When Sales Attack.

If you're like me, you haven't been at my blog since February. A lot has happened since then, but most of it has been pretty disheartening, and since I -try- to use this blog predominantly for things which are great or, at least, unique and worthy of highlighting, it has been really difficult to bring myself to break the silence. Also, busy-ness. The state of the tee art world reflects the state of the real world, but even so, some things are more important.

One thing that becomes vital to note now happened at Threadless. Longtime followers will perhaps recall years ago when Threadless streamlined their tees to all be $18, with Selects sitting at $25, for their outside of the norm content, frequently experimental print processes, and untested popularity. This wasn't ideal, really... prior, threadless tees fluctuated a lot print to print, but for the majority of prints, $18 was more than one would have paid before. Still, $18 was fair, and remains the standard in the tee world. But then we started seeing some full tee prints sell at $20, undermining the original intent, and it wasn't long before the average tee sold at that price point. What I didn't notice until just recently, however, was that the prices slipped up again... the average tee in the last few weeks has been sitting pretty at $22.



This sort of silent inflation makes a sale like the brief Camp Wannatee one Threadless is featuring this week (potentially til Wednesday, but Threadless is known for extensions, so who knows) both more exciting and somewhat insulting. A $12 tee is always a good deal, especially when the base price is higher, but the sale serves mainly to point out just how much a Threadless tee goes for these days. One can't expect the $5 clearances of the days when this blog began, but there is a certain disturbing nature to it, especially when one considers the other changes made throughout the tee world in that time. The vapid lie of "printing this mediocre work helps us afford to print less popular but better work" is clearly exposed when one sees this happening... either that road isn't working, and the site is still scraping by no matter what they print, or the price hike has nothing to do with necessity, which implies that perhaps the print choices have nothing to do with necessity either. Whichever way the truth tilts, it's a worrisome omen for artists and other sites alike.

That said, there are still regularly Threadless tees to be excited about, and sometimes they come from the least expected places. Above, we see sketchboy01's brand new print "Arabian Crescent," clearly an incredibly weak pun, but illustrated beyond its title. The magic of the Arabian Nights is present in the illustration... there's the twinkle of the stars, the exotic shapes of buildings... and that sliver of moon which came from the equally slim punchline creates its own otherworldly imagery, not only for the outer-space textures and craters, but the idea of this beautiful city springing out from the rock, hidden in a cave or carved from a mountain. The overall effect is one that creates a haunting new world out of a very old one. Our Western eyes still often see the Arab world as a large question mark... framing it against space makes it literally otherworldly, and anyone who has ever used their imagination is fascinated by the unfamiliar. Taking two images which we can easily identify, yet in most cases do not fully understand, lets the viewer walk the line between comfort and curiosity, and the lovely execution sells a piece that quite likely was conceived as a cheap joke, elevating it to stunning illustration.

By contrast, Design By Humans, once the white truffle of these sorts of tee sites with its regular $24 offerings, has become a comparatively affordable option. This is no small feat, since DBH is a far more "exclusive" tee site. Its designs tend to seek out a specific audience, and a far less populist one than most. Its inventory is without a doubt smaller than its closest competition. Its prints, while no longer as regularly experimental as in the past, still tend to be far bigger and often more complex than any site I can think of. It seems odd that they'd be able to maintain what is now a reasonable price point while other places are ever rising.

Once again, it is the current sale which highlights my concerns. DBH has, in the last year, been incredibly sale-happy, and while most people would likely be ecstatic to have the chance to pick up cheaper designs, a sale week at DBH is also not a print week. The concern, therefore, is that they're no better off... having to drop prices even further so frequently, at the expense of paying out to new designs, doesn't imply the sort of success the site should be enjoying. Long story short, for a paranoid sort like myself, the two top dogs in the tee world giving signs of weakness does not bode well for the scene as a whole.

