Built by Wendy. Loved by all.

    T-Shirt Reviews     New York, built by wendy, celebrity fashion tees, celebrity t-shirts, movie t-shirts, movie tees, womens tees

Take a look at this star studded roll-call of famous clients of the NY based fashion designer Wendy Mullin of Built by Wendy fame:-

Sofia Coppola, Zooey Deschanel, Jack Black, Parker Posey, Andy Samberg, Kirsten Dunst, Michelle Williams, Jonah Hill, Paul Rudd, Amy Poehler, Kristen Wiig, Amber Tamblyn, Rashida Jones, James Franco, Zoe Cassavetes, Claire Danes, Jason Schwartzmann.

Yes this girl is popular and then some, and no wonder why! Her flair for designing all kinds of clothing and her undoubtedly fine talent for illustration has resulted in a cult fashion label that’s influence has spread far and wide around the world. Asides a vast range of original pieces like her beaded Native American belts, cabled fisherman sweaters, canvas tote-bag inspired dresses and much more, there are links to a wide range of men’s and women’s t-shirts that evoke a longing for the past, a great taste in old movies, and a hankering for a simpler more traditional view on the world.

If you love classic movies such as To Kill a Mockingbird, Ordinary People and Mean Streets, and would love to see their iconic imagery and mood deftly illustrated and supplanted to high quality t-shirts, then www.builtbywendy.com should be your first port of call. BBW (an unfortunate abbreviation perhaps) offer a glimpse into the past, into simpler times when fashion was more friendly, when the majority of fashion lovers would buy their clothes locally, or even create them themselves from professional patterns.

By no coincidence Mullin sells her designs as patterns at her store, reigniting the past practices of millions of home seamstresses across the world. Even I remember my mother and my sister for a while busying themselves at a pair of sewing machines, busily beefing up their wardrobes with all the latest styles of the time, created from materials of their own choice, they really did become rather good at it. Of course there was the occasional mistake, and after a moment of parodied parading they’d unpick the offending item and begin a new blouse, dress, pair of slacks or when they were feeling more daring perhaps a coat or jacket. If you’re not too confident at the sewing machine then you might want to try her SEW U series of books, which include plenty of patterns and tips to get you started.

Take a look at these fine examples of her work…

Mean Streets T-Shirt

Beautifully drawn and with a great sense of humour, love the moody style and sentiment. Wendy’s flagship store is based in Little Italy so she should know just how bad Little Italy’s Feast of San Gennaro really is. A quote from Wikipedia explains the situation… ‘Some residents of Little Italy dislike the noise, garbage, and crowds generated by the festival. Although it is portrayed as a neighbourhood event, most of the organizers, vendors, or attendees do not live in the area. For more than a decade, moreover, federal prosecutors have raised concerns that organized crime is involved in running the festival‘. Available for men and women. The featured tee is for the ladies and comes in sizes S to L and S to XL for men. Each are available for a rather high price at $45 however there are design differences in the embroidered details. The women’s feature an embroidered Italian flag and the men’s has an embroidered line in the colours of the flag at the bottom of the design.

Exploding Mouse T-Shirt

I love this design, I am with Bart Simpson when he states that Mickey is the mascot of an evil corporation, but this design clearly harks back to the very beginnings of the Disney empire. At a time when a rather badly drawn mouse did little more than jump about, squeak and occasionally laugh at very little. If only this particular rodent had met with a fateful accident we might not need to endure the likes of Euro Disney and awful awful remakes of classic literature aka Tim Burton’s pathetic reinterpretation of the classic novel Alice in Wonderland (even the cheap cartoon version fairs better). Still don’t get me started on Disney, back to the t-shirt, a classic in the making. Confusingly enough Wendy has decided to supply the same product photo modelled by a slightly ginger geek for both the men’s and women’s versions of this tee, so don’t worry if you think you’ve arrived at the wrong page, you haven’t. Again this one is pricey, I suppose you could argue that you get what you pay for, and when you want a quality t-shirt by a top NYC fashion designer $45 doesn’t sound so exuberant. Available in ‘athletic grey’ in sizes XS to XL for both sexes.

