the district

Not I’m not one to generally just pass along coupon codes for the sake of promoting a sale, but I actually really like these designs from INDVSl.  I don’t know much about the outfit, except that by judging from their pictures they are probably in SoCal. Also, they have achieved the nearly  impossible task of having an entire  website in Flash without it being totally obnoxious. Most of the prints are pretty fresh, and I also like that they do some printing on other AA styles like the track jacket and scoop-neck women’s shirt.  While it is nice to see the style variation, one does have to ask, “Who the hell thought it was a good idea to print sleeveless men’s t-shirts?”  Anyway check it out and use coupon code ‘ilovefall’ for 30% 0ff.  Word: http://www.indivisualclothing.com/

So usually I am trying to get Karl at T-critic to write about something that I am doing, so I figured it would be fun to switch it up. As the author of one of the web’s busiest t-shirt blogs, Karl should know a thing or two about good t-shirt design. As he explains it:

The motivation behind doing my own line of shirts stems from the same motivation for writing this blog, to find and promote cool designs that are maybe a bit under the radar. That’s why the one of my lines is going to be called the Artist Series which will be based upon original licensed art and design from indie artists. The artist gets a cut of every sale for as long as we are printing the shirt.

The shirts are printed on American Apparel, with no word when the next one will come along.  While ordinarily I might say that it the Obama shirt is a little overdone right now, the novelty of Obama’s head on a pez dispenser overrules that concern. Plus, really he could use all the attention he can get right now. Check it out.

About a decade ago I worked at a bike-shop in Massachusetts, and we carried a line of customizable messenger bags from a tiny little company out in San Fransisco, made for people who actually carried a lot of shit around on their bikes.  The company was owned by real bike messengers, sewn in the US (as evident by the sounds of the sewing machines in the background when we placed orders), and had as one might say ‘mad street cred.’ That company, as you might have guessed, was called Timbuk2. While in my opinion Timbuk2 still makes some pretty bombproof shit, their driving focus is no longer bags made by urban cyclists for other cyclists, nor is their manufacturing entirely domestic anymore.

Enter Seagull bags.  By the looks of their website, Seagull has been around for a few years although still appears be fast growing.  Looking through their site, there is a lot that is reminiscent of the early days of Timbuk2 (and thats a compliment) including most notably the fact that these bags are made by couriers to be highly functional.  The fact that they bust out some sweet custom embroidery is merely an added bonus (albeit a big one).  While I haven’t inspected a bag up close, the hardware on these things looks pretty substantial and the cell-phone, radio, and tool-bag add ons all appear to be designed with two-wheeled use in mind.  The prices maybe a little higher than the comparable assembly line  products of other manufacturers, but the fact that they are handmade in Ohio has got to count for something. And at the risk of sounding like a total poser, the fact is that these bags are a lot cooler than being another douche-bag with a Chrome bag that they bought to match their sweet new anodized rims. (hey I live in Williamsburg, there are a lot of these fucks pedaling around). Check them out. www.seagullbags.com

Generally the internet employs two primary tactics to encourage conspicuous consumption, either “its really cheap” or “its really limited edition.”  New street/surf wear merchant Jack Threads has boldly launched a dual-pronged attack on weary online consumers. Throw in some irreverant “we’re cool like you” text around the site and it can’t lose, right?  The concept is simple, one item of streetwear every day, severely discounted for 24 hours for online members.  With the success of sites like Shirt-a-day, shirt.Woot, Teefury, and so on, the concept is hardly groundbreaking, however it  does take the platform to a new product range.  The success of the site, which appears to have launched yesterday, most likely depends on their ability to offer genuinely desirable products, instead of just becoming a clearing house for streetwear manufacturers extras.  As they have so far only displayed two offerings, it is still too early to tell if they will be able to meet that bar, although lets hope that this wasn’t their idea of stacking the deck with the good-stuff first.  You can sign up at their home page www.Jackthreads.com

Now these shirts may be shamelessly pandering to the recently arrived post-college Brooklyn dwelling hipster lifestyle, but thats probably why I like them. Obviously the bike shirts win the most favor here, especially the few printed on organic cotton. Additionally, 10% of the “more bike lanes” shirt goes to support a bicycle non-profit here in NYC (sound familiar?). Anyway, clean simple designs make these shirts not too obnoxious, despite the models’ ridiculous haircuts. My only substantial complaint (and there always has to be one) is that I would really like to see one complete t-shirt line somewhere that doesn’t utilize a single bit of gold-foil typeface. Oh yeah, that and the “made in brooklyn” shirt is most certainly not sewn in Brooklyn. Go. Now.

The nation’s largest apparel trade show has introduced an ‘eco’ component to this August’s show with Ecollection.  The Ecollection will be one of many themed sections of Magic, which as the name implies will feature environmentally responsible labels in special recycled booths, with ‘green’ signage.  In addition to showcasing the green-labels , the show will house Lounge 22 for attendees, which will feature bammboo furniture and Cradle to Cradle certified textiles. To top off the new show, in typical Magic fashion (non pun intended) Ecollection will host its own seminar series with some very prominent speakers addressing topics of sustainability in the apparel industry such as representatives from Patagonia, and less obviously Nike’s corporate responsibility office. As usual, Magic will take place Aug 25-27 in Las Vegas.

Alright, I know its cliche to take pictures of graffiti on a rooftop, but I figured since the paint was pretty spectacular, and it is actually where I live it would be excusable. Here are some new pictures from my roof:

You can see the rest at our myspace page. Add us as a friend while you are there. Read more »

By this point in the game, there are a lot of Obama shirts out there, which in my mind is a net-positive despite relatively few noteworthy designs.  However, the fact that the Democratic nominee is inspiring people to want to make t-shirts at all should be taken as a pretty good indicator of the left’s interest in this election.  Frankly, this time in 2004 I don’t really recall any street-wear label’s rolling out their line of John Kerry T’s (and thank god for that).  Anyway, Thriving Ink, the East Bay “artist collaborative” is the latest to join Obama T-shirt mania with their “Hope Is Dope” collection, which donates an unnamed percentage to fight hunger in the Philippines. While these things are obviously subjective, I can’t say I am blown away by any of the designs, but they are definitely not bad just not tremendously original. For example, what the fuck is with the giant printing of EVERYTHING?  Now as previously stated on this site, I am a big Obama fan, but why the fuck would I want a giant Obama face t-shirt?  Now I recognize that this is popular right now, so I am not faulting Thriving Ink, but I still just don’t get it.  On that note, what’s with the resurgence of cassette tapes on t-shirts and tattoos? I may only be 28, but I remember with clarity that cassettes were not exactly the ideal media for listening to music, yet hipsters iconify the damned things as if they were the coolest shit since 8-tracks.  Forgive the off-topic rant, but to me this exemplifies the hollowness of hipster culture in general. Its as if some hipster czar randomly assign status to the most arbitrary items and they become cool despite their lack of any real intrinsic worth, just because some douche bag in Williamsburg thought “wouldn’t it be irreverant of me to put a cassette tape on a t-shirt?” Fuck cassette tape shirts.   You can check out the Obama shirts here.