That being said, the trouble with conjecture is that it's only conjecture without knowing something deeper about selections, sales, and the like. The evidence is worrying, but the truth could just be that DBH wants you to buy awesome shirts like ecsu's "Decay (We're All Made of Stars)" and save some extra green while doing it. Not that it's not worth full price: the progression of the images makes for one of my favorite designs in a long while. The pink and the black provide a great contrast, and helps link the worlds of the self and the outside. The decomposition is shown in reverse... as the arm becomes built up, it is fleshed out, but it also becomes less corporeal. The idea is that the decay of one thing can create the growth of another. The stark colors also make the whole thing feel a bit more synthetic, though, as well. There seems to be another layer of commentary beneath the obvious themes, as though we are both built from and destroyed by the extraneous and the unreal. Whatever the case, though, it's a striking and original design, and something that makes me quite happy to see exist. Take advantage of the sales to show your support for this, or Arabian Crescent, or any truly worthy piece on either site. At the end of the day, this blog is about great tees. Find them, wear them, and support the continued spread of new ones. Because no matter what else might be happening under the surface, supporting great work is the best way to get more of it out there, and that should be the vast majority of what we're seeing. After all, I can't praise great art if it's not there.

Bearing With Me

One of the worst bits of being so absent blogwise is that I am left in the dust with Contest Watch predictions. Not that all that many pieces have printed lately that I would have predicted, mind you, but this Monday comes with a pleasant surprise at Threadless, and not just the $9 tee sale that y'all should be checking out if you read this in time.

No, Threadless has added a new alum to their roster, and unlike normal, it is with a design that has both a timelessness as well as the trademark humor Threadless was known for (that is to say, original, clever, and not based off the presumption that no one will sue if their characters are used illicitly). Welcome, then, MJ. As one of the most consistently original shirt designers out there, not to mention a literal apparel maven (have you guys honestly not been checking out Compete-Tee-Tion or Teemagnet yet?) it is well deserved.

"The Eating Habits of Bears" is really a two-punch joke, told with the first and third bear, but it's funny, the rule of three really works, because even though the "herbivore" joke is a throwaway, it winds the punch back for the final blow. Even so, it's a wisely chosen throwaway... "herbivore" is the obvious choice, and also has humor potential knowing that bears are anything but, and with the other bears consuming their fair share of animal-shaped snacks, a "candy vegetable" makes plenty of sense. Smart designing, made smarter by the simple but attractive graphics. A good humor shirt should indeed be simple to get, smart, creative, and hypothetically relatable, like a good joke is. Comics who play to an audience and give them what they expect are certainly popular, but the ones who really become legendary are more than a gimmick, more than their race or gender or beliefs, but truly a humorist that transcends all that. This is that sort of humor... perhaps not so lofty as some, but of the tried and true stock of the greats, using imagery familiar to all of us, not just one hardcore group of fans. I wouldn't be surprised if this tee finds itself reprinted regularly for that reason... it simply hits all the right notes of Threadlessness.

Dead Buried Hart

Design by Humans: I love you guys, I really do. Sometimes you lapse into a sort of self-parody with the designs you select, but even as you've softened your edge over time, you're still one of the riskiest sites. You've got an amazing blank for your product and a strong print reputation. In the list of sites I'd love to see thrive for years to come, your best work keeps you in the running.

But I don't get this "sale" thing.

Sure, I love that I can get any shirt in your entire catalog for $12 until Monday, especially with all the super strong pieces you've released in the last month or two. Yes, I know that it provides a nice build-up (and a sales cushion) for the 10K finalists and winner to be announced this coming week. Certainly I know that sales bring sales, and a slightly higher-end shop can use them to tempt more frugal customers. But sales also mean no new tees at DBH land. Which is either worrisome in that great talent and tees don't get printed, or frightening in thinking that maybe you guys really need the sales. So while I am all for saving money, I worry 'bout you guys, guys. We cool? Good.

Because seriously, I've gotta say, this is probably THE BEST time to buy some DBH swag. Over the summer some bolt of inspiration came up out of nowhere, and especially in the last month or two we've seen winner after winner print. Winners like After Death, by TobiasFonseca. It's an incredibly classy one-color print, one of the more powerful takes on the "life from death" concept with a great style...it looks almost pieced together, but not in a clip-art way but in a way that gives the idea of being given a whole bunch of little white stones and arranging them into this art. The flow and arrangement really honors the idea without making it tacky, clunky, heavy-handed, etc. It actually takes a tired concept (life in death), and a tired juxtaposition (antlers as trees) and makes it look like you'd never seen it before. And that's what great art and great design does.