Dudes Gone Wild T-Shirt

Another fantastically well drawn design, love the play on words, subverting the whole College Break / Girls Gone Wild idiom, ever so subtly to the point that even mentioning it seems somewhat obtrusive, the Dudes Gone Wild tee features Warren Oats from Hired Hand & Cockfighter; Stacy Keach from Fat City; Harry Dean Stanton from Cockfighter & Cisco Pike; and Kris Kristofferson from Cisco Pike & Pat Garrett. Only large sizes left for women and sizes S to XL for the guys at $45 each.

Bloody Boys T-Shirt

Following on the rough and tumble theme The Bloody Boys Tee comes in heather blue and features Noah Taylor from “Flirting”, Malcolm McDowell from “If”, Bud Cort from “Harold & Maude”, Adam Baldwin from “My Bodyguard”. I love Lindsay Anderson’s “If…“, and anything that promotes this superb film and director is alright by me! (If you love If then check out O Lucky Man!) Once again superb illustrations make up this unique design, available in heather blue in all sizes for both men and women.

Wendy’s t-shirts are like a breath of fresh air to the market, simple high quality tees printed with a beautiful selection of traditional illustrations featuring a blend of nostalgic and obscure imagery, reinterpreted for the 21st century with a gentle sense of humour and a highly delicate touch.

1998 saw the opening of Wendy’s first flagship retail store on Centre Market Place in the Little Italy neighbourhood in NYC. Her successful online shop launched soon after that, and in 2005 she opened her second retail store in the Williamsburg neighbourhood of Brooklyn. Her line is carried in boutiques and indie stores throughout the USA and around the world. Wendy has further built up the brand by venturing into publishing and numerous high profile collaborations. In 2003, Wendy was hired as Creative Director of Wrangler47, a limited premium denim line for Wrangler Jeans. The collaboration was highly successful and the line completely sold out across the USA.

There’s only one real criticism of Wendy’s store, either she should get some new models in (especially for the women’s tees, using a man is just confusing), or failing that get a better looking BF. Only joking lol.

See more of her work at www.builtbywendy.com.

New Dark Bunny Tees

admin    T-Shirt News     Anchorman, Dark Bunny Tees, Shaun of the Dead, Star Wars, movie t-shirts, movie tees, zombie t-shirt

Dark Bunny Tees are going from strength to strength with their new additions to the collection, as usual venturing into the world of movies, yet adding their inimitable and usually rather hilarious take on some of the most cherished cult, horror, sci-fi and action blockbusters of all-time including the latest Golden Globe gobbling Avatar from James Cameron. Alex, the illustrating dynamo behind the label has certainly been very busy these last few months with an impressive half dozen more tees on offer, here are three of my faves to wet your appetite… read more

Two New Tees At Dark Bunny

admin    T-Shirt News     Dark Bunny, Dark Bunny Tees, DarkBunnyTees.com, funny t shirts, movie merchandise, movie t-shirts, movie tees, spoof tees

DarkBunnyTees.com have just produced a couple of new tees for their spoof movie collection of shirts. As always incredibly well illustrated this time Dark Bunny’s evil gaze has focused on perhaps one of my all-time favourite classic horror films, the original 1978 version of Dawn Of The Dead by the zombie killing hero of a director George A. Romero and Boogie Nights, which admittedly he has sidetracked the main story and it’s infamous giant appendage belonging to the ‘adult entertainment’ star Dirk Diggler and instead safely drawn your attention to John C. Reilly’s role as Reed Rothchild and his role in this sexy romp.

Let’s take a look at the tees… read more

Hop Over To The Dark Side – Dark Bunny Tees

admin    T-Shirt Reviews     Dark Bunny, Dark Bunny T-Shirts, Dark Bunny Tees, DarkBunnyTees.com, film t-shirts, movie spoofs, movie t-shirts, movie tees

I’m having one of those Donnie Darko moments, if you don’t know what I’m talking about then watch it! If there’s one movie Dark Bunny tees should be reinventing it should be that one, it’d be a great piece of brand alignment. Anyway I love the attitude exuding from this one man brand designed, managed and marketed by freelance illustrator Alex Chenery. Dark Bunny offers a parallel insight into the movie world, and though movie spoof tees are a rapidly growing market, I’ve even reviewed a few in my time at Buy Tees, I’m still convinced that:-

1. There’s plenty more room in the market.

2. Alex definitely has the graphic talent to conquer it if he focuses on building both the collection and brand recognition on the net.

