Vintage T-Shirt Collective
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And The Award For Best T-Shirts in a Movie…
February 23, 2009 by Jimmy J · 22 Comments
Meet costume designer Susan Matheson, Tinseltown’s go-to gal when a flick calls for a vintage t-shirt wardrobe. Her recent work on Step Brothers caused a frenzy of fans searching for the vintage Converse t-shirt John C. Reilly wore throughout the movie. Wondering where you can get one? Read on. I first met Susan while she was browsing through our store a few years ago. Yes, we’re happy a shirt we provided made a 15 second cameo in the film. Oh, and Susan has many times seen Will Ferrell in his undies, but then again, who hasn’t?
What’s your all-time favorite t-shirt and the rarest one you own?
Right now I have a fantastic Ice Cube “Wanted by FBI” t-shirt that I can’t get enough of. I tried to use it in the film “Friday Night Lights” but Ice Cube wouldn’t give me permission, so instead it has become my favourite sleep shirt. The most valuable t-shirt I own was made by “World’s End”, Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood‘s label from the early 1980s. I dragged my mother to the World’s End store and bought one of the t-shirts from the Pirates collection in London in 1981 when I was a teenager. My older brother had bought “Never Mind The Bollock’s Here’s The Sex Pistols” on the street in London in 1977 and even though I was a kid at the time, from that moment on the Punk Rock movement and Malcolm McLaren sparked my imagination. A couple of years ago I saw my beloved t-shirt on the market for about $1200.
Tell us a little bit about the process of dressing actors for a film.
It is impossible for me to find enough originals of these shirts in their sizes to be able to use in the movie as I often need as many as 12 of them. I have photo doubles, stunt doubles and the actor wearing the same item at the same time when we are shooting. This is why I have to manufacture enough multiples of the t-shirt in the correct sizes to be able to use them.
When I recreate a vintage t-shirt I have to copy it exactly, as otherwise I will never get the legal clearances that I need to be able to use it in a film. For example, the Yoda t-shirt that John C. Reilly wears in Step Brothers. This was a terribly expensive shirt to copy, it required about 15 screens eventually to get the print right.
All of the t-shirts that I have used on Will Ferrell have had to be recreated by me for him. A lot of my favourite t-shirts were originally meant for kids or women, so the sizes were always terribly wrong for him, as he is 6’4″. I’ll never forget the baby pink Crystal Gayle t-shirt that I used on him in Talladega Nights. I had purchased it at a thrift store in North Carolina and I loved it immediately as it was both so right and so wrong. Not only was the t-shirt pink, but her hair and lips were glitterized. Will loved it so much that he wore the Crystal Gayle t-shirt to the world premiere of Talladega Nights.
There’s a lot of red tape involved in getting permission to use a t-shirt in a film, can you break down the process? I was surprised to see so much Star Wars stuff.
I still can’t believe that Lucas film gave legal approval to Sony studios for the use of the Yoda t-shirt as well as the pajama pants that I made for Will from old Star Wars sheets. I was absolutely sure that they would never ever say yes as the Star Wars films were produced by 20th Century Fox. I started off with about 30 different Star Wars t-shirts and then narrowed it down to my favourite, the Yoda t-shirt.
On Step Brothers, I submitted legal clearance forms for well over 100 t-shirts and in the end only got clearance on about 20. It’s always the t-shirts that you think are going to be a sure thing that don’t get approved.
I have received fascinating letters from bands who have refused my t-shirt requests. One of the best refusal letters was from the remaining members of Nirvana. They wrote a very heartfelt personal letter about why they didn’t want to let me use the Nirvana smile t-shirt. On the other hand there are bands like AC/DC who always always approve requests for t-shirts and those are the very bands that I will never use in one of my films. If I see another film with a teenager wearing an AC/DC t-shirt I will have to gag. It’s become so cliche and it always tells me that people didn’t want to have to struggle to get something cool and different into the film. I always want to use something that people are surprised by and that they kind of have forgotten, but when they see it they have a warm and fuzzy feeling about it. I loved the Pablo Cruise t-shirt in Step Brothers for this very reason. Everyone who saw it paused for a moment and then said, wow, I remember them. I have since started up a correspondence with the lead singer of Pablo Cruise who was thrilled when his son saw it on Will.
What can you tell us about the Converse t-shirt John C. Reilly wore in Step Brothers?