Oh, and did I mention it was $12 til Monday? Because if not, I should probably mention you can also save an additional 10% with code K4XZYZ. That's good until October 7, so even if you're holding out for the 10K winners, don't be afraid to use it.

Feline By Humans

At this point some things have ceased to shock me.

Infuriate? Sure, sometimes. I'm a firm believer that people who can't get angry about something don't actually care about it all that much. There's no passion, no concern. Only a dead resignation. But that's not a matter of shock. Shock is about outright surprise.

Among the things that fail to faze me lately? Design by Humans sales. Last year Uneetee was frequently jabbed at for going in a pseudo-DBH direction with it's print selections. This year, one could argue DBH is paying its own respects by taking Uneetee's habit of infrequently selecting new prizewinners. Don't get me wrong, I love a good sale, and DBH still has some of the best blanks in the biz, but more new prints means more new tees for the fans/customers to buy. You can't put the same set of tees on sale a hundred times and expect hugely different results. The true excitement, for me, is seeing new, quality prints.

Thankfully, though, this is a sale and a half. If you're willing to rummage the eBargain Bin of remaindered sizes, you can find some classics and quality tees for only $7, with others available for $10. At DBH price and quality, this is a hell of a deal, and that makes this sale one worth checking out, even after the glut of recent ones at the site.

Also helpful, in my eyes, is that we've recently gotten some pretty stellar prints out of the ol' DBH gods. One of my favorites comes from yonil: the long-title-is-long "Apparently cats only have one life just like the rest of us." It was inspired by the artist's loss of his fuzzy friend, but the imagery is gloriously weird and acceptable for even non-cat-lovers. The illustration leaves much up to the viewer: the cat is huge and imposing, possibly floating up through the rainclouds, possibly about to hover over and destroy Tokyo. The colors are bright and make the scene seem more alien. And the print, well, it's the size of the cat. Some of y'all with cats will probably have a larger one on your chest than your lap if you pick this up. But it's not just a cat, and that's why it works... the swirls (reminiscent of yarn?) and clouds bring this out of the safe, house-pet confines of a gaudy gramma sweatshirt, and the simple spare style emphasizes that ethereal image of the afterlife, which automatically lends further cred to the concept, making it wearable and lovable even as a full-chest print.

As with most DBH sales, the newer the shirt, or the better the seller, the more chance it'll be discounted less, but with a couple cheaper shirts, you can't go wrong with a piece like this as well. For the still more frugal, try code NS2B8E for 10% off any purchase during the sale and through July 26.

Regan Smith Clarke birthday sale

Sometimes, my dear friends, I need to have my hand forced to get you the goods. I'm a busy man these days, and there are times when a blog (like the contest watch I swear I will attempt this evening!) is either one more burden, or a distraction from a night that is just too pleasant to work through. So I was quite excited when Adder-Brand-of-the-Moment Regan Smith Clarke approached me for a retweet of their birthday weekend sale. Why not do one better? These guys are a brand that I've been pretty excited for since stumbling over them, what, a month or two ago? I've been meaning to give them a write-up ever since snagging a two-pack of their tees, and just being unable to make the time. No longer! RSC deserves your recognition.

For starters, the brand is local -Boston represent? - but more than that, they have some of the sheer classiest branded tees available. I'm rocking Use Your Mind right now, a sentiment I certainly agree with, and a clashy yellow-and-blue palette that nevertheless makes the entire proceedings rich with color on a tee (it's perfect for summer, I'd think). Frequent readers might ask why in the name of Hades would I be wearing branded tees at all? It's true, I normally shun the brand tee. However, the style on Regan Smith Clarke's branded offerings makes them a shop that not only am I happy to advertise, but that realizes that shirts are made to be worn. You just don't see brand tees half this wearable very often, nor images that truly work the branding into them to make it a wearable experience. Nothing ruins an amazing graphic more than a brand slapped over the illo.

Even with the praiseworthy nature of their line, though, I'd rather show off Russian Doll (above), their sole non-branded tee. It doesn't tread the newest territory, but the style is stunning and the colors are perfect. It's all about classic graphic style, as the design helps prove, so even without the brand name over it, it's still very cohesive with their overall site mission. Classic styles and gorgeous, simple colors... that's pretty much a recipe for success if you're doing it right, and these guys are. No better time to check it out than the present, too... this weekend, everything's at least 10% off, with free shipping, and awesomeness coming standard. We love the big guns around here, obviously. Our most reliable column is all about what's been up for voting at the sites big enough to allow voted submissions. But while it often gets lost in the shuffle, the newer, smaller, indie-er brands deserve your love too. And there just aren't many that deserve your eye as much as Regan Smith Clarke.

