Zigelstyle Tees

admin    T-Shirt Reviews     Zigel, Zigelstyle, illsutrated tees, retro t-shirts, screen printed t-shirts, screen printed tees

Zigel is a nickname for Gideon, a budding entrepreneur and t-shirt designer behind the label Zigelstyle which itself was thought up during a bus ride in 2006. After a period of in-house designs the label decided to hook up all of its t-shirt connections and create a showcase of indie tee designs and accessories arranged in a series of themes. Zigelstyle covers a broad church of artistic influences including technology, biology, fantasy, sci-fi and pop.They’ve a few themed collections on offer now including “T-shirts with a Story” and “T-Shirts for Thinking People”. Every tee is made of 100% combed cotton, and all are screen printed.

I’d say the site needs some work, but nonetheless there are some great designs on offer, all available in sizes S-XL, prices ranging between $18 and $30. Here are a few of my favourites:

Heart of Darkness Tee

I’m not sure what the book “Heart of Darkness” which inspired the Vietnam classic Appocalypse Now has to do with Tiki heads, but still a nice comic style rendition all the same.

Rib Cage Tee

I’m not sure if this is an original drawing, it could be an illustrated plate from an antique, either way it’s a great image for a t-shirt. Nice little twist too, although I’d have probably called it the “X-ray Tee”. Still, cool.

3D Popcorn Tee

Eye-boggling. A real nice retro feel to this one. Probably not the best shirt to wear during a hangover, but great fun all the same.

Old Fisherman Tee

A really nice composition, rather simple for my taste but the concept is totally sound. I always appreciate designs that try and “break out of the box” which you used to find on a lot of mainstream tees. I’d have like to have seen a great big fish on the back though ;)

I’d say the label has promise but it still needs some work, I’d cut the vector designs with a lot more detail, remove all the backgrounds from the product images at the store, clean up the site design and work on some stronger branding. On the positive side there’s definitely some talent lurking around at Zigelstyle, plus the prints are of good quality (I always prefer screen printed shirts).

See all the tees at www.zigelstyle.com.

REAL Vintage Tees

admin    T-Shirt Articles     pre-owned tees, retro, retro t-shirts, vintage t-shirts

‘Scuse the uppercase but I just wanted to make sure you got the message loud and clear. This quickie post is only for the eyes of true t-shirt fanatics. If your money is burning a hole in your pocket and you lay awake at night wondering how on earth you’ll find another t-shirt exactly like the Simpsons tee you had as a kid in the 80s (only in a larger size), or if you’re desperate to get another original 1981 Pac Man t-shirt after your dog ate the last one, then listen up!

VintagePimps.com has been selling vintage t-shirts since 2004 and enjoy every second of it, if anyone is in love with retro chic and cornball nostalgia, across the board mind you, it has to be these guys. They sell their finds at Ebay and remember these aren’t reprints, in fact they may be the last of their kind in the world, so you’re going to have to pay through the nose for a slice of T-history. Here’s one of theirs I’ve picked out…

Vintage Prince T-Shirt (1982)

Totally mad original Prince tee, way before he became ‘symbol’, you know, back when he knocked out stompers like 1999 and When Doves Cry. This ultra rare, and take it from me almost all of them for sale at Vintage Pimps are, excellent condition Prince ’1999′ Tour t-shirt will set you back a massive $200 and only in a small size!!! Yes for Prince fanatics and potential stalkers only. Okay maybe not, but he is open to offers, not sure how much anyone can knock him down, but I bet that in the next few years this one will end up at a retro/vintage store in a trendy quarter of a city somewhere with a price tag at double that amount.

I thought whilst I was roaming around Ebay land I’d check out what else was on offer there and realised it wasn’t so easy to find genuine originals. You have to watch out, the word ‘style’ is a big giveaway, it means it’s a reprint, some might be fakes too, if they include a photo of the tag and it looks genuine or you know your t-shirt history you might even snap up a few vintage bargains without the seller even realising what they had! For mere mortals you will most likely come a cropper from time to time, so many merchandise t-shirts have been reprinted time after time, still if it’s obscure you’re probably safer.

Still I did find another major Ebay seller who specialises in genuine vintage tees, their feedback is superb and they try wherever possible to include all the info they can on each shirt including photographing labels and any defects. Labels give you a big clue, it doesn’t take long to realise if a t-shirt printers was even established a few decades ago, let alone if they had a license to print at the time of the original license. Sounds tricky but if you do your research you could make a tidy packet from selling on used tees just like Black Rebel Vintage.

