Hey folks,
New here. Happy I found the site and forums.
Right now I've got a moving box full of shirts I bought in the mid 80's through 95 or so. They are rolled, not folded. One of the main things I am interested to get advice on is how to store vintage t-shirts. I know how to store my vinyl and posters/memorabilia, but clueless about storing my shirts. Alas, I didn't know about dry rot until just recently.
About my collection. Almost all bought in Seattle at club shows and concerts. Many were never worn, so dry rot will probably be a concern.
Not for sale, but I would like to figure out the value of it. I had no idea how much vintage shirts were going for these days until a couple of years ago.
Not sure exactly how many I've got. Enough to fill a small moving box full (1.5cu feet). Right now, I keep them at my storage space. Been hesitant to inventory them because we've got moths at home. Got probably a half dozen or so Soundgarden and Alice In Chains shirts. At least two Pearl Jam, I've a Drop in the Park shirt and a Mookie tank (I think less than 50 of those were made), a couple of Mother Love Bone. Oldest shirt I have is a Van Halen 1979 tour one. I bought that one at a thrift shop in the 80's so pretty sure it is legit.
Kicking myself for not buying more Nirvana. I think I've only got an early black Dante shirt with the Sub Pop logo, and a Nevermind promo t-shirt. I remember attending their Halloween Paramount show and deciding not to buy a t-shirt because it just had the song titles on back, not tour dates. They did the same thing for the In Utero shows I went to, so I skipped buying those, too. Sigh
Re: New guy has a question
Welcome! And whoa!
Any of them that are black and never washed, may be a candidate for dry rot. But not all brands have issues, the majority of deadstock black tees don't have issues. But yes, get them out of storage and test, best way to be non invasive is to use a pH meter.
https://ebay.us/77caQe
$3 with free shipping.
Storage-wise, that seems safe to me. Some guys here seal them in plastic. As long as they are out of direct sunlight, away from moths and moisture you should be ok. Museums say that cotton needs to breathe. I keep mine folded in my closest or in a storage bin.
Let me know how it goes, if you want to do an IG story about pulling them all out let us know.
Any of them that are black and never washed, may be a candidate for dry rot. But not all brands have issues, the majority of deadstock black tees don't have issues. But yes, get them out of storage and test, best way to be non invasive is to use a pH meter.
https://ebay.us/77caQe
$3 with free shipping.
Storage-wise, that seems safe to me. Some guys here seal them in plastic. As long as they are out of direct sunlight, away from moths and moisture you should be ok. Museums say that cotton needs to breathe. I keep mine folded in my closest or in a storage bin.
Let me know how it goes, if you want to do an IG story about pulling them all out let us know.
Jimmy J
(Please note: Legit checks I do in this forum should not be considered 100% conclusive; I'm simply giving a gut reaction based on the limited information provided.)
(Please note: Legit checks I do in this forum should not be considered 100% conclusive; I'm simply giving a gut reaction based on the limited information provided.)