An ongoing project to document all of the exquisite vintage Harley Davidson t-shirts.
Vintage T-Shirt Collective
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Boy Bands
June 23, 2010 by Jimmy J · 5 Comments
Can you identify all six boy bands from these close-ups of vintage t-shirt screen prints? Post your guesses in the comments section!
- See if you can name the Teen Movies in our last Screen Test.
- Check out the entire series of vintage screen print quizzes.
Eagle & Crossbones
June 22, 2010 by Jimmy J · 1 Comment
Item #28: Eagle & Crossbones t-shirt
Availability: Explore Vintage Harley Tees on eBay
Decade: 1970s
Dealer Customization: None
Harley Fact: The eagle is the symbol of freedom in life. The skull and crossbones are the symbols of freedom from life.
Approximate value: $250-$500
Big Jim
June 20, 2010 by Jimmy J · Leave a Comment
I acquired this shirt in 2004 when I first got in to the vintage clothing business. I was exiting the bar racket and ready for a new adventure. Coincidentally the real estate agent executing the sale of my bar had recently met a gentleman who was well versed in vintage. She described an amazing warehouse full of antique clothing that was renown for supplying the film industry throughout the 1990s. Thirsty for knowledge and starved for inventory I asked to be connected with him as soon as possible. She told me it was downtown and asked me where I lived. When I told her my street name her eyes bulged out of her head, “well you wont have to go far, the warehouse is located on your street!” I told her I lived at #22 and she was even more excited to report he was located at #24. How could this be possible? There were no warehouses on my street and #24 was just an old low-rise apartment building. “Actually it’s 24A, you have to go down an alley” she explained.
Turns out she was right, it was directly across the street, fate only a few steps from home. Behind the apartment building rested a coach house I had never seen in almost 10 years of living adjacent to it. I quickly scheduled a meeting with the gentleman who operated the business. A few days later he took me on a tour and my eyes did a lot of bulging of their own. We explored two levels, multiple rooms and I got my first glimpse at what I believe to be the best collection of vintage clothing in the world.
I mentioned I had a specific interest in vintage t-shirts so our final stop in this museum-esque venue was a rack filled with them. They were all gems but this Big Jim ringer immediately caught my eye. I explained to him that Big Jim was a nickname my father gave me as a kid. He used it every chance got, on every card and during every introduction, “meet Big Jim” he would say. I loved it, because lil’ dudes always long to be big guys. The curator told me that Big Jim was a line of action figures that were popular in the early 1970s. Not only was he an expert in vintage clothing but also of vintage toys and a vast selection of other collectibles. Indeed the shirt was sized for a child and with closer inspection I noticed tiny print below the image which read “©1974 Mattel Canada”. That’s the year I was born. At that moment it occurred to me that this toy may have been the inspiration for my nickname. Well versed in appraising sentimental value he took it off the rack and handed it to me as a gift. In the days and years that followed he would go on to be an important mentor to me as well as a good friend. The t-shirt has always been the most closely guarded one in my collection.
As to whether the Big Jim toy is responsible for the nickname my father gave me, I can’t say for sure. I haven’t seen my father since I was 15 years old. Hopefully one day I will get to ask him in person.
- View the vintage 3D Alien shirt previously featured in My Vintage T-Shirt.
- If you have a rare vintage t-shirt and a story please contact us.
Bantam(s)
June 19, 2010 by Jimmy J · Leave a Comment
A comprehensive resource of defunct t-shirt labels manufactured prior to the year 2000.
Brand #8: Bantams, Bantam
Circulation: Fairly Common
Era: Late 1970s to late 1980s
Information: The original Bantams tag (far left) featured two roosters who appear to be engaged in a cock fight. At some point in the early 80s the tag was revamped to feature a single rooster and the “s” was dropped from the name. Perhaps one rooster killed the other during the viscous battle? We can only assume given there’s no information about the vintage Bantam(s) brand anywhere. What we do know is that the term ‘bantam’ originated from the city of Bantam which was a major seaport in Indonesia that supplied small poultry to European sailors.
If you have any info on Bantam please comment below.
Have a photo of a tag design we missed? Please share it by clicking on “+image” below the comments field!
- View the previous SSI brand.
The Exterminator
June 18, 2010 by Jimmy J · Leave a Comment
A gallery of vintage video game tees and screen shots for the original joystick wielders.
Video Game T-Shirt #2: Centipede
Availability: Check eBay
Available to Play Online: Yes
Released: 1980
Platforms: Stand-up Arcade, Atari Systems, Apple II, Commodore 64
Gameplay: Place your hand on the trackball to scroll the humanoid head around the bottom of the screen. Your nemesis appears at the top of the screen and starts winding down one level every time it encounters a mushroom. The fire button was automatic which would shoot quickly if the round struck a target. The novice player (me) would destroy the body one segment at a time which caused the insect to split and each new segment had a mind of its own. The trick was to use the ‘shrooms to strategically to line up the ‘pede and make use of the quick auto-fire to annihilate every piece of its body in one fell swoop. Spiders, scorpions and fleas also join the action to really bug you.
Facts: This game was very popular with the ladies and it was developed by one of the only women in the business at the time. The “high tech” Centipede sound effects made their way in to Knight Rider when K.I.T.T. was running a scan.
- Check out and play our last video game t-shirt Leisure Suit Larry.