What I’ve learnt From Collecting Vintage Tees
I have recently developed a passion for collecting vintage T-shirts especially Band T-Shirts. Where fans identify themselves as followers of an artist and their music.
In my opinion nothing looks cooler than an old concert tee: a moment in history, a representation of great music the wild parties and fond memories (even if they’re experienced by someone else). So when I stumbled across a mini documentary by HypeBeast on Patrick Matamoro, who is one of the most dedicated vintage T-shirt collector’s. Who. see’s himself as a drug dealers but with vintage T-shirts. He has worked with the likes of Kanye West and Jerry Lorenzo. This boosted my passion for collecting band tees even more. (check out video below)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eI-ZZ-PpqS0
Concert T-Shirts made there way into the market around 1960. But the golden era of the rock-n-roll T-shirt really started in the 70s. Where band merchandise was sold at major shows and tours.
Band tees have been rocked since the 70’s and as fashion comes and goes so does band tees. Right now there cool as ever. From Hollywood Celebs to other musicians and social influencers they’re all rocking the Band tees hence why H&M, Culture Kings and other retailers are trying to recreate that vintage inspired graphic tee.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOZ5HshQxcI
While band tee replicas look great. There’s something special about digging through piles of clothes at Sunday markets and shifting along racks at Vinnies and The Salvo’s, to find that holy grail of rock tees. A rock Tee full of history that has been heavily partied-in, loved and slightly distressed. Even though it may take some diggin’ around. Scoring that once-in-a-lifetime original 2Pac tee will make it all worthwhile.
However, we know it can be extremely difficult to differentiate between an authentic vintage band tee and it’s counterfeit twin. So how can you tell the difference, the checklist i go through follows:
Thrifting Band Tee Checklist:
Check the tags
Almost all vintage band tees from the ‘70s and ‘80s had tags. While it depends on the era, most authentic concert tees were printed on popular brands like Hanes, Fruit of the Loom and Screen Stars. I avoid shirts with printed labels. In terms of vintage brands a 50/50 polyester-cotton blend was far more common in the 1980s than the 100% cotton that was popular in the following decades.
Identifying a vintage shirt from the 1970s is quite simple. Printing companies hadn’t started branding themselves at that point. So a lot of the time the tag will be completely blank or frayed as a result of wear and tear. It wasn’t until the late ‘70s that the big t-shirt players developed stronger branding.
A huge amount of popular brands emerged in the 1980’s due to the increase demand of printed tees. Brands such as ScreenStars, Hanes and Sportswear were some of the big players in manufactured t-shirts.
While big-name players continued to emerged in the ‘90s, just as many faded away. Some companies merged together – for example, Screen Stars became Fruit of the Loom.
Check copyright info
When checking to see if a vintage tee’s authentic, Authentic brand or concert tees are from a particular year and tie to a specific concert or tour. Most authentic tees will have a label stating the date and copyright info. It is often found below the graphic on the front or back of the tee.
Check its condition
If its a fresh Tee usually its a sure sign that it is part of a reproduction. Authentic vintage tees should look beat up and worn.
Pricing
Like any collectible item, rare vintage band tees fetch high prices usually due to demand and popularity. Icons such as. Hendrix, Stones and Zeppelin most likely will carry a hefty price tag.
What I look for in a Vintage T-shirt:
- Ripped To Shreds.
- Finding a classic tee, that is naturally worn to bits, stretched, faded, torn with the occasional paint splatter is gold. Everybody tries to replicate that these days, but you know the authentic when you see it.
2. Natural Fade
The natural fade, from years of being washed and tumbled dried where the prints are disappearing into the tee.
3. Rock The Hip-Hop.
though I do love my Rock Tees like Nirvana and Led Zepplin due to the intense graphics. The 80’s 90’s Hip-Hop and RnB tees have a special place in my heart so its always a good day when I can find an authentic Biggie or Easy-E T-shirt.
5.Rare Rayon
Rare rayon blend in the fabric, means its super old and that means it’s even more valuable! Rayon aside next would be a 50/50 poly-cotton. wasn’t til the 90’s when printing companies started to use 100% cotton. 100% cotton blends is they tended to shrink more than their 50/50 blend.
Too Much Work?
It can be seriously time consuming and overwhelming going through Vinnies, salvo’s and various markets. and It can be quite easy to get caught up in eBay scams. While it might be more expensive to buy a band tee from a well-respected vintage store its saves the hassle of running around searching to find that one tee. and with experienced buyers that stand behind the tee’s authenticity, you can sleep well knowing you’ve got what you’ve paid for.