Tee-Cember: My Apologies

Every time I go making promises on this blog, I seem to fall short. Those of you who have been following know that I've been dramatically short of "every day" like I promised my posts would be this month. Mea culpa. I should promise to fall short more often. Maybe I'd overshoot.

However, I'd like to note that recently, I was attacked by huge freaking bees, which has kept me away from the blog for a while lately. As it stands, I am still incredibly puffy, except for my pointer fingers, which I am using to hunt and peck along this blog. To the side, you'll see a photo of me being attacked by the bees. I look very calm about it, but this is because they have already numbed my pain receptors. I assure you this is an accurate photo, and not at all Design By Humans' recent print The Swarm. If it was, you'd notice the strong one-color print's realistic execution, bold size, and how it is unlike so many similar pieces. But here, you can clearly see that these are real albino killer giant bees. And that is why I've been so unreliable on posting lately.

Of course, if you were to go to Design By Humans anyway, I would check out their selected sale tees for as low as $10 on the front page. I wish they were doing this "sale" thing in a week, when I could afford to get the scads of great selections they've got discounted (Lucky Day, Vulpes, Taipei Rocks, Magic Snake, Two Trees... It's a veritable feast for the wardrobe). Presumably there's a final day of them tomorrow, but if you're to be busy, get thee to a credit card tonight.

Tee-Cember: Royal Beauty Bright

I've always loved Christmas, but I've loved it for secular reasons. Sure, I was brought up understanding the true meaning of it, but the real rewards were anything but. It wasn't all Santa and gifts either, though (though certainly, those were awesome elements). It was the smell of the tree and the baking, the coziness of a warm house, or a warm coat out in the snow. It was the snow itself, the fun to be had and the pure beauty of its gleaming whiteness, and the scent of crisp air and distant chimneys. The family traditions that you looked forward to all year, and now the ones we've made with friends. You can dive into the Jesus and Santa war all you like, it's impossible to not appreciate those simple things that make Christmas special in the now, because they're elements that extend to all holiday gatherings. There's really no other time of year that seems to touch as many people for both spiritual and secular reasons.

That all said, we know that certainly for many of you, the religious side of the season is certainly a big deal, so I can think of no better time to bring Red Is White to you. They've been around for a bit, bringing faith-based tees to the world at large. The best part, though, is that RiW doesn't take a preachy road, but finds praise in designs which are imminently wearable for people of all faiths, or no faith. Consider JulianGlander's "What I Need," among my favorites in the catalog. It's a what-if that recalls the old "money doesn't grow on trees" admonishment. Even with an orchard full of diamonds, the tee suggests that it is what God provides which we need most, and no amount of greed can replace it. The message carries, though, to anyone who appreciates the simple things more than the flashy, ephemeral glitz of modern life. Seriously, the only apple I want is the tree sort... an iPhone feels ineffably like overkill. It even can take an environmental slant... what's most vital is the natural, the life force that sustains us and needs sustaining. That's the sort of thing Red is White does best: putting out shirts that don't sacrifice art for a heavy-handed, specific message, but can be appreciated on a spiritual level as well. If you're among the many who are always looking to express their faith, you may have found your new favorite bookmark, but especially with a $12 sale going on for the season, any shirt connoisseur should consider checking them out. Just like the holiday season, the best parts of t-shirt graphics are the universals.

Tee-Cember: The Season to Support

While many sites have been having big sales all month, Cameesa has gone the opposite direction: December marked the introduction of a new support pricing scheme. $20 is the new support price, double the old standard. I'm personally a bit skeptical of the whole thing really driving support the way they think it will (and I definitely question the economic feasibility of their plan), but there are a couple definite perks for You The Buyer: firstly, of course, every support you may have made at $10 is grandfathered in... you WILL get your shirts if and when they print. The second perk, however, is a hugely elevated kickback for new supporters: while the $10 scheme paid out $0.02 for every sale of a tee you supported, the $20 tag comes with a $0.20 kickback. Again, I question how this will work out for the site financially, but it's certainly an interesting experiment for anyone interested in seeing a bit of a kickback just for having awesome taste in tees.

