Gilt-y Pleasures (and Gilt-less Options)

When you're already Threadless, you don't really need to do anything for people in the tee world to talk about you. You're already the industry leader, already one of the most consistent sites out there, already known for both your quality and your work ethic. So what's left to do? How about turn the graphic tee contest into high fashion?

That's basically the end result of Threadless' current collaboration with the Gilt Group, some high-end salemongers who appear to be dedicated to getting people in ludicrously expensive, high fashion clothing for an only silly-expensive pricetag. I can respect that, even if I'm simply not fashionista enough to implement the site frequently. And the Threadless tees, while definitely on the steep side at $29, considering their normal cost, definitely are decked out to make the blow less painful. The tees are tri-blends, which basically guarantees them to feel like awesomeness, and the graphics seem super soft and "vintaged." I'm personally eying "Such a Great Height," a tee I love but simply don't wear very often because of it's ink-heavy printing, but other remixes are looking killer also ("Lions are Smarter Than I Am" gets a particularly royal treatment). Anyway, you're gonna have to sign up soon, as these limited editions are only on sale until May 6 at midnight. It's invitation only, but you'll be able to find one pretty much anywhere with this sale going on, even peppered throughout this paragraph here.

For the rest of us who don't need no stinkin' elite invitation only club, thankfully Threadless has been printing some really wonderful tees at the main site in the last two weeks. My fav is far and away featured to the left: Adam White's "Mellow Yellow." I have no clue what the title refers to, unless it wishes to revel in the dental hygiene of these disembodied mouths (which is kinda nasty), but as a pretty big fan of the soda, and a fan of, if not mad about, saffron, I'm down anyway. It's hard not to, of course... this is a big, colorful print that makes one really believe in art meaning something still. It's eye-catching and bold in every way... you can't make something this out-there without being bold, and as my regular readers probably have seen in action, the average tee-buyer is about as likely to take a risk on something this creative as they are to eat a grenade sandwich. Still, this is the sort of print that makes reviewing things at all worth it. It's a unique experience, and keeps one's faith up that there is still a market for creativity. Art should be inspiring, and it should seize your imagination. If this doesn't at least do the latter, I shudder to think what you're imagining. Though I guess if you imagine these demonmouths regularly, I'd shudder a bit at that too. Fair is fair.

With Threadless slowly phasing out new Selects (yes, I'm very sad about this too) one can only hope they will be replaced by more chosen contest winners like this. The last two weeks have shown definite promise in that arena, and make me very excited for a continued trend. If we could also see some promise in the "not printing any more star wars or three wolf moon tees" department, the would would be a magical place once again.