Rapanui is an Isle of Wight clothing company. That’s where I grew up, people. And it’s partnered with Britain’s most trusted/hated/established/relied on organisation – the Meteorological Office. This superb Cloud Cutter design is Raglan cut, 100% organic cotton, made with wind power and phthalate-free.
It is the one thing I want for Christmas…
Post by Mikey … who has a very short Christmas list!
I have to say that this may not be the most salubrious name for a Norwegian T-shirt brand, right now, and also that (as usual) Mikey and I are not in entire agreement about their work.
I like the Killer Brigade T-shirt that looks like a leather jacket with the jawbone of a skull under it – I think it’s cool and clever. Mikey (predicatably) hates it.
We agree on this one though, the ‘black is back’ is a nice T-shirt with a balance of grim humor and strong design. I thought it would be great to wear this along with my boyfriend in the ‘disco is dead’ T-shirt which would make a really clever statement about being a couple and also be a great riff on ‘his and hers clothing’ but Mikey though that was crass and ‘typically American’.
I have no idea what 150 Kroner is in any kind of other money – but I’ve added this T-shirt to my Christmas list and hope that my honey will buy it for me, so I can buy the ‘disco is dead’ one for him. Mikey is now pretending to spew into the wastebasket…
Season of peace and goodwill in the teejunkie office? I don’t think so!
Post by Kay who thinks her colleague is a horse’s ass!
It’s good to spend money at Christmas. It’s better to get a voucher code that gives you a discount. Over at Omunky, you can choose a T-shirt and get 18% off by entering the code 180ff2011 when you checkout. The code works until 19 December and the last posting date for Christmas, inside the USA, is 20 December so that’s cool.
My favourite is the Nocturnal Naptime Tee – excellent crisp art on an organic T-shirt black that makes this a perfect gift for almost everybody. Maybe it’s just me, but if you go to the site and look at the photo of the guy wearing this actual tee, the photo gives off a smug vibe of ‘I’m a serial killer and this is where I bury the bodies, and you’ll never catch me …’
Okay, it is just me. That’s how my mind works.
Post by Mikey who thinks owls have a lot to answer for.
It’s not the pullover (which I would personally call a sweater) that I have a love/hate thing about – I am totally in love with it. What’s not to like about a punning pullover?
And the execution of this distressed flag is really good – the quality of the image is great, the way it overlays the gray is also great, and the ways to wear this winter top are endless: layer it over a bright yellow T-shirt for a casual look, or a black lace camisole for a smarter impression; wrap it up with a big scarf, mittens and earmuffs and some gray leggings for playing in the snow or top it with a fake fur capelet for a boho look. Not the cheapest at $48, but for style and versatility, I reckon this is the best long-sleeve out there at present.
What I’m not so in love with is the way that Petals and Peacocks appears to think all women (girls?) are pre-puberty and believe sticking their tongues out is the height of cool. Which is why I chose this model shot – she actually looks old enough to buy her own clothes rather than getting an allowance off her parents.
Come on, there are intelligent women out there who like to wear somewhat provocative statement clothing (by which I don’t mean physically provocative) who aren’t a size zero, with bangs, sucking a lollipop! Can’t we have models that match the bravado of the brand, instead of pandering to the idea that to be sassy you have to be twelve years old and small enough to be carried around like a fashion accessory?
Post by Kay, who thinks her size is nobody else’s business and her age is immaterial.
There’s always a bit of an issue when translating websites – and that’s half the fun. But I think I’ve got this one sorted out. Based in Nantes where they print their tees, this collective has a fantastic sense of art, history and the playfulness of creativity. Some of their tees are mass market, some are limited edition collectors items, but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be worn. I’m very won over by the Skate Park limited edition (100 printed) T-shirt by Alex Sirvin which seems to combine contemporary SKB themes with homage to Chagall, or maybe Matisse or maybe both. Not cheap at 32 Euros but hey, it’s a collector’s item!
For once in my life I am annoyed that there isn’t more blurb. I like this tee and want to know what was in Sirvin’s head when he created it. Other PlayArt T-shirts in the limited edition section have quite long descriptions – the wolf T-shirt blurb tells us how old the creator is, where she studies, what inspired the T-shirt (The Shoes – really?) and I would have like more of that on the Skate Park T-shirt.
Anyway – well-designed, well-printed, thought-provoking T-shirts will always get my attention and this site is full of them so don’t delay, browse today – but don’t feel compelled to listen to cheesy pop just because it inspires some good designs!
