Reasons To Be Cheerful

admin    T-Shirt Reviews     NYC, New York T-Shirts, New York Tees, Reason Clothing

Founded by two friends, Philip Bassis and DJ Jonathon Totaro in 2004, Reason Clothing based out of New York, their bold and striking designs are backed up by a meticulousness almost unheard of in the industry. The design process can take up to 8 months in development for each and every single product they produce. Following that they put their garments through a relentless sampling and quality control process. As soon as their goods arrive at  their warehouse they spend countless hours going through every item, individually inspecting them, hand numbering them, and packaging them for sale.

Their commitment to quality has stood them in good stead over the years, their C’est Beau pop-up shop is doing a roaring trade on the Lower East Side of NYC,  where they sell everything from tees to jackets, jeans, tops, and even stickers. Online they’re building a really strong following too, partly on the kudos of Jon Totaro’s career, himself having a big NY following as DJ Price. What’s more they’ve really put some time and effort into their blog which is essential reading for anyone who wants to keep up with all the goings on at Reason, and it really is packed with some great reportage photography of the rise and rise of this cult label.

Take a look at what they have to offer:

Bored Tee

The ultimate slogan tee, I couldn’t agree more. I love the sorority style font, I’m usually not a fan of typographic t-shirts, but this one had to be made eventually… and I’m glad. Here’s what Reason have to say on the subject “Work, relationships, school, conversations with senile relatives, everyone feels like their watching paint dry at some point. Boredom bites, but it bites way less when you get to subtly tell the world what you cant say out loud.” Available in S-XXL in grey and black for $32.

Go Love Your Own City Tee

I usually hate I “heart” tees, I mean it’s only one step-up from buying a “kiss-me-quick” hat at the seaside, something devoid of any imagination and visual impact, yet Reason have done the impossible and managed to redesign this tired old t-shirt format and reinvigorate it with the cyncism of a generation on. If you love somewhere that much stop being a tourist and move and do us all a favour. Love it. On offer in sizes S to XXL in black and white for $32 each.

Reindeer Tee

One of two abstracts by Reason I wanted you to see, the Reinder Tee is fabulously retro, almost like a washed out sepia print or a frame from black and white fifties school board movie about forest fires. The reindeer are really quirky and the abstracted patterns evoke a very wintry feeling without making the mistake of going down the yuletide route. The Reindeer Tee is just $10 in S-L sizes here.

Black Plaid Panel Tee

I’m not usually a fan of plaid and to be honest I’m not to keen on the choice of colour, but I had to give this one an honourable mention, it almost looks like some kind of Japanese haute couture biker’s jacket, it’s a really interesting play on the traditional plaid motif and at $10 it’s a downright bargain. Get the Black Plaid Panel Tee in S-XL here.

Go see for yourself, and find a Reason to be cheerful.

Chor Bazaar – 21st Century Indian Fashion

admin    T-Shirt Reviews     Brooklyn, Chor Bazaar, Hindustan, India, Indian T-Shirts, Indian Tees, NY, New York Tees, South East Asia, cbaz.com, hindu, international t-shirts

Chor Bazaar are a Brooklyn-based designer label with solid roots in India and they’re well on their way to dispelling the misconception that India has little to offer other than their traditions and religion, and I’ll tell you how…

No matter how open minded you may think yourself, the truth is the world (with no small contribution from the media) happen to apply cultural stereotypes to just about every country out there. For instance there are many Americans who have never travelled outside their own borders, or at least no further than Tijuana and yet they still appear to think that Britain still ride around on horses wearing bowler hats and pin stripe suits whilst drinking cups of tea from bone china cups. The same ethos applies to India, most Western designers (especially those in fashion) have been stuck with the same ideas since the 1960s, mandalas, multi-limbed and animal-headed deities, you know the score, the same old ideas rehashed ad-infinitum.

Chor Bazaar offer a selection of highly original t-shirts at their on-line store www.cbaz.com, that should at least raise a few eyebrows, perhaps there’s change in the air, following the success of the multi Oscar-winning Slumdog Millionaire, more and more people around the world have been drawn in by the radical cultural, sociological and technological changes now happening in India. Chor Bazaar are ready and set to capitalise on this new wave of enthusiasm for Indian identity and will push the Zeitgeist as far as they can, their first offerings certainly reflect their modern, contemporary and highly individualistic approach to fashion design.

All of Chor Bazaar’s graphics are designed and silk screened in their Brooklyn, workshop. Most of their t-shirts are fashion-fit, vintage soft, 100% ring-spun cotton. The team at CB include their designer Umang, in fact Chor Bazaar’s roots stem from his RISD architecture thesis which offered a redefinition of Hindu Architecture for first generation Indians in the United States. Yash, Umang’s brother is the businessman behind the company, they shared their father’s dream of promoting positive and relevant Indian culture in America, and could see immediately how the idea of an Indian-fusion t-shirt collection could do just that.

The future is here, the future is now, it stretches across continents from the USA to India and it’s filled with surprises, fusing cultures, styles and attitudes in a whole new way – read on to see just how different the real India is… read more

You Will Flip For FlipNY!

admin    T-Shirt Reviews     Flip NY, Flip NY Tees, Flip New York, FlipNY, I Love New York, New York T-Shirts, New York Tees, graphic t-shirts, graphic tees

Okay for starters, www.flipny.com has to be the greatest t-shirt website design I have seen since time began, the homepage has to be one of the most engaging and vibrant I’ve come across so far. Click on the pic to see exactly what I mean! Sure it’s in Flash, I don’t know if it’s me but Flash is always a little slow loading, but the wait is definitely worth it, wow, a totally mad panorama of a New York cityscape from an alternative dimension!

If you want to skip the intro (which personally I think would be a crime) you can go straight to the store at www.shopflipny.com – their extreme graphic talents continue on with a selection of some of the wildest graphic tees available on the net, and I mean wild. Expect an exuberance of vector and bitmap prowess, colours asunder and a unique slice of N.Y culture to take home to wow your friends! read more