Vintage T-Shirt Collective
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If I Absolutely Had to Wear a New Shirt…
August 13, 2008 by defunkd · Leave a Comment
As an ambassador of vintage t-shirts I always represent in one. What if, by some strange circumstance, the fate of the world relied on me wearing a brand new tee? This section is dedicated to the ones I would put on to save our planet. You’re welcome.
This bar fight t-shirt by the Ames Bros is a knock-out design. It’s one of those images you can look at time and time again and discover something new. Like that one guy totally getting kneed in the nards. Take my word for it, save yourself the agony. You might have luck snagging this badboy for cheap via eBay, click here for a targeted search.
The 10 Rules of a Bar Fight
1. Country Music is usually playing in the background, which is probably why people are so agitated in the first place.
2. They almost always start during a card game when one player discovers another is cheating. Subsection a) card is usually found up a player’s sleeve.
3. Vintage pearl snap western shirts are preferred by bar fighters.
4. After the first punch is thrown everyone spontaneously begins fighting. Even people who were seemingly best friends prior and don’t even know why it started. The only exception to this rule is the bartender.
5. Someone is always thrown on top of the bar and is then slid down length of it until they smash in to a display of liquor bottles and/or glassware.
6. Someone’s head always goes through the jukebox, the record skips, and another one starts playing.
7. If it’s a pre-jukebox bar fight then there’s always a piano player. He continues to play during the fight, until such time as someone is thrown across his keys.
8. A half empty bottle, most likely whiskey, is always shattered over someone’s head.
9. A table will always collapse when two wrestling fighters fall on it. A wooden chair or a pool cue will always break when smashed across someone’s back.
10. Patrick Swayze is the king of all bar fighters.
Vintage Cooler Endorsed by the Devil
August 9, 2008 by defunkd · 1 Comment
This week’s strange and unusual eBay auction comes from the operator of an odds and ends collectibles store called Fancy Thangs.  It all began days ago when the proprietor of the store purchased a 1960s cooler from a dude at a garage sale. Here’s the kicker: dude’s leg was broken because he tripped over the cooler weeks earlier. All he wanted was to break off his relationship with it. The price tag is never disclosed in the auction details, but let’s assume it didn’t cost an arm and a broken leg.Â
Once the cooler landed at its new home, it immediately started raising hell. It killed roses, freaked out the family dog and caused a big black ant infestation. The unhappy new owners investigated further and discovered the cooler had a manufacturing date of June 1966. If I have to spell it out for you, that’s, six six six. If you still don’t get it the cooler was born on 666. For god’s sake, pay attention, it’s the sign of the devil!
The Coleman company couldn’t ask for a better free celebrity endorsement. Who better to represent a product hell-bent on maintaining its cool than a being who hangs out in the extreme temperatures of hell.
The opening bid is $9.99, which is 66.6$ when rotated 180 degrees, which is the precise temperature of hell. And when I subtract the two I’m left with a number that has absolutely no relevance at all. Freaky.
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An X-Wing Shirt Worth Fighting For
August 8, 2008 by defunkd · 4 Comments
Each week we feature an interesting vintage tee that’s currently on the eBay auction block. Please feel free to link us if you create or discover an auction we might like.  Â
Description:Â Vintage 70s Star Wars T-Shirt Large RARE
Measurements: 21 inches from pit to pit and 29.5 inches from top to bottom
Sold by:Â BeverlyHooligans
What the Seller Says: Excellent vintage condition. It has scattered fading all over the shirt. It has a pin sized hole at the bottom of the back.
What we Say:Â This is a gem. Definitely not your typical Star Wars logo, and no Lucas fine print – which makes it even better if you ask me. If it only sold for the opening bid I’d be more surprised than Luke was when Darth dished the details about his DNA.Â
Final Price: $300.00
Going Once, Going Twice, Going Broke
August 4, 2008 by Jimmy J · Leave a Comment
Every two weeks we scour through eBay’s past auctions and report which relics are fetching the big bucks. Even more reasons to raid your granny’s closet.
- Dress:Â Vintage 1960s Emilio Pucci Silk $1125.00Â sold by: koko1954
- Shirt: Vintage 1972 Rolling Stones Tour $374.99Â sold by: ninnak_03
- Track Suit: Vintage 1970s Fila Bjorn Borg $399.00 sold by: dxst2k
- Hat:Â Vintage 1920s Beaded Cowboy $511.01Â sold by: j-trail
Tampa Rays Hot, Throwback Shirts Not
August 1, 2008 by Jimmy J · 2 Comments
This is the Tampa Rays’ 10th year in baseball; and how time flies when you’re not having fun. During their tenure they have sunk to last place in their division eight out of nine years. In the current day bizarro American League division, the Rays are in first place and have the second-best record in all of baseball.
Why am I writing about this? What does this have to do with the price of vintage tees in China? Monitoring current trends is a key to success in the vintage t-shirt market, or any market for that matter. When the Red Sox are doing well, the value of their vintage merchandise skyrockets faster than a David Ortiz clutch home run. Fans of all sports love to go throwback, especially in the midst of a great season.
But as far as Rays fans go, their throwback shirts are hanging way below the Mendoza clothes line. Most of them are going unsold, even when the opening bid is only $6. In 2007 the Tampa Devil Rays exorcised the “Devil” from their name. Die hard fans usually appreciate the novelty of name and logo changes making the various incarnations of previous branding a hot commodity.  Not in Tampa where despite the team’s first breakthrough season, fans could care less about their inaugural t-shirts.
Do the fans here suck? Probably. But do you blame them? Try putting yourself in their cleats for a moment. Rays fans are a nine year by-product of the worst team in baseball. Team loyalty aside, would you want to wear their merchandise? The branding has always looked more like a theme park ride than a team. Worse yet, purple was a mainstay in their palette. The only person who can pull off purple is Grimace, and he’s not even a person.
So what’s the solution? Well, more than just a winning season is needed before Rays gear ever becomes throwback cool. Add at least five more competitive seasons, at least one World Series berth and a boat load of resuscitated fans. Then wait for that rare moment in fashion when purple is all the rage. Good luck.
