Defunkd

[Ritchie]

Hi All,

Do any t-shirt brands exist today that mimic accurately the look/fit of the t-shirts of the 70's and 80's? Any info/advice would be much appreciated! I'm pretty sure all the t-shirts from those time frames were Unisex, correct? Anything like that around these days?

[jimmyj]

Just a quick background, Ritchie is involved in making an indie film that will contain custom vintage wardrobe. Don't worry he's not looking to make repros.

All of the big modern day t-shirt producers make thick 100% cotton crap that are completely skewed in sizing. We all hate them. It's a sad thought that they too will one day be vintage. I hate to say it but the closest thing is American Apparel, they use poly blends, thinner material and vintage cuts.

But why go for modern day replicas....when you can score deadstock blank lots, they appear semi-frequently on eBay.

http://www.ebay.com/sch/items/?_nkw=vin ... =&LH_CAds=

Good luck!

[Frank]

Agreed with all of the above.

[Ritchie]

Yeah, I'm def keeping an eye on eBay for some vintage t-shirt dead-stock...Shame that box of Screen Stars had to ALL be pink as that would've been an amazing score...The bummer about American Apparel t-shirts is that they're so expensive...I hate the idea of paying that much for a t-shirt that I'm going to add a vintage iron on transfer to...Real shame that awesome old vintage style of t-shirt is basically history.

What really sucks is that I thought that the Fruit of the Loom BEST were direct remakes of the old Screen Stars t-shirts...Shame it's not the case.

[hermosavtg]

Quality of Screen Stars really dropped off when it went from the white to the black labels, probably circa 1988-1990.

Last time i check the cheapest contemporary blanks were the GILDAN at about $2. I remember American Apparel cost something like $5 for a blank There must be some middle ground, maybe the new 50/50's Anvil is producing.

I'm always on the look out for vintage blanks, which if i find on my regular rounds run from about 99¢ to $2

[chasemac]

Dude, if you're looking for blanks I know that either vintage villian or ghettovintage (i think one of the same) scored thousands of deadstock vintage threads from Screen Stars to Ched, to like Healthknit type stuff. If you're serious about it I guarantee if you hit them up they can help you out. Just a thought. I think they bought out an old screen printing company or something of that nature.

[jimmyj]

A screen printing company in the hands of an eBay vintage seller with a huge inventory of vintage blanks = scary.

[Johnny65]

A screen printing company in the hands of an eBay vintage seller with a huge inventory of vintage blanks = scary.

Scary. Agreed Jimmy.

But even if they are skilled enough to scan old art and successfully screen it on blanks they can't fake 25-30 years of patina no matter what chemicals they have at their disposal.

That's why you'll see these fakes listed as deadstock and usually only one color prints.

[CRAZYBUBBA]

But even if they are skilled enough to scan old art and successfully screen it on blanks they can't fake 25-30 years of patina no matter what chemicals they have at their disposal.

Even that's not too difficult. Just give them to factory workers and have them wear the shirts for one month straight.

[Johnny65]

Really?

I think you would just have a relatively new looking, stinky t-shirt with pit stains!

[Ritchie]

Thanks ALL for chiming in to help me out...

Ok, I've grabbed about 30 vintage iron on's so it's time to grab some blank t-shirts that'll look right for the film (which is set in 1987). I picked up 2 of the American Apparel t-shirts that were mentioned but I'm wondering if there's a cheaper alternative (that's of similar quality) as the best deal I found wasn't all that great....Anyway, so is there any 50/50 t-shirts you guys would suggest outside of the American Apparels? I haven't had any luck with deadstock 80's t-shirts as of yet.