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.   

Description: Vintage 1985 3D EMBLEM TRUCKER T-Shirt

Measurements: pit-to-pit: 18.5″ front collar to bottom: 24.5″

Sold by: doublesixvintage

What the Seller Says: Up for grabs here is a killer ‘85 3D shirt in excellent condition. Aside from fading typical for its age and some light pilling, there’s no damage to report. 

What we Say: Remember when trucker hats were all the rage? Well, elderly gentleman (playing cards on street corners) and Aston Kutcher (playing pranks) are no longer headwear trendsetters. Now, vintage trucker themed shirts are on the road to collectible and sometimes haul in a few hundred bucks. The most popular ones are usually attached to the “3d Emblem” label that has recently been surging in the vintage community.

Final Price: $37.00

This week’s strange and unusual eBay auction comes from the lead singer (left) of a rock band titled, WAGSWAYZ. He has generously offered to come live in your home for one week if you bid at least $300. Interested? I was until I realized that he doesn’t do drugs and rarely drinks. What fun is that?

Also keep in mind you’re responsible for paying to have him flown in from Indiana. Damn, costs are staring to add up here and now I just really have my heart set on a creepy stranger living at my house. I’m thinking it might be cheaper to just pick up a hobo with a harmonica on the way home from work. Hold the phone… upon further review of the auction I realize he’s sweetened the deal! If he writes a song during his stay that ends up becoming a hit you’ll receive 40% of the royalties, and he already has radio play! Enter your bids now!

Traditionally gabardine is a fabric made of wool that is woven into a patten of diagonal parallel ribs. This method gives it a smooth feeling on one side and a textured surface on the other. It sounds sexy, but get your mind out of the gutter- it was invented in the late 19th century well before sex even existed. 

Best known for its use in the 1940s and ’50s it was infused with rayon or other synthetics, based in bright colors and used to create shirts, pants, overcoats and dresses. But these days it’s the vintage gabardine jackets that have collectors buzzing. The jackets are still quite commonly found on eBay but if you want to give yourself the gift of gab, hold out for one that is two-toned, has patterns, is reversible or any combination of the three.  

The atomic pattern is very sought after, as are argyle, cars, animals… pretty much any design under the rainbow except rainbows. And because the material had two appealing sides - both to the touch and eye - the most interesting pieces are reversible in order to maximize the fabric’s split personality. Some jackets feature a different colored interior using the opposite side of the fabric. Think two jackets in one: one casual morning matte, and another for flashy night-time sheen. But don’t expect to get a deal - it may be one article of clothing, but you’ll probably pay double for these features, as they can fetch up to $1,500.

You can take a look at the current gab jacket action by clicking here.

Kudos to vintage vendors Refreshmint for always providing some of the most eye-catching photos in the 20k+ results that eBay fetches for a “vintage shirt” search. 

In this recent listing it appears as though Refreshment aren’t just selling a shirt, they’re selling a lifestyle. And not a boring, stay-home-to-knit-little-boots-for-your-cat-“Fluffy” lifestyle. More like, full-on, celebrity-circuit paparazzi-prone partying. Never before have I seen a auction photos taken in the middle of a club  - it’s like eBay girls gone wild. Keep up the good work. 

What you get: SUPER SOFT WORN TO PERFECTION DEEP V NECK T SHIRT

What you don’t get: Girl, drinks, smokes and hangover.

A few moons ago the crew over at Hide Your Arms released the most extensive list of t-shirt blogs on the net. At last count (November 12/07) they reported 65 of them. Six months later they have updated the list and that figure has more than doubled to 133. Ya, ya, we’re not very original, but hey, we’re the only exclusively vintage blog, so there! 

And if you’re a vintage shirt lover, you most likely have love for all things T - so it’s definitely worth investigating the list.

Each week we feature an interesting vintage tee that’s currently on the eBay auction block.  

Description: Vintage 1979 Eagles Tour Jersey

Measurements: Pit-to-pit: 18.25″ Rear Collar to Bottom: 23.5″

Sold by: stormcrow-vintage

What the Seller Says: Original Eagles concert jersey from their 1979 the long run tour. Faded, buttery soft and thin. Faint stain at the bottom of print, two tiny dot stains at the top and a pea-sized hole on the back.

What We Say: This is Eagles Hotel California-COOL, not Eagles When Hell Freezes Over reunions-LAME. If it actually fit me I might forget about their post-1980s apocalyptic meltdown.

Final Price: $40.56

If you thought your Rock & Republic, Evisu and Diesel’s were expensive, get this: according to Guinness, the Gucci “Genius” jeans are the most expensive jeans in the world at $3,134. And to think they were just a regular pair of Guccis that got roughed-up and covered in beads… Since this world-record entry, numerous other companies have a leg up on the current champion. A pair of Escada Couture Swarovski Crystal jeans retails for $10,000, while a pair of APO-customized jeans with gold and diamonds will run you $4,000.