Vintage ‘The Runaways’/Joan Jett ‘School Days’ European Tour T-Shirt (1977)

This seems to be the real deal, especially when you look at tag and the price, which is a record-breaking $1,499! Yes it’s rare but I can’t ever imagine paying that much for a tee, and I have a horrible feeling that someone probably dropped it off in a local charity store without even knowing the value. The fact is there are people willing to pay this much, imagine what an original official 1950′s Elvis T-shirt in mint condition would for? Probably enough to buy a new car at the very least.

Vintage Harley Davidson/Evel Knievel Tee

Supposedly 30 years old, it looks new because it’s ‘deadstock’ as in stored in a box or crate for decades without being sold to the public. It’s an incredible $999, again a mad mad price, but obviously it’s real slice of  Americana. Who knows, you might see one like this crop up at your local thrift store one day. You know what to do if it does ;)

If you’re thinking of retailing genuine vintage tees through your own store or site you might want to check out the British fashion sourcing company The Vintage Clothing Company. They sell real vintage tees by the pound (as in weight) to vintage fashion shops around the world. They grade them by quality and rarity, essentially nothing new gets through. Well worth a think if you’re tempted to set up shop.

But as always when it comes to real vintage bargains, the first place to check out is TeeCycle.org – they donate $1 from every sale to charity and even if their tees aren’t as rare they’re cool and affordable!

Vintage Beastie Boys Tee (Ladies)

Original Beastie Boys tee for women in a large size for just $15 + $3 shipping here!

Here are a few more worthy mentions:

Thriftstore Cowboy

Ghetto Vintage

Stormcrow Vintage

But to be honest you’re better off popping down your local boot fair, thift store, charity shop, flea market, you name it, if it’s cheap and local the effort of finding a rare vintage tee is worth it!

American (Political) Legends T-Shirts

admin    T-Shirt News     political t-shirts, retro campaigns, retro t-shirts, retrocampaigns.com, vintage tees

Retro Campaigns, an old favourite of the Buy Tees team, have just released three new tees to mark the beginning of a new series of presidential t-shirts, simply titled ‘American Legends’, this collection offers up a little good ol’ political nostalgia featuring none other than Abraham Lincoln himself, as well as Teddy Roosevelt, and someone I’m not familiar with (being a Brit) called William Henry Harrison, who apparently was the first showman in politics.

For those not familiar with RetroCampaigns.com you can read our previous reviews here and here. This makes our third feature on RC, perhaps we should ask for a freebie or two, and see if we can’t hold a contest for you lucky people. We’ll see. In the meantime let’s check out Abe and Teddy, oh and the other one heh…
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Trippin’ Through Time With Homage T-Shirts

admin    T-Shirt Reviews     Homage Clothing, retro t-shirts, retro tees, vintage t-shirts, vintage tees, www.homageclothing.com

There’s retro and then there’s retro. We’ve reviewed plenty of “themed” retro t-shirt labels before, sometimes movies-orientated sometimes music, but Homage Clothing take it to all the way, to the bridge and back again, and then some. If you’re hooked on the past you’re not alone, retro and vintage styles are a mainstay of the modern fashion scene. Perhaps it all started with hip hop, sampling to be exact, the hip hop fraternity realised through a blend of necessity (such as lack of budget) and lessons learned in history, that sometimes the best has been and gone. What’s the point in emulating the classics of post-modern culture, be it the greatest beats, the slickest movies, the highs and lows of sports, or the most fabulous of fabulous of fashions when it’s already there, laid out like a feast of cocaine caviare on a bed of the sweetest tasting mutual memories that mankind will ever muster. I know at least one label who’ll back me up on this and that’s Homage – www.HomageClothing.com deliver what their brand promises. More than merely peeking in to the past, this label ‘s tees proudly toots the horn of nostalgia, lighting the way towards a triumphant past strewn with the glittering memories of both the highs and lows of the 20th century, and to be honest I doubt that anyone out there, however attached to the present they maybe, can blame them.

