Brand #3: Springford

Circulation: Common

Era: Late 70s to 1990

Information: This brand of t-shirt emerged in the late 1970s as a general purpose blank. By the mid 1980s Springford developed some ties within the music industry and they shifted focus to became one of the most popular choices for rock tees throughout the decade. The tag seemed to vanish after the year 1990, so it was likely bought out by a larger manufacturer or it went belly up when alternative rocked the industry.

Absolutely no information can be found about the history of this company, if you have any knowledge please comment below.

The various phases of the tag design above spans from the late 1970s to 1990.

• View the previous Hanes brand.
• Check out our forum discussions on brands.
• View the entire gallery of vintage t-shirt brands.

Brand #2: Hanes

Circulation: Common

Era: 1910-present

Information: A legendary vintage brand that has been in circulation for almost 110 years (and the only label featured in our guide that’s still in production.) In 1901 J. Wesley Hanes founded Shamrock Mills which was originally a manufacturer of men’s hosiery.

In 1910 the company became known as Hanes Knitting and by 1920 they expanded in to “undershirts”. In 1975 Hanes introduced the Beefy-T; In 1980 a separate division was created in the company called Hanes Printables to manufacture and distribute blanks for printing.

The various phases of the tag design above spans from the 1940s to the 1990s.

• View the previous Screen Stars brand.
• Check out our forum discussions on brands.
• View our more general vintage t-shirt brand guide.

Brand #1: Screen Stars

Circulation: Common

Era: Late 70s – Mid 90s

Information: Screen Stars is a staple within the vintage community and widely considered by enthusiasts as one of the best fitting, best quality vintage t-shirt brands. It was first manufactured in the late 1970s and went on to become the screen printing industry’s choice blank throughout the 1980s. The tag has featured numerous design incarnations throughout its existence which has displayed sizing from kids to a rare vintage adult XXXL.

In the 1990s the label read “Screen Stars Best” which eventually became a branded extension of the Fruit of the Loom corporation. It’s unclear if FOTL manufactured Screen Stars since its inception or acquired it during later years.

• View our vintage t-shirt brand guide.
• Check out our forum discussions with later versions of Screen Stars tags.