Category: Bootlegs

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

A previous article explained why a torn t-shirt tag could indicate the print is a bootleg. It’s no surprise that bootleggers preferred printing on budget t-shirts, and a torn tag can indicate a factory second, or reject, that bootleggers would buy at discounted prices. But what other types of tags are a red flag for a bootleg tee? Bootleggers were mostly nickel and dime operations that wanted to make some quick cash, but they were also very aware their inventory could get confiscated. With that in mind, you can bet they wanted to spend as little as possible on their ... Read more

It’s important to note that I’m focusing on bootlegs that are actually vintage, so at least 20 years old. This has nothing to do with modern bootlegs that feature counterfeit tags like the ones showcased in our fake tag archive. Those are meant to be vintage knock-offs, while vintage bootlegs are two decades old, often feature original artwork, and are generally accepted by the vintage community. In the mid-2000s I connected with a gentleman who was a concert merch manager in the 1980s and 90s. He had thousands of vintage t-shirts in storage – and we partnered up to sell ... Read more

In today’s day and age, where vintage t-shirts are fetching top dollar, dishonest people are using every trick in the book to fool us. Due to an influx of convincing counterfeit tags in the last decade, we recently authored a guide to authenticating a t-shirt using the tag. And we also started an archive of fake tags project so you can easily spot them in the wild. But what if the counterfeiter extracts a genuine vintage tag from another shirt – and installs it into a fake? What is a Sewn-in tag? This is the practice of installing a foreign ... Read more

In preparation for the launch of our forthcoming vintage t-shirt authentication app, Legiteem8, we set out to determine authentication knowledge among the community. So we devised a quiz with 22 authenticity-related questions to put the community’s knowhow to the test. We also wanted to reward those who performed well with a badge bump, or two, within the app once it launches. Legiteem8 features a badge system that rates members’ performance over time, but we wanted to hit the ground running at launch – and pre-populate the app with users who are already savvy authenticators. 310 people participated. No one scored ... Read more