An ongoing project to document all of the exquisite vintage Harley Davidson clothing.
Vintage T-Shirt Collective
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The Malaysian Vintage Invasion
September 29, 2009 by Jimmy J · 26 Comments
In the last three years the vintage clothing market has erupted in Malaysia and used clothing shops (kedai bundle) have been sprouting up in every state and village. Traditionally Malaysia’s second hand clothing business (baju bundle) has provided the general public with inexpensive clothing just like North American thrift stores. That said, the Malaysian vintage market has recently become much more similar to Japan’s. When the their boom settles most predict it will be a mainstay in their culture going forward – like Japan’s decades old passion for these goods.
In the meantime Malaysia’s surging demand has textile importers from Korea and Singapore shifting their distribution networks to this new destination. And where there’s piles of used clothing – there’s collectors digging through them. Yes, every so often they too discover the needle in the vintage haystack: a concert t-shirt or pair of vintage big e levi’s jeans.
And for those who don’t dig the digging, Malaysia’s premium vintage shops (brick and mortar) are so plentiful they outnumber most cities in North America, respectively. If you can’t afford the flight for a Malaysian vintage shopping spree you can always venture in to their online realm. Respect to them for courageously operating independently from the monopoly that is eBay. Instead they negotiate sales via their blogs and since they freely link to one another they all benefit from the strength of the community.
I just spent two hours wormholing around them uncovering a vintage blogging world I didn’t know existed. Then came the daunting task of selecting only five to feature all the while knowing that I only saw a small percentage of them. Yes, there’s that many and yes, I’m lazy.
Check ‘em out:
If you run a vintage Malaysian blog shop and would like to be featured, please contact us.
What Dat Is?
September 26, 2009 by Jimmy J · 2 Comments
In this section I highlight the worst vintage t-shirts ever created. No, I don’t mean bad in the 1980s Michael Jackson way either, I mean offensive, vile, in poor taste, politically incorrect, or just plain ugly.
T-Shirt: B-Rock & The Bizz “My Baby Daddy”
Type: Band
Offense: An ugly design only a mother could love.
Uses: Attire for a Maury Povich paternity episode.
At only 12 years of age this shirt doesn’t qualify under our definition of vintage. However, its crimes against the t-shirt and music community are so horrific it qualifies as a young offender and we want to make an example out of it.
I love one-hit-wonders because 9 times out of 10 they are decent tunes on some level. Meet #10 – the song that should never have been a hit in the first place: My Baby Daddy by B-Rock & The Bizz. In 1998 this tune was evicted from the darkest recesses of my mind by the Venga Boys when they formally announced that they liked to party. I welcomed the Boys with open arms because it’s a scientific fact that there can only be one annoying song that plays on repeat in your subconscious. They have since overstayed their welcome.
My Baby Daddy features the most annoying voice ever recorded for the purpose of music, “that’s just my baby daddy” which is a response to the nonsensical question, “who dat is?” both are repeated over and over until the song is finally over, thank god. If this isn’t ringing any bells, we highly suggest you keep it that way. But if you’re really curious and have considered having a frontal lobotomy anyway, then here’s the video.
Aside from glorifying a bad song – the biggest strike against this shirt is the gaudy full-coverage-photo-collage style that so many mid ’90s R&B/hip hop shirts were designed in. A dark era of t-shirt design that was thankfully short-lived.
The more I rake it over the coals the more I realize this shirt deserves to be adopted by a responsible parent who wears it for the right reasons. Buy low, stash it away and three years from now you’ll be happy you did. If you’ve got the patience, shirtswithballs is accepting applicants.
- Check out the previous worst tee: vintage marky mark t-shirt.
Nike Basketball Catalog 1988
September 24, 2009 by Karl · Leave a Comment
Good stuff from Vintage Union, a fellow blogger and vintage sneaker collector. Some scans of a vintage Nike catalog from 1988…great line up, I can’t pick the one I like most….
The King of Queen Shirts?
September 21, 2009 by Jimmy J · 7 Comments
Every so often we feature an interesting vintage clothing piece that’s currently up for grabs on eBay. Please inform us if you create or discover an auction we might like.
Item: vintage 1986 QUEEN The Magic Tour t-shirt
Brand: No Tag
Sold By: VintagePimps
What the Seller Says: This auction is for a rare 1986 Queen A Kind of Magic Tour t-shirt. This was the last show that Freddie Mercury played with Queen. Look at the date on the back. This shirt is listed with vintage collectors as the rarest Queen shirt out there!
What we Say: According to a book we reviewed – Vintage T-Shirts, “This shirt is much sought-after by collectors. The chances of finding one are negligible.” We don’t agree with this statement given there are much older and far more rare queen tees than this one, but a cool tee nonetheless.
[phpbay]vintage queen t-shirt, 12, “”, “”, “”, “”, “”, “”, “”, “”, “”, “queen”, “4″[/phpbay]
Bad to the Bones
September 19, 2009 by Jimmy J · Leave a Comment
Item #12: Harley Davidson Skull & Cross Bones T-Shirt
Availability: Explore vintage Harley Tees on eBay
Decade: 1970s
Label: Generic
Dealer Customization: H.D. Performance Specialists, Park Ridge, N.J.
Harley Fact: In the 1970s Jay Springsteen won three consecutive Grand National Championships riding a Harley.
Approximate value: $200-$300
- View the previous vintage Harley Davidson Champion runner t-shirt.
- View the entire gallery of vintage Harley Davidson clothing.