We at SingulariTee are big supporters of the idea behind Cameesa (check the site for more about the "crowdfunding" idea, including videos), and have long promoted some favorites in our blog header... we continue to suggest these as excellent places to start if you're interested in trying out the new Cameesa scheme. For those of you less willing to make the investment of time and money that supporting requires, though, perhaps their holiday sale will be more interesting to you... they're offering 10% off everything until 2010 with code HOLIDAYS09. We're big fans of Overcompetsation, by tgentry, which has the questionable honor of being the only Cameesa design we've written up in a contest watch (and consequently one we've forgotten to write up til now... sorry guys!) It's a wonderful little scene, and a great concept piece. We tend to think a good, intelligent joke shirt is worth about 100 pop culture tees (especially given their rarity), and getting ANY joke shirt with a seriously skilled execution is a wonder in and of itself. The size hammers home the joke, and the lemon blank is just, well, bright and wonderful. Pick one up... we're pretty confident anything we've ended up supporting will look at least this good when it prints. Yeah, I said when. We're cocky bastards like that.

Tee-Cember: Here We Come A-War Sailing

There's a distinct satisfaction in the tee I present to you today. It is, of course, awesome, or I wouldn't be bringing it to you at all. It is a tee I've lusted after for a while and finally get to own. It is incredibly skillfully executed, with a vintage feel and style and a one-color sepia-tone palette. But most importantly, Battle of the Ironclads II is a survivor.

Like Travis Gentry's "All Dinosaurs Go To Heaven" before it, Robbie Lee's second print at Threadless is most remarkable for being a shirt.woot outcast from a woot-born tee designer. This is big news for me because I'm a huge proponent of the best of woot's designers succeeding elsewhere. Seeing a design like this take the prize at the top tee site out there, where the best of the best congregate, proves that top-notch work is coming from woot every week... it's just not printing there. It's my sincere hope that we start seeing even more of this sort of thing in the new year... there are a number of designers who truly deserve a shield, and each has numerous designs worth printing. What better time than the present?

Speaking of presents, this is, of course, the last full week of Threadless Saletime, and this week's deal ($10 tees across the board) is pretty hard to deny. This one, of course, counts, and there's still time enough to get it in the mail by Christmas for your favorite history or robot buff.

Tee-Cember: Crazy $9 Threadless Madness (Again)[And Sale pt. 3)

Note: since our original post, Threadless has shifted to a great bulk deal... any order over $50 has an extra percentage off (up to 20% for orders over $100), so if you've got any bulk orders that you've been waffling on, now would be a great time.

I shouldn't have to say this more than once, so here goes:

HOLY CRAP ANOTHER $9 T-SHIRT DAY AT THREADLESS!

There. I'm sure you've got the point, right? So until 11AM, EST, tomorrow, Threadless will be selling all its shirts for $9. Sort of like on Black Friday, only it's, er, White Monday? At least it looks like that from my window. So whether they're trying to rake in as little profit per shirt as possible to prove that business is about quality of product, not necessarily how much money you make, or just trying to make sure all the shirts I want sell out, if you missed them last time, or need more, now is the time.

The best part about sales like this is that ALL tees are $9, even new ones, and this week (not to mention last one) there are some mega scorers printing, such as the charming Why Is An Owl Smart by ilovedoodle. It's a very tasteful graphic with an adorable character and an appealing concept (not to mention some excellent use of negative space). The whole catalog is, of course, worth perusing, but it is certainly an excellent place to start for so cheap.

Tee-Cember: Salefight!

If we haven't seemed to have talked much about our old pals Shirtfight lately, it's because there hasn't been much to say. They're in a bit of a transition period, allegedly about to embark on monthly curated pieces instead of their former contest-based line, so in the interim, things have been pretty quiet. So quiet that it would be a shame to have their holiday sale fly under the radar.

