A comprehensive resource of defunct t-shirt labels manufactured prior to the year 2000.
Vintage T-Shirt Collective
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Fake Screen Stars From Thailand-Pakistan
August 4, 2011 by Jimmy J · 12 Comments
#ScreenStarsFail:
Compare it to the real deal:
No type of sought after vintage clothing is safe from Thailand’s bootlegging enterprise. They’re increasingly setting their sights on vintage because it’s far less risky to bootleg defunct vintage brands than current ones who actively seek-out counterfeiters. We’ve all seen the fake Harley Champion tees that we learned were manufactured in Thailand and then imported by sneaky North American eBay sellers. Unfortunately not all of these forgeries are hack jobs, some are indistinguishable from the real deal even in the hands of experts.
It’s pretty scary stuff. Keep your eyes peeled and give us the heads-up if you spot something suspicious floating around eBay.
8/15/ Update: A source from Thailand confirms the Harley Champion tees are local but we’ve been told that the Screen Stars tags were actually manufactured in Pakistan and brought back to Bangkok.
The Rayon Craze
July 20, 2011 by Jimmy J · 9 Comments
In recent years the demand for rayon blended vintage tees has been a bi-product of the surge of vintage tee popularity in Thailand and Malaysia. A t-shirt with a tag that features a rayon blend can make even the most run-of-the-mill design much more desirable (and valuable.) Heads up to all you sellers and pickers out there – shirts you typically passed over during the pick can be well worth grabbing given these tags can trump a lame design. Many sellers on top of their game are now including “rayon” in the title of their listing if tee in question features the fiber. Furthermore, this trend has increased the price of already sought after prints that just to happen to be on a t-shirt with rayon.
What’s the big deal with rayon fabric blends? And why does the trend seem indigenous to these two countries? Well, it actually has a lot to do with the climate in this region of the world. Thailand and Malaysia both share a tropical climate characterized by heat and humidity. Contrary to popular belief, rayon isn’t an artificial fiber like polyester. However, it also doesn’t occur naturally like cotton. It’s classified as “manufactured” yet still a by-product of something natural unlike polyester. Rayon is ideal for hot and humid climates because it has the same absorptive and breathable qualities of cotton and it doesn’t insulate body heat like polyester. So a t-shirt that features a blend as such: 44% Poly, 43% Cotton and 13% Rayon (Wolf) makes it superior to a 50/50 poly/cotton blend in terms of comfortable wear in a tropical climate. Since the rayon has cotton like properties the t-shirt mimics the feel of a 44/56 poly/cotton blend – small percentages that are appreciated on a hot day.
Rayon tees with a more common blend of 50% poly, 35% cotton and 15% rayon are actually more durable than standard tees. Since they have a higher percentage of stronger fibers they can better withstand the test of time from wear and your washing machine. As the cotton deteriorates the other two fibers hold strong creating a micro ventilated shirt due to the lack of cotton fibers in the fabric weave. The optimal paper thin worn tees are those comprised partially of rayon because you’re still left with a fiber that has natural qualities when the cotton has called it quits.
And weather conditions aside, rayon just plain enhances the life of your vintage t-shirt. So seek ‘em out and wear ‘em more often.
Brands that are known to have a line of rayon blends:
[phpbay]vintage rayon t-shirt, 8, “”, “”, “”, “”, “”, “”, “”, “”, “”, “rayon”, “4″[/phpbay]
Wolf
July 20, 2011 by Jimmy J · Leave a Comment
Brand #22: H. Wolf & Sons
Circulation: Fairly common
Era: 1880s-1990s
Information: For a company obviously proud of their rich history in textiles (established in 1887!) none of it has been documented. The only solid information is what appears on their tags – aside from being situated in Cincinnati not much else is known.
Wolf were one of the few companies that had a rayon blend in select lines of their blank tees (44% Poly 43% Cotton 13% Rayon) and due to the recent demand for rayon has made the label more sought after. According to their trademark history in the 90s the brand became known as Wolfwear and Wolfstyle both of which are now defunct.
If you have any info on Wolf please comment below.
Have a photo of a tag design we missed? Please share it by clicking on “+image” below the comments field!
Tee Haus
July 13, 2011 by Jimmy J · Leave a Comment
A comprehensive resource of defunct t-shirt labels manufactured prior to the year 2000.
Brand #21: Tee Haus
Circulation: One-hit-wonder
Era: 1980s
Information: Another one tag design wonder – although there was two versions of the design, one printed, one embroidered. Aside from being manufactured in Brazil we can’t dig up any info about this company.
If you have any info on Tee Haus 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 Shirt-Tex brand.
Shirt-Tex
June 28, 2011 by Jimmy J · 2 Comments
A comprehensive resource of defunct t-shirt labels manufactured prior to the year 2000.
Brand #20: Shirt-Tex
Circulation: One-hit-wonder
Era: 1980s
Information: Another one tag incarnation, one decade wonder which only existed for a brief period of time in the 1980s. Aside from being based out of New York, nothing can be dug up about this company.
If you have any info on Shirt-Tex 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 Royal brand.