Although his graphic expertise exudes from every pore I do feel the site navigation leaves a lot to desire, but that being a mere technicality I only have praise for Dark Bunny. Artistically these are the best movie tees I have seen in a long old while, I love the distressed effect which really gives the prints a vintage-feel, although I’d pull back from treating every design the same way. The fact is there are those who will love it and those that will hate it, so it’s a gamble, but I admire Alex’s gutsy decision nevertheless.

Asides the beautifully sharp and crisp illustrations there are some nice puns and for once a new label offers a “back story” on each tee, I’ve reviewed sites that don’t even offer a brief description of their t-shirts, bar the usual size, colour and price, so that’s a definite ace in Dark Bunny’s hand. I can appreciate why Alex has used Flash to present the tees and detailed close-ups, but how about a Flickr page to help promote the art, and whilst we’re at it, a Twitter page and blog wouldn’t go amiss. Building a following in a competitive market like this means you have to put yourself out there, the customers will only come if they know where you are.

Check out these tees, there are only five available right now, but I’m sure there will be plenty more to come, hop over to the dark side of movie merchandise with the Dark Bunny! read more

The World of Mondo Tees

admin    T-Shirt Reviews     Mondo T-Shirts, Mondo Tees, MondoTees.com, Tyler Stout, cinema, film tees, film tshirts, mondo posters, movie t-shirts

There’s the movie world, the fictional geography of a million hits and flops, the corporate PR and image stylists, you know La La Land. Then there’s the world of Mondo Tees, a highly creative company with more than a few feathers to their bow, they love film, that can be gathered almost immediately on viewing their wide range of classic t-shirts and posters, but more so they offer an alternative vision, merchandise that was never made (but should’ve been), imagery that can conjure up the intrinsic feel of any plot line or character, with a level of finesse unseen for many years by the movie industry.

MondoTees.com offer one of the wildest selection of t-shirt collections seen this side of the silver screen, including memorable titles such as Badass Cinema and would you believe it even vintage nudie films get the treatment, there’s a section featuring a rather glitzy treatment of past and present famous directors in the business, and although they do offer a range of music tees too, I personally think that movie-influenced designs are their strong point.

MT don’t have a biography or ‘about page’, it’s a conscious choice to focus on the products rather than the people behind the label, their Facebook statement reads as follows – “If we have to explain what we are, you wouldn’t understand.” We understand, we understand. If you want to stay updated on all the latest if rather bizarre news from Mondo, then check out their blog, as well as their Twitter and Flickr pages. But don’t expect any indepth discussion there either, MT are about the art, flat out, there’s nothing more to say, so let’s check out their tees (oh and one poster :/) read more

Movie Tees For The Movie Buff

admin    T-Shirt Reviews     arcane projects, arcaneprojects.com, band shirts, film tees, movie t-shirts, movie tees, music tees

Arcane Projects offer a wide range of movie t-shirts, we’ve reviewed quite a few similar stores now however I have to admit that there are two things that stand out about this label over the competition. Firstly their choice in film is a little bit more esoteric, not obscure as such, but you will really need to know your celluloid with some of their t-shirts. Secondly they offer a unique sideline, something I haven’t seen at their competitors and that is a custom movie t-shirt service. In essence you name your favourite flick and they design a t-shirt that will allude to a detail of the plot, sometimes one that only those who can really call themselves ‘fans’ might recognise.

You will of course find all your old favourites a Arcane, including Terminator (1 & 2), The Shining, Fight Club and Aliens, but there are a few titles on offer that may come as a surprise. The eighties sci-fi classic The Running Man, an adaptation of a Stephen King short story written in 1982 under the pseudonym Richard Bachman, and Point Break, an early role for Keanu Reeves way before he found his place in movie history as Neo in The Matrix. However as I’ve already mentioned there’s nothing stopping you ordering your own custom movie tee, there are so many films out there that deserve this unique treatment, it would be great to see even more obscure movies get the ‘tee treatment’. As it happens I have THX1138 on the screen right now, the first and probably least well known George Lucas movie ever made, now that’s what I mean by obscure! Here are a few of my favourite t-shirts that have had the Arcane Project’s highly original going over, grab some popcorn, a giant cup of watery Coke, and kick back as we go to the movies… read more

Off To The Movies With Nerdoh.co.uk

admin    T-Shirt Reviews     movie t-shirts, movie tees, nerdoh, nerdoh.co.uk

Doh I’m a movie geek but I hate movie t-shirts? Is that you? No? Well it should be!

