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.

One Singular(itee) Sensation

We're a little late (about a week, to be precise) in announcing this, but we are happy to note that, for the first time in their approximate half-year span, Shirtfight and I have found ourselves in agreement. Their pick from their first dual-week battle ended up being the same as my personal favorite: mathiole's "Sensationalism." As I commented mere weeks ago, this is so epic because of how crazy and cluttered it is, much like the sensationalist stories and speakers we've become victims to these days. It represents the same furor and insanity and rage and mindlessness that the word itself represents. It's a bold tee, and it highlight's one of Shirtfight's strengths... not just any site would take the risk to print this.

You'll note in the mock up that there are two colors available: I'm recommending grabbing men's if at all possible, since it'll be on silver, as opposed to light pink, the color of choice for the women's option. Regardless of which you choose, however, I'd definitely grab one within the next week to get it for a mere $13 bucks. Which, let's be honest, is a bit of a sensational deal.

Schoolyard Brawls (also sales)

When it comes right down to it, $10 is always a good price for a good tee. To the cheap it might sound like a birthright, but for the rest of us, it makes sense why some outlets require a $15-20 price point to stay afloat. Nevertheless, in the real world, getting the same product for less is always better, so it's good news to see that Shirtfight is offering a $10 "Back-to-School" sale this week (until August 14).

We don't talk a lot about Shirtfight lately because, quite honestly, I feel a pretty dramatic disconnect between what they usually print and what I usually like, but sales are a time when we all can get together and say "yes, I love this!" For me, the piece that Shirtfight has been tempting me with that I juuust can't justify at regular price is Carry On, by Mathiole. I love the realism of the businessman's body surrounded by the flat chunks of solid color in the electricity and word balloon and such. Not to mention, holy gold foil is there a lot of gold foil here. Yet, and I think this is what really started attracting me to this, it's bright and shiny without being especially tacky, as foil is wont to do. The bold gold accents act more like just any old ink, adding a lot of flavor and contrast, but doing so in a way that respects the illustration. Past that, there's something about a non-chalantly headless illustration that is visually arresting, and while the phrasing of the speech bubble itself could be a lot smoother ("Carry the Good Music On" is a mantra I agree with, but one I wish was said a bit differently), I really enjoy the way the comment is tied into the boombox itself. The electricity, likely representing the sound and, ergo, the music, comes from both the speakers and the man's head, tying the two together, and where the gold foil drives home the fact that the boombox is blasting "the good music," the harmony of those sound bolts, as well as the other gold embellishments which not only flow from the radio but snake around the man, implies that he is one with that music... that it is inside him, as good music can inhabit us all. And if that's too deep for you, HEADLESS DUDE WITH GOLD BOOMBOX! What more needs saying?

Print Review: ShirtFight

As I've said before, one thing I'm loving about newcomer tee contest ShirtFight is that they seem determined to do things their own way. For better or for worse, they're printing tees that not only seem different from what the rest of the shirtosphere is doing, but that don't come together and become stale. The only question is: are the shirts worth it? El Presidente and Miss Etti were kind enough to send a tee my way to find out.

"You Might Need More Than A Night Light This Time," Evanimal's wordy debut winner, doesn't shock in the quality blank department: again, we're looking at the classic American Apparel tee, and all the pros and cons that those of us who buy tees online have come to expect and even love. Which means the tee is soft and lovely, yet also seems bigger than other black American Apparel XLs I own. Comes with the territory.

As for the print? Let's just say my stone-age cam doesn't do it justice. It looks great, is basically all I can say. The bright colors give the characters the feel of '80s action figures, in that they probably shouldn't work together, and that's exactly why they do (anyone who remembers My Pet Monster, or the more flamboyant He-Man villains will probably see where I'm coming from there). The detail comes through strong in the finished product... nothing seems lost in translation, nothing seems substituted from the original work... a credit to not only Shirtfight and their printers, but the designer himself... many a shirt has fallen short due to a miscommunication of tee blanks and pantones. And while Teextile has set the bar pretty damn high for me now on print feel, I can take no issues with Shirtfight's own ink distribution. Oh, it's there... you can tell by touching it... but what it lacks in softness, it makes up for in lightness... the print doesn't seem thick to me, meaning it wears comfortably, and there's plenty of breathing room in the print... it's one thing to print the inks well, but I'm also quite happy with how the negative space came out, just as intricate as any of the colors. You can see some details below: again, I apologize for the sorta bunk camera.

As for shipping, you get a standard-issue shipping parcel... you know, the quasi-paper ones, like a flexible manila envelope crossbred with a bag? You'll know it's from them, because the back is branded with their little fighter dude. In retrospect, I should have saved it to show you... I thought it was kind of cute... but hey, one more surprise in your mailbox, eh? I found shipping to be quite speedy, myself, which isn't bad at all considering Shirtfight offers free shipping inside the US. But besides a well-printed shirt, I found a secret special surprise inside my bag.

That's right, folks, Shirtfight gave me an official do-it-yourself Thumbwrestling kit. If you enjoy thumb wars the old fashioned way, you've never experienced them in a cardboard ring with a luchador mask! Nerdy? A little, but if you've been keeping up with ye olde fighters of shirt, you've probably noticed they've still got a bit of their inner child within them. I thought it was a fun touch, myself... a little extra "punch" to keep their brand in peoples' minds, as well as letting their personalities shine through.

So what about you guys? Have you picked up anything from Shirtfight yet? If so, what did you think of your tee? (and if not, why not pick one up? My personal fav. so far is Greg Abbott's "El Presidente's Birthday.") As before, don't be shy about letting me know what else you want to know about your tees, and if you've got some product yourself that you'd like people to find out about, feel free to contact me at 5songsinc@gmail.com to let me know!

Fight the Good Fight

Last week, we talked up newbies Teextile's launch. This week, the one-two punch of new blood continues with ShirtFight.

ShirtFight officially launched Friday, midnight central, but trust me, I'll catch you up. It goes like this: one "fight" a week, one winner a week, $500 and other unannounced silliness/awesomeness. With the launch, however, comes special rules: two whole weeks of submissions and voting, and a $2009 prize. Solid stuff for a startup, and definitely worth popping in to check them out if you're a designer. This week's theme: "eating junk food before bed." Basically it's all about weird dreams and the like... you've still got plenty of time to try your luck. We recommend you do it.

Unlike our the other start-up we've been keeping our eyes on, ShirtFight launched with a pair of tees ripe for the purchase at an introductory price of $15, presumably the debut price for all their shirts. Free shipping, no less, so you can't sniff at that. And what does a SF design look like? Well, it probably looks like herky's Zombie Lunch, my fav. of the two currently for sale. It has a total "Big Daddy" Roth feel to me, given the overblown cartoon grotesqueries of the artwork, while the halftones make it seem almost comic-book up close. The colors scream at your eyes, but work together ideally. And the concept, while treading basic zombie ground, has a definite humor to it (and I think the brain pie is absolutely delicious... well, design-wise). If this is ShirtFight's MO, it certainly will do much to set it apart from other contest sites, and while I don't know that I'd want a whole catalog like this, it makes me both intrigued and excited to see where the site evolves once the fights really get into full swing... I simply don't think other shirt contests are thinking like ShirtFight is, and that makes me feel they didn't just buy those gloves for the product photos... they're in this fight to do some damage