The easy choice for the sale is Againstbound's A Glimpse of the End of Days, their final contest winner, and among their best tees. The artist's abstract and unique style makes his work not only some of the most original on the shirt circuit, but in some ways some of the most appealing as well... you're probably not going to get pure Againstbound style out of anyone but him. We see many of his motifs here... large geometric pieces, copious eyes and faces, chunky black graphics against plain white tees... but as with most of his work, it's still unique, and the frenetic motion and action going on makes the piece wonderful. I'm most drawn to the octopode top of this pyramid and the ouroboros backdrop, but the base area really takes the concept further... it's a bizarro take on America's Great Seal, the Eye of Providence becoming more like the eye of Cthulhu, and the pyramid below dismantling itself from the outside. It could easily be seen as symbolic for those reasons, and I always appreciate art when it can be examined deeper than superficially, but the style alone is enough for me. Seeing this as their last big contest winner makes me excited to see what will come in their future. For the present, though, it's on sale, along with the entire catalog, until December 15th, which should be time enough to get your copy for gifting. Or for wearing to your "Abstract Fashion For The Holidays" party.

Tee-Cember: Little Bot of Horrors

We've had enough to note this week that we have not until now had time to note the current Uneetee holiday sale, presumably ending Monday but possibly ending later. We'll know for sure about the final date when the week changes over, but what is certain is that for the rest of the weekend, at least, Uneetee's entire catalog is as low as $10 a tee. I'm thinking most of them will probably be a little more expensive... for example, our pick-of-the-sale, The Robotanist, is $14. Still, it's a great deal for this piece... the subtle, moody palette makes this far and away one of my favorite shirts on Uneetee, as does the wrapping motion of the killer plants. I like the old worker robot, in his rust-tones, fighting through the field of doom, presumably feeding them in lieu of Seymour. It takes the robot meme and gives it a dash of artistry while still remaining a graphic that anyone could feel comfortable sporting. If this isn't for you, of course, you might be wrong, but there's a whole catalog of sales over at Uneetee, and even if you are picking this one up, there's no harm in grabbing a second to save on shipping. Totally worth checking out.

Tee-Cember: Threadless Teas (Sale pt. 2)

For reasons I cannot even pretend to understand, Threadless is spacing their new releases out this week. Six came Monday, and six more (three new, three reprints) came today. Our sources state that there are still more new and reprinted tees to come, but the best of them came this round, with gumbolimbo's "Stop! Tea Time!" These proper English gentlemen charm through this fun graphic oddity, which for me cannot be unlinked from "Stop! Hammertime!" And really, that makes for a shirt you can't touch in and of itself. The style of the characters and the always fun mint blank, however, help step it up to being 2 legit 2 quit.

Threadless, of course, is in the midst of their holiday sale, and this week they've upped the ante. Not only are all tees $12, but they're offering free shipping on all orders over $50. They're promising new perks every week, but with stocks dwindling after Friday's huge discounts, we cannot do better than advise you repeatedly: buy in stages. You don't want to miss out on some super savings, but you also don't want to miss out on the tees you want.

None More Black (A Roundup)

We've been talking a lot about Black Friday Sales (and really, so has everyone... your favorite tee shop probably has something going on right now, so don't be afraid to check). Now that the day is here, we have some things we'd like to discuss with you.

Firstly, Threadless is, as we speak, in the throes of a one-day-only $9 blowout. If you've read this blog at all, you should know how awesome this is. Threadless is pretty much the gold standard for tee site awesomeness, so if you can't find something worth $9 to you, you got there too late and it's sold out. It's the sort of deal that makes one want to link every word in the blog so you can't possibly miss it. Seriously, check it out. You'll be glad you did... their last $9 sale decimated stock across the board.

As for other sales? Pretty much any blog out there will have some to talk about, and we highly recommend you check around, but we've got some we think are worthy of chatting up, too, from some places we'll almost certainly talk up elsewhere this season:

~The Good: Goodjoe, the most positive shirt contest on the web, is promising deals as low as $7 on their tees for one day only, starting at Midnight Pacific (3am Eastern). I would expect and fear seeing my own piece in that bargain bin, but if you like positive messages and feel-good apparel, all price points will be browse-worthy.

~The Bad: BadAsHell Clothing, one of our favorite Tinytowne-sized indie shops, has been holding a sale since last night. We're presuming it's gone when Friday ends, but it doesn't hurt to check later, especially if it means picking up a rockin' classic looking tee like Our Women are Bad.