You can find their unique blend of authentic vintage tees all around the world, including stockists in N.Y, UK and Japan, their quirky taste for the eclectic past are self evident from the moment you visit their online store, expect a barrage of long forgotten (but still loved) cultural titbits such as Cheech and Chong, Rubik’s Cube, the Moon landing and even jelly beans (which is actually a cunning jibe about the quirks of Ronald Reagan when he was in presidency). Anyway I won’t give it all away, take a trip through time yourself and see what you’ve been missing at Homage T-Shirts – or keep reading on to see a few of my faves from this slick and sassy vintage label for kids of an uncertain future hooked on the warm glow of the past. read more

T-Shirts For The Starry-Eyed

admin    T-Shirt Reviews     Blondie, Cobain, Worn Free, celebrity t-shirts, cool tees, famous, famous t-shirts, retro t-shirts, vintage t-shirts, wornfree.com

Do you idolise? Do you love your celebrities? I must admit I have a love-hate relationship with them all in general, I mean they’re for the main part paid beyond the wildest expectations of the ordinary man or woman, but nevertheless they have to be at the top of their game or they wouldn’t be able to afford their grand mansions in the leafier suburbs of Beverly Hills and the like. Still I have a soft spot for a few, the faux-genius of Andy Warhol, the dark hymns of lost soul Kurt Cobain, the machine-gun delivery and lambastery of Bill Hicks, hang on wait a minute they’re all dead? Hmm… perhaps that’s the trick, you can only truly be a star if you’re dead. Still there are plenty of living celebs with more than a smattering of cool about them and that’s exactly what WornFree.com are all about. read more

New Designs From The Past at Retro Campaigns

admin    T-Shirt News     JFK, Obama, Reagan, Thatcher, War, political t-shirts, politics tshirts, retro campaigns, retro political tee, retro t-shirts, retrocampaigns.com

RetroCampaigns.com have added new political campaign t-shirt designs to their collection, featuring ex-presidents JFK and Reagan amongst others. Retro Campaigns, Inc. is a small, Los Angeles-based company, whose aim is to recall unique characters from American politics, with style and fun. All of their designs are printed on high-quality, sweat-shop free American Apparel shirts and notably, a portion of their profits are donated to a very worthy cause at SaveDarfur.org.

Again they’re featuring some US political icons from the past, it would be nice to see them expand their horizons and venture beyond the shores of America, perhaps it’s all down to supply and demand, I know that Margaret Thatcher (ex UK PM) has had as much influence on political history as Ronald Reagan, in fact they were close allies and friends for many years, and even Ronnie remarked upon the importance of Britain’s first female Prime Minister on the world stage. Even today, at least in a majority of European political circles, the term ‘Thatcherism‘ is still widely used to describe the trend towards privatisation of most privatisation of public services and infrastructure, entrepreneurialism in a perspective of the aggregation of personal wealth and self-responsibility, be it on an economic level or one’s interaction within society and state.

I grew up through the Reagan/Thatcher years, and learned to hate that time, it was oppressive, materialistic, politically paranoid and filled with grand gesture which in the long run failed to achieve much. The Star Wars Program was one example of Reagan the actor ousting Reagan the politician, another was the Falklands War and in particular the furore surrounding the sinking of the Belgrano overridden by a cult of personality, a more sophisticated circle of political pr experts and high economic forecasts for the UK at the time. But the worst of all must have been the infamous recording of Ronald Reagan announcing the beginning of WW3 for a laugh. Prior to his weekly radio address on August 11 1984, Reagan uttered this on what he assumed was not a live microphone. “My fellow Americans, I’m pleased to tell you today that I’ve signed legislation that will outlaw Russia forever. We begin bombing in five minutes.” read more

News on the t-shirt front.

admin    T-Shirt News     Bush, Death, Johnny Depp, Sex, Threadless, funny tees, political nostalgia, political tees, politics, retro t-shirts

Just a few pieces of news to pass your way. First of all I am building a queue of expectant t-shirt reviewees here (will review them all eventually – I promise!), that old Internet magic must be kicking in, I’ve never understood how you make a site popular, so I’ve stuck with providing as much original and worthwhile content as I can. I know there are a few reviewers out there who might not appreciate my approach, as the old school of t-shirt junkies seem to like the pic and link format, or rather they like to avoid whole concept of reviewing t-shirts altogether. Which to me seems ridiculous. Why treat t-shirts any differently than any other art form? People will read reams of detailed notes on which celebrity wore what and where. I found myself lost on a very girlie celebrity-obsessed blog the other day, I can’t even recall the name of it, I was trying to locate a useful article about t-shirts (which had been deleted by the looks of it) and found myself faced with a piece on Johnny Depp and his new clean cut look. read more