1) Most movie t-shirts suck – they simply spell out the name, show a shot from the film footage or lumber you with a logo.

2) The fact is even if you don’t think you’re a movie geek you probably are. Here in the UK they show so many films on TV, reruns after reruns, I mean it’s getting to the point where I could do an “I am Legend” and start rolling out the script off by heart for a number of films (not including Shrek which I have managed to avoid so far). Even if the TV is on in another room and I hear a Scorcese bad-a-bing or two I start following the plot. Sheesh I’d even written a movie script once, long time ago, got dropped by Fox Searchlight, don’t ask, too boring an event to recount.

Anyway if you have eyes you are probably a movie geek, I’m telling you, or rather Nerdoh.co.uk is, try this little test and you will see what I mean:-

Do you know the Titty Twister Bar?

Mos Eisley Cantina?

Maybe the Nostromo rings a bell?

What about The Big Kahuna Burger and Jack Rabbit Slims Diner made famous in Pulp Fiction?

What about Shop S-Mart – Bruce Campbell’s employer’s in Army of Darkness or Stark Industries of Iron Man fame or the InGen Corporation who built Jurassic Park? No, really? Nothing rings a bell? Okay forget you, the rest of us are about to wallow in the madness of movie-based reality, where fictional companies run by fictional heros with fictional double-lives make fictional dreams come fictionally true…

Nerdoh has some pretty famous names amongst it’s clients too!

Jonathan Ross remarked that they were “cool shirts”, Tom Savini (actor and horror special effects guru) owns one of their From Dusk Till Dawn designs. Steve Niles (writer and graphic novelist of 30 Days of Night) has one in his wardrobe and super sexy actress Emily Booth cavorts in a Hellraiser skinny from time to time.

Okay the lights are dimming, the stage curtains are drawing back, I’ve paid off the projector guy to skip local taxi cab and curry house ads – here we go! read more

Pigs Stags and Hens? Customised Tees at Piggi!

admin    T-Shirt Reviews     Brit Pop t-shirts, British tees, UK, UK funny t-shirts, hen night, hen night t-shirts, marriage, movie t-shirts, stag night, stag night t-shirts, wedding

Now I’m not the marrying kind, I’m sure there are a lot of blokes who feel the same way and perhaps even a few women. My parents divorced as a kid, and most friends I know have seen their marriages break down, but at least they had a party the night before that fateful day, so their are some positives I suppose :p

If you’re about to get hitched and you’d like to celebrate the occasion then I’d recommend the pithy range of customised tees available at Piggi-Clothing.co.uk There are a few crackers there that are bound to garner a few titters on your stag/hen night. Their best designs find inspiration in many modern movies classics such as Reservoir Dogs and The Matrix, so you’re bound to find something up your street.

I do like the way they get all your friends in on the act, such as in this t-shirt designed in the style of Quentin Tarantino’s “Kill Bill“.

As you can see you can get all your mates on the night included in the line-up with Piggi’s Kill Bill t-shirt. In this case everyone is embroiled in the potential murder of their groom-to-be friend Mark, if Mark didn’t have the jitters before he surely will now.

read more

Take The Last Exit to Nowhere!

admin    T-Shirt Reviews     2001, 2001 tees, Hollywood tees, Jim Carrey, John Malkovich, Kubrick, Pink Floyd, T-Shirts, movie t-shirts, movie tees, sci-fi, t-shirt film

This has to be one of the most original concepts for a t-shirt store I’ve come across so far. If you’re a movie buff like me you’ll find their collection absolutely hilarious. Last Exit to Nowhere offers a glimpse into a possible parallel reality where the silver screen has come to life and events, characters and places depicted in the movies sit side-by-side with the everyday.

There are plenty of places (such as tacky beach shops and theme parks) that will sell you a “…and all I got was this lousy” t-shirt, but imagine if you were forced into the nightmare world of say The Terminator or spent a night at The Overlook Hotel in The Shining. If you did survive your ordeal, you’re most likely going to want some proof to dispel the doubts of friends and family (and possibly a few psychiatrists at the local loony bin). read more