~The Awesome: Made With Awesome, the awesomest collaboration-based line out there, is offering 15% off everything for, again, one day only. Coupon code BLACKFRIDAY is the somewhat obvious key to the sale, which is thankfully much easier than finding the key to your unicorn.

Yet More Sales: DBH Edition

Obviously in order to keep me on my toes in prep for the busy blogging month I have ahead of me, the big guns have arranged for one sale to be announced per day. Today's announcement: Design By Humans, who are probably among the best sites to peruse on a sale, and who will be having their sale until Monday. It's not that they have the best sales, so much as they seem to have some of the rarest, and the quality tees to be had make it an event to mark on the calendar. And it doesn't hurt that you can save an extra 10% even on the sale prices with discount code 7BX737.

For me, DBH's "Perfect Tees" are my second favorite blank, so anything that's been printed or reprinted in 2009 is almost guaranteed to be awesome. I'm sure I've said that before, and I'm sure you guys have taken me up on the recommendation now and then, so conveniently DBH procured a print right before this sale that you probably HAVEN'T snagged yet: saltyshadow's Dark Side of the Firework. I see it more of a rainbow getting sucked into a black hole than really being fireworks, but that's pretty much why I like the design. The black is smoky and spacey, which gives it a lot of body and has a great flow, while the colors, while streaked along in a watercolor presentation, is bright, yet has that gauzy feel that rainbows can have in the light. I don't know if I can explain that better, so hopefully we're on the same page. Got it? Good. Anyway, I love me some white-on-black contrast, but it's doubly awesome with this much bold color in the mix, breaking through the dark cloud and fading out into the light tee. Just in time to brighten up a dreary winter, and just in time to get on sale. Can't go wrong with that!

Tilteed: The Holiday Sale

$12 is a magic number this week: not only is it Threadless' price point du jour for their holiday sale, but this week, Tilteed is getting in on the $12 action with a sale of their own... from now til December (or basically, until they pick a new weekly tee), everything in their catalog is $12. Personally, I think it's a great deal from what is easily the best new site I've come across this year. While this week's new one is from the ever-reliable RecycledWax, I'd say the real deals this week are in the highly browseable back catalog. We've written up a number of their pieces, but if you're looking for yet another suggestion, how about early print "So Hot Yet So Cold" by TangYauHoong? I've got this one and quite love it... it's got some serious style and powerful imagery. But really, I digress... just browse the catalog. You'll find something.

Prelude to Tee-Cember: Threadless Holiday Sale pt. 1

Like sands through the hourglass, so too are the days of our tees, and once again we're fast approaching the holiday season. We're planning another Tee-cember celebration this year, with daily posts on some of the places we don't get to touch on as often, the latest and greatest sales and print updates, and of course, our insanely awesome (don't laugh, they are) weekly updates. We hope you will not miss it, because we hate wasting our breath if you're gonna be ingrates about it.

First off, though, Threadless has sneaked in with their annual holiday sale a week early. Like last year, there seems to be a theme of increasing and changing bargains, so as always with their sales, we at SingulariTee suggest getting the essentials now, and checking back weekly, to get the best combination of deals without having your favorites sell out on you. The starting deal is certainly solid enough: $12 tees. Everything in the catalog, that is, so we're talking half-price selects especially. Personally, I wish the first sale roll-out was stronger, but it came with a personal present: polynothing's Attack of Literacy, reprinted and ready to buy. This is majorly on my list, so I'm excited to get a chance. It's the pulp feel, largely... it takes the zombie apocalypse feel and makes it, er, literate. Half the fun is mulling over who is participating in this attack... Shakespeare and Poe are well represented right up front, but I've been slowly mulling over the other antagonists since I saw it print originally. We like to think that if you're a frequent reader, you probably also are the ideal audience for a shirt about literacy, or know someone for whom this would be a perfect gift. We like to think lots of crazy things over here. Definitely the pick of the week here, though, both for my own chest and for your future gift giving.

Travelling Without Moving

Today, for one day only, Threadless is slashing shipping. And by slashing, I mean there is none. For anyone. So if you happen to be in England, or Mexico, or New Zealand, or Mars (presuming they ship to Mars), your shipping is just as free as ours here in the states. It's from now til Tuesday, 11am Eastern (that's like 3p GMT, for the rest of y'all to base off of), so now's a great time to make those small orders that you might otherwise have put off for too much shipping.

