A comprehensive resource of defunct t-shirt labels manufactured prior to the year 2000.
Vintage T-Shirt Collective
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Marshall Lester
January 18, 2012 by Jimmy J · 1 Comment
Brand #27: Marshall Lester
Circulation: Common
Era: Late 1950s-?
Information: With Britain suffering from U.S.A.mania the t-shirt explosion was felt across the pond. Scott Lester made a healthy living manufacturing flags and patches for retailers while fathering his boy Marshall. In his early twenties Marshall started doodling all things American: cities, cars, you name it. Then he had them printed on tees and sent them out for sale just to see what would happen. Well, some serious sh*t happened. As the story goes a few days later the first of the Brighton Mods-and-Rockers riots went down. Marshall Lester watched it on television and noticed the Mods were wearing his t-shirts.
Despite the blood stained hooligans who popularized the shirts each one contained delicate washing instructions “by hand using mild soap flakes in luke warm water. Squeeze gently – do not rub.”
It quickly became the t-shirt for those in the know. Marshall designed, his father’s operation manufactured and the blanks became a destination for discerning European screen printers. Many of the rarest vintage rock tees bear the Marshall label. The slogan on some of the labels made their success clear: “The World’s Leading T-Shirt Printers.” Exactly how long the brand lasted is unclear.
If you have any additional info on Marshall Lester 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 Crazy Shirts brand.
Crazy Shirts
January 5, 2012 by Jimmy J · 1 Comment
A comprehensive resource of defunct t-shirt labels manufactured prior to the year 2000.
Brand #26: Crazy Shirts
Circulation: Common
Era: Late 1960s-current
Information: Who knew an operation that started in a little Hawaiian shack in 1964 would grow in to 41 locations worldwide? They began as screen printers but Crazy Shirts went on to manufacture and print their own tees rather than just distributing blanks. Then they piggybacked the surfing explosion in the 1970s by reaching out to a global market via magazine mail order. Crazy Shirts quite frequently held exclusive licensing deals throughout their years, most notably Kliban Cat, which they still hold to this day.
Their colorful embroidered tags are a standout from other brands – and especially the smaller exterior tag sometimes situated on the bottom hem of their tees.
If you have any additional info on Crazy Shirts 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 Belton brand.
Belton
November 4, 2011 by Jimmy J · 2 Comments
A comprehensive resource of defunct t-shirt labels manufactured prior to the year 2000.
Brand #25: Belton
Circulation: Common
Era: Late 1970s-1990s
Information: Here’s the scoop on Belton from Bad Otis Link who named this brand his blank t-shirt of choice in the 1980s:
Belton tees came from a small town in South Carolina by the same name. Belton was a cotton belt town and had Belton mills there which are all closed now. I was told that the company at one time employed the entire town. The only place that I got Beltons from was AJS, a t-shirt wholesaler in Huntington Beach, they only sold 50/50 shirts. AJS was related to the much bigger distributor across the street called Kaufenburg who only sold 100% cotton stuff and was much more expensive. They were both on Graham Street. Everything is shutdown now and made outside the USA. Sucks.
If you have any additional info on Belton 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 B.V.D. brand.
B.V.D.
August 26, 2011 by Jimmy J · 1 Comment
A comprehensive resource of defunct t-shirt labels manufactured prior to the year 2000.
Brand #24: BVD
Circulation: Common
Era: 1800s-present
Information: BVD was founded in New York in 1876 by Bradley, Voorhees & Day. They first manufactured garments for women but were better known for their one-piece underwear (union suits) for men.
In 1930 the company was purchased by Atlas Underwear and it became a line of swimwear for women and men. In 1951, the brand was purchased by Superior Mills and BVD represented a line of sportops, fashionable undies and t-shirts of all types. In 1976 the brand was purchased by Fruit of the Loom who distributed the it globally until 2002 when Berkshire Hathaway purchased FOTL.
Despite the company changing hands numerous times the rich history of BVD has kept it a visible brand to this day. It’s currently a line of underwear for men.
Have a photo of a tag design we missed? Please share it by clicking on “+image” below the comments field!
- View the previous Nike brand.
Nike
August 7, 2011 by Jimmy J · Leave a Comment
A comprehensive resource of defunct t-shirt labels manufactured prior to the year 2000.
Brand #23: Nike
Circulation: Varies
Era: 1970s-present
Information: According to our pals over at Wicked Threadz each of the above tags were circulated during the following years:
- Pinwheel (1978-1980)
- Orange Sportswear (1980-1983)
- Blue (1984-1988)
- Grey (1989-1993)
Have a photo of a tag design we missed? Please share it by clicking on “+image” below the comments field!
- View the previous Wolf brand.