Category: Tees

The standard lore is that Crazy Shirts began in Honolulu, Hawaii in 1964; reached its apex in the 70s and 80s; and was on the verge of being gone forever by 2001. But there’s more. A lot more. This is a story with all the craggy and crooked madness of any true Southern California sartorial snapshot, a t-shirt tale told with twists and tumbles.  The main owner, Rick Ralston, had the seeds of the idea when he was a lad in Montebello, grabbing a can of spray paint and throwing a fresh coat and a quirky design over a plain ... Read more

From time to time a vintage t-shirt tag is suspected of being a counterfeit, when it actually isn’t. This is a sign of the times – we live in the era of convincing fake tags and none of us want to be fooled twice. Sometimes there are elements to a tag that are inconsistent with other versions and it sets off alarm bells. Other times it’s because the tag is lesser seen and most are unfamiliar with it – so it’s assumed to be fugazi. (After nearly 20 years in this business – I still see vintage t-shirt tags that ... Read more

What is Rap Tee Style? Rap tee style can be described as a collage of imagery layered on a background, typically featuring numerous faces. The fonts are typically outlined in white, with a color inside that often has a shading effect on it. Generally, the tees have a wide variety of colors. This style is often used to describe non-hip hop t-shirts, that aren’t technically Rap Tees – like Tiger Woods or even the Back Street Boys. And of course, they are bootlegs, unlicensed merch. Bay Club Bay Club-tagged vintage 1990s t-shirts are extremely valuable in today’s market. They typically ... Read more

You can always expect a storm when a vintage t-shirt sells for an exorbitant price. Back in 2011, it was the Led Zeppelin backstage pass t-shirt that sold for $10,000 on eBay. A decade later it was the Grateful Dead t-shirt that fetched $17,640 during a Sotheby’s auction. In 2020, the $6000 Disney Aladdin Genie t-shirt sent the most shockwaves through the vintage t-shirt community. It was sold during a pioneering Instagram live auction, hosted by Chris Fernandez, of 1980 Something Co. The $6k Genie sale happened during a perfect storm of factors. There was a raging pandemic that shut ... Read more

Resurreccion is a Mexico-based bootleg t-shirt that was formed in the early 90s. But it’s far more than just a typical bootleg operation given they were determined to create a lasting brand. The designs were original, big, and painstakingly printed. Rather than scouting out dirt cheap blanks, they mostly used ones they smuggled from the United States or bought shirts that didn’t pass the quality control. Resurreccion occupies a unique space in the vintage t-shirt universe, which is obvious given its value in modern times. According to Jesus at @vintagewitchfinder, someone shelled out $3000 for a Dragon Ball Z Resurreccion ... Read more