Since it's all about Travel at Threadless today, how about checking out last week's brilliant "Void" while you're there? This band-it piece is simply brilliant in execution and concept, and truly makes for a striking double-sided piece. The stark black-on-white color scheme really reflects the infinite nature of space, as well as its mysteries, and the nice big print shines in such a simple palette. It's an iconic image of seeking out the unknown, made doubly wonderful with the back-print that conveys the infinite, magical nature of space by portraying the void as so easy to traverse. Definitely a great buy, and an appropriate one for today's promo.

The Total Sum of Ancient Lizards Ascend to Our Lord

For this, the first week of our tenth month, heretofore known as October, let it be announced that Threadless, purveyor of cloth garments of the highest sort, shall be holding a vast discounting of their most classic wares. If thy tastes doth lean toward the vestments which have withstood the test of our times, perchance you will wish to purchase one for but $12. A mere pittance!

For those of you more enamored with the new ways, your eyes shall be pleased to direct to the bottom of Threadless' front page, where you shall be treated to wonders which you will truly marvel at. Namely, Sir Travis Gentry's tribute to the monstrous lizards of old, the Dino-Saurs. In All Dinosaurs Go To Heaven, this man of lines does magic two-fold. Firstly, he becomes the first woot-based designer to print not once, but twicely at Threadless. However, what could be even more the joyous occasion, this is verily the first fruit to come purely of that barren woot vine. It is a piece once up for print at woot's derby, and much as naught but weeds grows in its infertile soil, it is a matter of celebration to see such a seed of promise grow so tall in the fertile crescent of Threadless. It is proof that woot needn't be a place bereft of quality... to be sure, if you work to the standards of this gentleman, while you may not succeed at their fouled reservoir, your potential can blossom truly anywhere. For many, it may be more to their liking to carpetbag around where they can manipulate with their dastardly deeds, but, kind readers, we trust that you are wise enough to realize what is the higher calling. We congratulate Mr. Gentry for reaching that level.

Dressed to the Nines

EDIT: AS OF EARLY 9/10, THIS PROMOTION IS STILL RUNNING! CHECK IT OUT BEFORE THEY PULL THE PLUG!

Hot tip: Threadless is celebrating the wonderful date of 9/9/09 with a presumably one-day sale of $9 tees. That's half price, guys. You can double your Threadless awesome. And surely everyone who's read this blog even infrequently knows Threadless tees are worth it, especially on sale.

My source is confident that ALL TEES will be on sale, which is amazingly convenient since this week there were no less than 5 stupendous new selections, two of which were past contest watch faves. For starters, we have Ivantobealone & Montro's collab, Wah Wah Wahhhhh, which is the ultimate Debbie Downer tee. I originally lauded it as better than Threadless' classic Spoilt, because simply put, the humor here is way more spot-on. This is hefty cynicism at its finest, while Spoilt is more about being a dick for the sake of being a dick. This, instead, is all about the truth, even when it is tough to swallow, and disillusioning yourself from fantasy. Which can also be summed up as being a dick, but to a more noble end, I feel. Also, more importantly, this is universal. Everyone can relate to the "tough love" humor here, while the prior is really only meaningful if you're a movie fan. But more than anything it's style that wins the day. The bright colors and nostalgic whimsy of the illustration make for a suckerpunch when you finally check the shirt out.

On the other hand, there is the much moodier and darker colors of Song Bird by Quister. At first blush it amounts to nothing more than a visual pun, but the fact is, at first blush many wouldn't even catch that pun. The designer hides the elusive bird in a wonderful canopy border, with a deep jungle behind it, but more importantly he hides that musical element within the bird itself... it looks exotic and intentionally so, like so many quirky denizens of such areas, so the fact that it is built from a music note, the vehicle for a quick punchline, is really a "wow" moment instead of an "awwww" moment. It's too beautifully rendered for the weak pun to become a con.

While these won't be $9 forever, they certainly will be awesome (and if I recall correctly, they push the Contest Watch official tally over 50, so hurrah for that). I certainly recommend either... they look to have come out wonderfully. More's the luck if you can snag one while the price is cheap. The shindig should be starting at midnight central: that's about a half hour, guys. Get your game faces on.