are a little cheaper)…

Ghost Kid Tee

Available in 3 colours for girls and guys.

Puppet Kids Tee

Wasteman Tee

I’m a big fan of ‘bad’ rap, the funnier the better, The Sick Kids might not be at the level of hilarity of say GLC and The Lonely Island, but considering their lo-tech roots this track is pretty impressive too:

If you fancy keeping updated with everything from the Sick Kids stable then you can hook up with them at Twitter, Facebook and Myspace.

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.

Banging Tees by Boom!

admin    T-Shirt Reviews     Boom, British t-shirts, indie tees, typographic t-shirts, typography tees

Boom! T-Shirts are a quirky British label who’s “about page” breaks down the ridiculously high odds of finding their site on Google. Their finesse for design and typography equally matches their gently pithy brand of humour, which lies somewhere  between Douglas Adams and Monty Python in the tradition of quasi-existential parody of life, (if the aforementioned were born 40 years later and loved the geekier side of the graphic arts). Asides the beautifully constructed Flash site, which literally oozes design savvy from every pore, they offer a compact range of t-shirts that deliver a powerful conceptual punch. Of the five designs available, one will most likely be lost on the international crowd, unless the fame of national treasure Stephen Fry has spread beyond our shores. Although the majority of Boom’s tees are typographic, their slick choice of colour and font certainly gives them a graphic edge sorely missing in similar lines.

All their products are organic and made by SAF Clothing which means no starving kids in sweatshops contributed to this particular fashion brand. Take a look at nearly the whole collection:

I’m Being Followed T-Shirt

A very British tee and one that made me laugh. Stephen Fry is probably one of if not the most popular Brit at Twitter, and it’s all down to the plain and simple fact that he’s a mainstay of our culture, there are probably more of fans of his wry sense of humour and highly intelligent witticisms than for the royal family, however unintentionally funny they may appear. Joke. The fact is Britain loves the guy, long may he reign. If you are being followed by Stephen you deserve some kind of prize, perhaps this t-shirt for instance? Then again you could just lie :p The I’m Being Followed T-Shirt is on sale for £12.50 in sizes S-L.

Lorem Ipsum T-Shirt

If you’re a blogger and you’ve managed to install WordPress in the past you’ll recognise these two words. Traditionally used by the printing industry (what’s left of it) as “dummy” or filler text, it’s actually an excerpt from an Ancient Greek treatise on ethics. I bet you didn’t know that? If you did there’s no hope for you lol. I used to get A’s in Latin at school, I decided to give it up in the 3rd year, turns out it isn’t a dead language after all. Any  British doctor, scientist, barrister or politican could tell you that. Get the Lorem Ipsum T-Shirt for £12.50 in sizes S/M.

Lomosexual T-Shirt

Perhaps the ultimate in geek love fashionwear, the Lomosexual T-Shirt proclaims its undying passion for a cheap and badly made Soviet camera that is capable of performing miracles in photography. The Lomo phenomenon has been around a while now, but the fact is that digital technology did exactly the same for photography as it has done for music, it sucked the soul out of them. Lomo cameras let the light in where it shouldn’t, the randomness of photographic quality is what it’s all about, chance, and if you’re lucky, now and again, pure visual genius. Show your love for the Lomo with this superb tee for £12.50 in sizes S-L.

Sorry T-Shirt

A design so simple it verges on the brink of abstract, the Sorry T-Shirt features a Stormtrooper (The Star Wars kind not the Nazi type) with a pink (for some reason beyond me) tear rolling down its cheek. It should be corny, but it’s not, it’s very very cool. I suppose it comes down to taste, some people hate Pop Art, Andy Warhol in particular, or the 80s conceptual scene with characters like Jeff Koons, but I don’t, I love it, and this tee belongs on a wall in a gallery… and on my back. Unfortunately it’s all sold out, so we’re all sorry now :/

Check Boom! out at their blog, their store, their Flickr and Twitter page,