New DeadBuryDead Tees

admin    T-Shirt News     Jack Kerouac, art tees, deadburydead, photo tees, photographic t-shirts, vintage tees

DeadBuryDead have just released 8 new tees for Spring, if you’re not familiar with the label then check out this review. Two shirts that immediately jumped out at me lean towards photo social commentary, which is definitely a new direction for the tee scene. These and all their tees are available for $29.99 in sizes S-XXL (stock permitting).

Metal Heart Tee

Celebrating the steel capital of the U.S, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Without undue sentimentality and a fascinating ‘feel’ to this design, a worthy addition to the collection. I like that classy little logo beneath the main photo too. Available in white at $29.99 each – sizes S-XXL.

Open Road Tee

Inspired by voice of the ‘beat generation’ Jack Kerouac. Once again dipping into the past with another large photographic print, beautifully executed. Available in black at $29.99 each – sizes S-XXL.

Check out the rest at www.DeadBuryDead.com or flick through their lookbook.

Redemption Brand

admin    T-Shirt Reviews     Redemption Brand, graphic t-shirts, logo shirts, logo tees, vintage tees

Here’s a couple of Winter Collection tees from Redemption Brand. I missed out on the absolute belters they had last Summer including Beholder and Authentic. I’ve had a word with Tyler Hoppel, the guy behind the label and it’s 50/50 right now if they’ll be reprinted in the future. Ah well, console yourselves with these two unisex t-shirts available at $18 in sizes XS-XXL…

Protect Your Heart

There were Griffins everywhere when I was a kid, school crests, church towers, royal shields, and half of Wales was smothered in them back then. I guess life in Ol’ Blighty did used to be a little like Harry Potter. Nice design, nice tee, nice Griffin, good Griffin, ouch.

Icon Tee

Kinda little bit Fantastic 4 for me, but then again I am an old git and my Lycra jumpsuit has seen better days. If you like your t-shirts branded to the hilt you’ll struggle to find better than this one. Slick, like Fairey but without the faces.

One last thing, a quick tale on how exactly Redemption Brand got its name :- “The idea of starting a clothing company came to me when I went into an interview about 7 months ago and came out a changed person. The interviewer immediately judged because I had tattoos and I knew he wasn’t going to give me the job as soon as he set his eyes upon me. How do I know this you might ask? He told me. His words that are now engraved on my mind were “you would be qualified to work in our warehouse because of your tattoos, not in the office where our customers could see you”…

See moreof what Tyler did next at www.RedemptionBrand.com.

Charliegh Tees

admin    T-Shirt Reviews     California, Charliegh, minimalist, retro tees, vintage tees

Here’s a new launch for you, Charliegh is a Californian label with a brand spanking new collection of cool slick tees for the girl or guy around town. Offering up a blend of graphic and logo design, there’s something extremely laid back and retro about the house style. Exactly what I have come to expect from the West Coast, oodles of cool laid over a bed of vintage savvy. What’s more they’ve got a really big deal on offer right now…

Purchase any of their tees and get yourself a totally free typography t-shirt! The label is aiming at a unisex look and the designs back that notion, still it would be nice to see a ladies cut too. All the tees are available at $20 ea. in all sizes – anyway, take a looksie for yourself:

Define Yourself Tee

Emblem Tee

Anchor Tee

Free Typography Tees

Hop over to www.charliegh.com for the full low down.

A Fistful of T-Shirts

admin    T-Shirt News     Fistful Apparel, Mexican Wrestlers, comic art, comics, retro shirts, vintage tees

Fistful Apparel based in Tampa Florida is a brand a new clothing line from Calavera Comics who are well known for their authentic vintage-feel style and passion for Mexican masked wrestlers. Their online store is up and running at www.fistfulapparel.com, and they’ve just yesterday introduced their first selection of t-shirts for men and women.

Fistful has a dedicated following, check out this selection of their work at Behance to see why. The demand is most certainly there, and at last the highly talented team of founders illustrator Alexis Ziritt (do check out his Metal on Metal t-shirt at Threadless which is yet more evidence that Threadless ignore their best talents) and designer/colourist/letterer Mark Malazarte, graphic designer/Renaissance Man Mike Houlihan and a constant stream of collaborative talent have made their mark on the psyche of a generation of comic fans across the world. Founded in 2005 their unique comics and illustrations are inspired by cult and genre cinema, Japanese and European comics, Mexican culture, movie poster design, plus the whimsy and aesthetics of the Silver Age of Comic Books, Fistful specializes in creating hand-rendered art, keeping true to the Calavera slogan: “Comics with cojones”.