Post by Mikey who neither skates nor parks but does have an Oyster card …
I love the relaxed, almost frat house vibe, to SnorgTees. Some of their designs seem a bit juvenile, but others are lush and funny. I’m really hooked by this candy skull trooper which seems like a perfect thing to wear for Christmas or to give maybe … or maybe not, given the price of $19.95. Depends how much you like the person you’re giving to I guess. There’s something about this design that reminds me of an old-fashioned calliope which seems pretty appropriate for the yuletide season.
SnorgTees encourage folk to send pictures of themselves wearing the tees which is one of those things that doesn’t work on all sites – but the people who wear Snorg seem to be having a good time and that’s reassuring. I also love to see actual T-shirts being worn by real people, in real situations because it’s a proper test of their wearability and design to see them on roller-coasters, in coffee shops and on the beach.
Post by Kay who has candy for Christmas on her mind …
I have three reasons to like this brand:
1. Burn Card doesn’t have a cringe-making ‘about’ page where it spouts third-hand philosophy about ‘tee-shirts and like, life’
2. The packaging is up on the stellar end of brilliance – it’s almost worth having the packaging without the T-shirt, so superbly well-presented is the merchandise within the merchandising
3. The T-shirts are good too.
There’s something vaguely Playboy about some of the images: they come over as so honed into a key concept that words are an irrelevance, and I’m not sure how sustainable that is going to be in the long term with such a tight focus, but I’m willing to be surprised.
With free UK delivery at present, Burn Card is going to be top of the wish list for a lot of T-shirt aficionados this Christmas, with very good reason. They also have a monthly competition for those too poor or mean to invest in a T-shirt by the usual route.
Post by Mikey who couldn’t have seen his first Burn Card t-shirt at a poker game because he promised not to play poker again … (cough)
I’ve always been a fan of fullbleed, and I argue with Mikey about this as he describes their designs as fussy (I say complex) he says busy (I say detailed) he says feminine … and I say feminine too!
So what’s that about? Well I guess there’s something about fullbleed designs that is meandering, faintly dreamy, intricate and witty that adds up to a more engaged, light-touch perspective on the world, as opposed to some other sites which offer more edgy, loud, challenging and confrontational imagery. I’m totally aware that this is a subjective view, but that’s what I think.
Anyway, this has long been one of my favorite T-shirts and this re-issue (I’m pretty sure it’s a re-issue because I don’t recall it being on the site over the summer when I looked) is one gift I’m buying for my kid sister this Christmas as a gentle commentary on her consumerism – she definitely wants the moon out of the sky and gift-wrapped too! That idea’s probably going to go right over her head and all she’ll see is the quality of the T-shirt, which is very good, and thank me – but maybe one day the message will sink in …
Post by Kay who is into anti-consumerist Xmas shopping …
Old Skool Hooligans have one of those sites that produce cult reference T-shirts. Most of them just leave me cold. This one tickled my funny bone though: it’s based on a Manowar track – if that means nothing to you, then you probably have intact eardrums, although it’s not band endorsed at all. I liked the tongue-in-cheek humour contained in the image and the retro styling which is properly Old Skool. At £11.99 per T-shirt, it’s not going to break the bank and I think the yellow on blue colourway gives it a classic feel that stops it being a cheesy tee and moves it into the realms of cultural manifestation.
It is definitely not a Halloween T-shirt but this year the crop of ghost and ghoul themed clothing has been even more dire than usual. Despite spending most of the weekend trawling for a decent tee to show you, I ended up going back to this Old Skool image just because it was so much easier on the eye than the stuff I was wading through. The only way I can link it, even tenuously, to Halloween is to point out that the blurb for the T-shirt on the Old Skool Hooligans site does mention an axe …
Post by Mikey
Yet another one of my favourite type of teeshirts: the typographical. This one is not just a T-shirt with a typeface, it’s also a pun. Now I have a love/hate relationship with puns on T-shirts – mainly hate, but this one has slipped under my guard because:
1. It’s clever
2. The designer’s integrated the pun, the image and the T-shirt blank to deliver the brand’s mission which is “Effectively conveying thought or feeling” and it does that for me.
One little caveat though – I would have preferred to have a choice of colours for this tee and cranberry, along with black would be the natural choice to work well with this typography.
Right now, there’s a sale on at Threaded Type: quote KillerSale at the checkout and get this $24 plus shipping T-shirt for just $18 plus shipping.
Post by Mikey who alphabetises his T-shirt collection …
