Defunkd

[maxvintage]

Just wanted to see if anyone had heard of Nike prints on Sportswear shirts?

Here's the auction that sparked my interest: http://www.ebay.com/itm/vtg-NIKE-PINWHE ... 415ce3cb91

Any thoughts?

[jimmyj]

Sets off alarm bells for me - awkwardly sewn in tag? 22" pit for a t-shirt from the 70s? no way.

Plus look at this auction:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/RATT-INVASION-Y ... 415c82b7be

Another awkwardly sewn in tag?

Another shyster.

[maxvintage]

That's pretty much what I thought Jimmy. Yeah they way those tags are sewn is pretty odd. Gotta be extra careful on there.

[Johnny65]

Sets off alarm bells for me - awkwardly sewn in tag? 22" pit for a t-shirt from the 70s? no way.

Plus look at this auction:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/RATT-INVASION-Y ... 415c82b7be

Another awkwardly sewn in tag?

Another shyster.

Good eye James!

The screen printing on the Ratt tee in the front isn't quite right either. Plus it's missing the tour date on the back.

http://worn75.blogspot.com/

[benkay]

I am the seller in question, and I hope I have your attention, because I respect everyone's opinion here, and look at this board, and blog as a haven of like minded individuals who are involved in this crazy vintage t-shirt world.

But I can vouch for both shirts, in question. Both are 100% honest to goodness T's. I came in to posession as is, and have shown each and every shirt in detail. When you have 'em in your hands, you "know" they are vintage. Everyone's got that feeling before. There is no mistaking either when you see it right before your eyes. 25 years of wear on the RATT shirt can't be reproduced in any factory.

And honestly, I feel attacked and feel that my business threatened by such claims as to these pieces being frauds or fakes. I have never, nor will ever do anything to skew the price of vintage shirts that I come in to posession of. I take very much pride in the 100% positive feedback that I currently have, and will continue to have long into the future.

Any further questions about any shirt listed in my store, feel free to ask.

[jimmyj]

Thanks for the response and apologies given you appear to believe in these pieces.

This tee has a few obvious strikes against it being legit:

- The measurements are modern day.

- Why is a Sportswear tag on a Nike shirt? They had their own tags.

- To make it even more suspect the tag looks very awkwardly sewn in.

I think what you have is a modern day Nike reprint with a Sportswear tag sewn in. Poly/cotton feel isn't an indication of vintage authentic because many companies use this blend when making throwbacks and Nike has made a fortune doing so. And high quality cotton can feel just as good.

I trust by your response that you didn't do this yourself, but it's my opinion that it has been done by someone. Where did you pick up this shirt in particular? Was it found with the RATT shirt? The seam on the RATT shirt wasn't done mechanically.

I'd be really interested to see better shots of the Nike tag - directly from above so we can see the continuity of the seam across the tag. Maybe the current photograph's skewed angle is to blame. But even if it looks proper in a new photograph, we still have to ask why it's even on the shirt to beging and why the shirt is so big.

Here's an example of a Sportswear XL tag (46 chest too) which after wash and dry turns out to be 18.5 inches. Your shirt has 3.5 more inches in width and an extra inch length.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vtg-70s-Truck-A ... 35b436bee1

Poke around for yourself and let me know if you find a similar Sportswear tag on a vintage t-shirt on eBay with a 22" chest.

I don't mean to offend, but you have agree there's a number of major factors that just don't add up.

[Frank]

My 2 cents- of course i can't really tell without seeing the item in person:

Ratt shirt: doesn't say Ratt anywhere, tag sewn in later, tag not consistent with band shirts of that era, shirt looks thicker, print fade pattern looks too new, sizes more akin to early 2000s.

Nike: logo printed onto vintage blank. No Nike tag is a huge tipoff- should be the orange swoosh tag. Nike is/was famous for vertical integration- that is, they own, control and contract with suppliers to produce goods under the Nike brand.

Sorry. There's no guidebook for figuring this stuff out, I've only pieced it together by selling thousands of vintage shirts and spending 10+ years learning.

[CRAZYBUBBA]

Very poorly done.

[oscar]

I had a Nike tank printed on screen stars before. But it was for a specific marathon that Nike just sponsored. Whether Nike knew they're logo was on a different brand shirt, who knows? But I would avoid that Nike tee in question.

[oscar]

Afterthought: I wouldn't put *too* much stock into the size when judging the authenticity. I've come across some crazy sizes. Here's an XL Sportswear in my shop:
http://www.etsy.com/listing/80741773/vi ... id_6284767

[maxvintage]

Wow, just an update on that shirt....it went for $235.

[jimmyj]

It's definitely not the end-all-be-all of authenticity - t-shirts can even be stretched. But when it's one of many suspicious features...it's worth noting. Let's face it - vintage tees prior to the 90s rarely have chests this size - unless they're NOS.

That far-the-norm sized tee of yours looks like it may have never been washed. Is it mint? Bet ya a cool $5er if you washed and machine dried that shirt the chest wouldn't hold at 22".

Also the nice close-up of that tag shows a very clean stitch across the top of the tag. But since it looks to be mint, not a fair comparison.

I've been known to be wrong. Would have liked to see other better pics of the tag/stitch - like I said, could have just been a bad angle.

The eBay community obviously thinks it's legit...went for $235!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/vtg-NIKE-PINWHE ... 415ce3cb91

[oscar]

Haha! I wouldn't take that bet because when it shrinks that 5 bucks will eat into my profits too deep!

[oscar]

Here's another one. Rayon. Check the Sportswear tag on the close-up picture. Why is that the only tag that is clearly sewn OVER the hem, rather than under (into) it? Hmmmm. If you check the picture of the Nike tee, you can tell that is the one with the Sportswear tag.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/5-Vintage-80s-S ... 3f0e3502cd

[jimmyj]

Good eye and thought! I had that same brain wave with the first Nike shirt and Sportswear tag. I set out to prove that Sportswear tags are always sewn under - scoured all the listings.

http://www.ebay.com/dsc/i.html?_nkw=vin ... itleDesc=1

Well, they are....with the exception of that particular angled tag design - it seems to be mostly sewn over top like that.

Even your diet tee is right?

I still thought the last Nike one was bogus though just because of how poorly the stitch looked - this one looks smooth.

Not to say that this seller is honest - this is that clown from Texas named Corey.

[oscar]

Naw, my diet one is sewn under, but it's a much much smaller hem on that particular ringer, so you can can kind of see the edge on it. Just for kicks I just double checked an identical tag as that "nike" one too from my collection, rayon- it's sewn under as well. I'm going to have to start taking a closer look at sportswear tags!

[maxvintage]

Here's another one, a Pinwheel version:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NIKE-PINWHEEL-S ... 2eb99da68e

[maxvintage]

Proof that those NIKE shirts printed on Sportswear are absolutely bogus.

http://www.defunkd.com/product/MA132703 ... 70s-70s-ml

[jimmyj]

nice one