It was quite difficult getting the crazy Converse Sneaker t-shirt into Step Brothers, but this is the one that everyone asks me about. It was a child’s t-shirt that I became obsessed with. The minute I found it I knew that I had to put it in a movie. Â Unfortunately no one agreed with me and in fact they probably thought I was having a bad bad taste day, as opposed to a good bad taste day. Eventually everyone surrendered because I had driven them crazy about it and had exhausted them into submission. If I love a t-shirt then I become like a snappy snarling dog with a bone, so I am thrilled to know that other people thought it was cool as well. Of course when the film comes out it’s usually the t-shirt that had the most bitter battles that is the one that everyone remembers and loves.
How far will you go to get a shirt?
Anytime I leave town on a road trip I will stop and hunt at local thrift stores. Some of my best Americana t-shirts I have actually found in foreign countries like New Zealand, believe it or not. I have to admit that I am ruthless when it comes to vintage t-shirts. My friends will never let me forget the time that I paid an old lady for the t-shirt that she was wearing. I went into a store with her and bought her a new shirt in exchange. It’s not that I’m ruthless because I personally want to own every fantastic t-shirt in the world, it’s more like I want to spread the t-shirt gospel and show people what amazing stuff is still out there.
Want to buy a tee? Check out The 20 Best Spots to Buy Vintage T-Shirts on eBay.
Check out our last interview with The Godfather of vintage heavy metal t-shirts.
For a Good Time Text Jenny: 867-5309
February 2, 2009 by Jimmy J · 3 Comments
We haven’t covered one of these in a while, but check out this strange and unusual auction for a telephone number made famous by Tommy Tutone. When “Jenny” was released in 1987 her number instantly became the top target of crank callers. According to the eBay listing and snopes.com the phone companies throughout North America have been grandfathering the number and now very few remain. Sadly, it appears as though Jenny’s days on the telephone are numbered.
Can You Spot a Fake Vintage T-Shirt?
January 12, 2009 by Jimmy J · 17 Comments
I purchased both of these t-shirts on eBay from different sellers who had an array of vintage t-shirts up for auction. Based on how they were listed, described and photographed, I bought them under the assumption they were true vintage articles.
Ooooops! Yes, even me, the guy who authored three guides on how to shop for a genuine vintage t-shirt on eBay, got duped! How could this happen? Well, truth be told, the most important factor on determining if a shirt is genuine can only be done while it’s in your possession. Pictures, descriptions, and other methods can deceive even the most seasoned vintage veteran.
We’re currently hard at play in the Defunkd Laboratories creating a few tests you can perform at home to ensure that shirts you’ve purchased are actually real. “Of course they are!” you say? Don’t be so sure. Hell, I got burned. When the voting closes in one week, we’ll reveal the correct answer and the exact methods we used on these t-shirts to test them.
Now let’s see if you can succeed where I failed. Can you spot the fake? Before you log your vote, feel free to study up on our vintage t-shirt guides - there’s plenty of useful information there that can be applied directly to these shirts.
To level the playing field, both t-shirts were photographed under the exact same lighting conditions, neither have been retouched, brightened or altered in any way.
Shirt #1 is in near mint condition. The print is bright and the tag is missing.
Shirt #2 has yellow stains. The print is faded and it’s tagged, “Screen Stars Best.”
Find out the chilling conclusion to the poll and the correct answer here.
Ring in The New Year With 1970s Flair
January 4, 2009 by Jimmy J · Leave a Comment
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.
Descriptions: Rolling Stones, Yes, Barry Manilow, Neil Diamond, Doobie Brothers, etc.
Sold by:Â kayo
What I Say:Â I’m ringing in 2009 with a bang by featuring a bundle of 13 auctions for rare 1970s rock t-shirts. They’re all in excellent shape, but sizing is an issue here since they’re all small, and 1970s small at that. Don’t plan on wearing them unless you’re extremely petite, but consider adding them as a framable showpiece to your vintage tee collection.
15% Off at Wyco
December 15, 2008 by Jimmy J · Leave a Comment
Wyco Vintage is having a 15% sale on all their merchandise priced over $100. Translation: all their best stuff, over 200 items, are reduced. We featured Wyco on our list of the 20 Best Spots to Buy a Real Vintage T-Shirt, in the band tee category; so if you’re looking for a last minute gift, why not rock somebody’s socks off?
To view all the items on sale, click here.