Bah, that’s chump change. In 2001 a vintage pair of Levi’s jeans went for over 10 times APO’s most expensive pair - fetching $46,542 on eBay. Who would pay such an amount? Well, the Levi Strauss Company did. Apparently they didn’t have any of their own stock left from 1880, so they bought them back… and most likely put them in a warehouse beside the Lost Ark.

In 1936, Levi’s began producing jeans with a red tab on the rear pocket and the ‘E’ used in the spelling was a capital. After 1971 it became lower case. “Big E” jeans regularly fetch between $500 to $1,500 on eBay. To familiarize yourself with what’s out there, use our custom eBay search by clicking here.

Aside from condition, there are a handful of features on Big E jeans that will increase their value. Here are a few:

• “Selvedge” can be found by flipping the leg inside-out to see how the seam was constructed. If there’s a strip of surplus material, you’ve got selvedge. If the white portion of that selvedge has a very thin red thread down it, even better. Just because you have selvedge doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll have a “redline.“
• Rivets are those little metal tabs that lend corner strength to areas like pockets. In most Levi’s jeans you’ll see the rivets on the outside corners of the pockets. If they aren’t visible from the outside, look inside. And if you notice they’re flat metal backs, you have jeans with “hidden rivets.“
• Seam construction - less seams means more $. The earlier vintage Levi’s primarily used “single stitch.“
• As far as color goes, indigo and two-tone are usually more sought after.

You can click either of the two photos above to explore the current inventory of vintage Levi’s jeans that are available on eBay.

More about vintage clothes and vintage t-shirts.

We’re inaugurating our top 5 list with a bang by covering some good old-fashioned hardcore thrash metal. You know, just like momma used to make. This isn’t a list of whose music is better; rather, who put out a better array of vintage t-shirts that could seriously harm a small child (while also putting a dent in their college savings account).

Click on either the band’s name or the photos below to be directed to a concise vintage t-shirts eBay search. 

1. SLAYER Value:$100-$750

Satan is very proud of Slayer’s merchandising. Death, dismemberment and other horrors of hell depicted alongside their blood-dripping logo usually intertwined in a pentagram. These guys make Motley Crue’s so-called Satanic image look like a unicorn ride through heaven.

2. MEGADETH Value: $50-$400

It’s definitely a close call between Slayer and Megadeth. A slight edge goes to Slayer because of the prices they fetch - thus we can assume they are more rare. Most of the artwork on Megadeth shirts is far more graphic, disturbing and in higher resolution. They also get bonus points for having an evil mascot named “Vic Rattlehead.” He’s basically thrash metal’s Ronald McDonald - and that’s just darn good evil marketing.

3. METALLICA Value: $50-$250

Metallica could have been #1. With famed horror artist Pushead on the team, they put out some pretty bad-ass skull and bones designs. The problem is that they started releasing shirts that weren’t the least bit demented, and re-issued their old shirts. Shame on them.

4. ANTHRAX Value: $50-$200

Named after a disease that kills livestock - Anthrax was responsible for putting the speed in 1980s metal. The shirts weren’t really all that disturbing. They had more of a cartoonish sense of humor sometimes complimented by curse words. Bonus points for free publicity resulting from the post 9-11 anthrax mail terror scare.

5. EXODUS & NUCLEAR ASSAULT (TIE) Value: $25-$125

Both played with a toxic/nuclear theme so we thought they deserved each other. Exodus showed flashes of cartoon horror brilliance, while Nuclear Assault played on our paranoia of the bomb being dropped.

6. Dishonorable Mentions

Sacred Reich, Overkill and Kreator. And if the ’90s counted - Testament. As far as the most consistently disgusting graphics? Cannibal Corpse takes the human flesh cake.

Additional info on vintage t-shirts

Every two weeks we scour through eBay’s past auctions and report which relics are fetching the big bucks. Even more reasons to raid your granny’s closet.

1. Hawaiian Shirt: 1940s hand painted Kawaihau $6000.00 sold by: on*the*ameche
2. T-shirt: 1950s Mad Magazine $449.00 sold by: rosamond07
3. Button Down/Polo Shirt: 1980s Ralph Lauren cycle $716.00 sold by: power24540
4. Pants/Jeans: 1950 Levi’s big E $895.00 sold by: sinaloacow
5. Hat: 1940s Helm’s Bakery drivers cap $1326.99 sold by: michaelsteel
6. Shoes: 1979 Nike Waffle II $585.00 sold by: ogsshoehead
7. Dress: 1970s Paco Rabbane chain sequin $1723.00 sold by: cdkeurope
8. Jacket: WWII A-2 flight jacket $1550.00 sold by: aviationetc

View all the previous auction action.