For their initial launch, their first 20 customers will receive a comic book from (Italian-based) Passenger Press or a sketchbook from Alexis Ziritt. T‐shirts are normally priced from $20-$24; but for the first week will range from $18-$20 as part of the presale.

Dudes T-Shirt

Lonerider T-Shirt

Create T-Shirt (Womens)

Fistful t-shirts are currently available for pre-order now and for news updates as well as what goes on behind the scenes, visit the official Fistful blog at: http://fistfulapparel.tumblr.com.

Now, the tees on offer are great so don’t get me wrong on this, one is by Alex Ziritt, the others by Josh Agerstrand (who I am already a fan of) and Ralph Niese, but I was expecting something more like this…

Let’s hope the next batch of t-shirts are more representative of what we all love about Calavera, mean ‘n’ nasty masked wrestlers and superb vintage graphic treatments. I’d add some all-over prints to that wish list too :p

A Trip Back in Time – Maiden Voyage Clothing

admin    T-Shirt Reviews     Maiden Voyage Clothing, graphic tees, illustration, maritime shirts, vintage t-shirts, vintage tees

I bumped into these guys on Twitter and was immediately besotted with their site. Normally I don’t approve of website music but I have to admit it adds to the oldie-worldie atmosphere at Maiden Voyage Clothing although if the Laurel and Hardy in Egypt old-time jazz tune is starting to grate then you’ll find an on/off switch bottom right of the screen. There are only four designs on offer right now, but I’m guessing that they haven’t been going long, and besides they are rather cool so give them a break. BTW I can’t provide links to each tee, it’s a Flash site however they are in the process of redesigning the website in a more traditional and link friendly fashion.

MVC definitely want evoke a times past, a culture of tall ships and tall stories. Everything from the music, the store design and the tees themselves seem more akin to the turn of the 20th Century than the 21st. They’ve really put a lot of thought into the whole set up, and I’d imagine if they packed the store with more top-notch t-shirts they’d build themselves a rather respectable following. The name was inspired by the excitement and endeavours of a slice of history where every trip was a big adventure, be it via Zeppelin, ship or propeller driven plane, most likely you’d be one of if not the first to visit your destination in that fashion.

A slice of history where fantasy and reality merged quite frequently, still following a tradition for, let’s shall we say exaggerating, be it the splendour of lost cities, the size of unknown creatures or a race of giants, the abundance of gold and other precious finds. At this, perhaps in hindsight one of the most exciting times in history suffered from a Chinese whisper syndrome, exaggeration was infection, the world of mass-communication hadn’t quite arrived yet and many adventurers did have a habit of fibbing.  MVC want to recapture that spirit of mystery and excitement for the undiscovered, something we on this overcrowded world sadly lack these days. Roll on the space age I say.

Bears in Tandem T-Shirt

The Bears in Tandem tee is probably my favourite, available for $28 in sizes XS to M. I love the use of all-over printing and the illustration itself is rather gorgeous. Fur is a tricky texture to draw in monotone. Nice sepia effect too.

Fishtachio T-Shirt

Here’s a lovely piece of surrealism in the form of the imaginatively titled Fishtacio. The fish leaping through the loops of the tash and the subtle lines marking out the reflection really add to the design. Available for guys in sizes XS to XL for $28.

Flagship T-Shirt

Aptly enough the Flagship tee features an impressively drawn clipper ship in both white (XS to XXL) and blue (XS to XL), both available for $28. A very slick piece of old fashioned etching style illustration. A really smart incorporation of the brand too.

You can visit Maiden Voyage Clothing’s store at www.MaidenClothingCompany.com or keep up with them at Twitter.

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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What A Card – New Funny Tees At Busted

admin    T-Shirt News     BustedTees.com, busted tees, funny t shirts, humour tees, retro tees, someecards, vintage tees

Got a friendly little email from Diana Chang at the snarky ecard site Someecards.com – and wouldn’t you know it they’ve started selling their designs as tees – makes sense to me. Anyway here’s where you’ll find their tees – http://www.bustedtees.com/someecards. Yep they’re at Busted Tees which is quite a coup, I guarantee that many of these t-shirts are going to sell out, not just because they’re genuinely funny in a faux-retro post modern sneering fashion, but also down to the fact their holding sale at the moment.

Usually on sale for $20 each you can get some of them now with a whopping 60% discount for a paltry $8 – the sale ranges from 15% up. Take a look at some of my personal faves for some idea of their humour wavelength – it’s vintage, dry as the Sahara, pithy as a week old lemon and as sarcastic as any celebrity gossip blogger. read more

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