10 Reasons to Visit The T-Shirt Vault

This post, in its original form, was meant to highlight some of the cream of the crop at The T-Shirt Vault. Sadly, the site closed not 24 hours after this guide posted. I apologize to anyone who might have lost money on my suggestion to "not waffle" on buying these: as far as I know there have never and will never be refunds. Good luck if you did. I present the rest of the post in hopes that some awesome tee company swings in and picks up the remainder of these tees. They all deserve ink, some doubly so due to the site's failure to make good on any of their promises.

URban DECAY - theJCW: Now THIS is what DTG is best at. This restructured piece, reminiscent of JCW's Flying Contraption of Waste, makes perfect use of the print method's unlimited colors, and really sings out with grungy shades, details, and a print size worthy of all the greatness going on here. Without a doubt my pick for most worthy of the grand prize.

Clip! - Matthew Laznicka: This guy has about half of the 300 designs up for your votes, and while some are really weak, others are simply wonderful character design. This guy is a perfect example. Simple vectors creating a unique character tee... sometimes that's all you need.

The Wooden Boy's Nightmare - Walmazan: Walmazan is the sort of easy-going, positive guy that is incredibly easy to root for. Thankfully, his creativity, unique style, and continual quality of output make it even easier. We all know Pinocchio's dream, but here, we get a glimpse into the absolute worst case scenario.

3.14 - MJ: Once again truly utilizing the full-color capacities of the DTG printers, this piece is probably the most attractive and creative take on an overdone topic I've seen. The photo use and mirror-imagery makes this subtle, wearable, and delicious, and makes for a pi joke actual humans can appreciate the cleverness of.

Apetown - a.mar.illo: At this point, any tee site worth its weight in cotton should presume it to be a foregone conclusion... someday, they will print a.mar.illo. The wacky, angular design, full of trademark textures and colors, looks like as likely a winner as anything, and also looks like it'd be totally sweet on a tee.

The Sun - RobotTiger: A former contest-watch piece, this is definitely deserving of your buys. It's really clinical, almost scientific and textbook, but that makes the style really intriguing to me... it's unlike anything I've bought, or received, and that alone makes it worth checking out. It looks hip and streetwearable for some reason, while also seeming alien and diagram-esque.

Seven Seas - AtomicChild: AtomicChild is a king of brilliant abstracts, yet clinically ignored in prints. This is probably one of his most wearable and lovable pieces. Simple theme, unique style, and great flow. Definitely deserves the support.

Robot King - Matthew Laznicka: When you have enough irons in the fire, at least one is bound to get hot, and again, while Matt's work is hardly all winning material, this is just a killer little character collage, with some great colors, still more simple slick vectors, and a definite unexpected dose of fun from a source I'd never seen before.

Sangria - Recycledwax: RW, of course, is a totally EXPECTED source of fun, and he delivers with his offerings here. This is one of his most charming critter collages ever. Sangria is all about mixing fresh, delicious things together, and that's also what much of Wax's work is about too, so it's a great theme with appropriate colors and infinite charm. And now I am thirsty.

Red Hawk - Griggitee: Finally, while this is not the sort of work I'm the biggest fan of, one cannot deny the sheer awesome of this tee. The colors are, to quote Frost, "lovely, dark, and deep," and the scene is really about as epic as you can get. Skulls and snakes and hawks... if this is your style, you can do little better than this, and even if it isn't, you can't deny the artistry behind it.

Dual Updates - They're "Da Bomb"

This week has been a bit of a busy one, and I've been unable to make good blogging time except for the most important and time-sensitive of posts. As such, astute and seasoned readers may well have believed me to have forgotten a pair of required updates. Rest assured, I have not, and it was only a matter of time that I would make it to them. Specifically, now.

Our dual-update comes courtesy of Threadless, which is one of my favorite places to update from, since it is not subject to the brief lifespans that so many other sites have. Though in these cases, we may be seeing some artificially created limited-time runs. Boom Box, for example, is already selling quickly. It's not too surprising why: from a pure popularity standpoint, anything with anything Mario on it will sell well. The populace is unable to appreciate anything unfamiliar. But we've already gone over this: the piece is far more than its reference, and is a model for how to work with a reference and still create something original and artful. Alexmdc sells himself here, where most people just sell a popular product and reap the rewards. Not only is the art itself skillful and slick, but everything works together. The bomb with the boom box makes sense. The sheer 80s glory in every element works perfectly (consider the high-tops, the boom box, the Say Anything pose). The colors are brilliant (I'd buy almost anything on this shirt blank). It is a complete concept. A "lesser" character from a popular universe is used here, meaning it was selected for its appropriateness in the concept, not for its saleability, as well as making it far more wearable to the uninitiated viewer. This is more than just a gaming shirt, and that's why it works so well.

In stark contrast, we see joaolauro's
"The Cat Who Mistook His Wife (and the Kids, and the Furniture and Even the Parrot) for a Hat." While the title is its own reference, classic psychology texts don't often reap the same rewards as pop culture. It's further hindered by a lilac blank: I'd argue it looks hot as hell, but I'm sure plenty of people will be tentative anyway. And while cuteness is always a good sales mechanism, the sheer oddness of this piece makes it less apt to be effective: if people love the familiar, the odd is far too difficult for them to even try and appreciate. It seems Threadless knows this, as it seems to be a bit less stocked than the average tee would debut at, but the smaller stock will likely mean a speedy depletion as well. The elements that make this a harder sell for the sheep will almost certainly make it a must own for others, and considering the spring sale looming ahead of us sometime in the coming month or so, it could be a smart investment to grab one now now now anyway. It's certainly worth it: the concept is pretty hilarious and adorable all in one, and the style is no less charming. It's an overall great tee and in many ways very unique among the masses, so if you're interested, I'd definitely keep tabs on it just as closely as the far more populist Boom Box.

Tee-Cember: Holiday Hot List 2009

Hark, the herald Adders sing! Glory to the newborn tees! Or at least, welcome to our yearly Christmas list for you holiday shoppers out there. As last year, we figure any site can list hot sellers, shops begging for promo time, and themed lists, so we're catering to that most underserved of markets: your friendly neighborhood Adder. These ten tees are on my personal list, and if you have a dashing, daring, XL-wearing tee fan on your list, you'd do well to check it out. Especially if it's me.

1. Wet and Windy (Shirt.woot): As last year, I felt it was worth it to put out the hunt for a long out of print Woot tee. Last year, dreams came true, and I now own an Avocado Man of my own. This year, the search is on for Wet and Windy, a piece I fell in love with far too long after its departure. I don't expect my luck to hold out, but if the spirit of the holidays prevails (and probably if people insist they believe in fairies) perhaps a Christmas miracle will get one in my hands in 2010.

2. Between the Eyes (Threadless): The greatest thing about Threadless sales is Selects at incredible prices, but that means that eventually, there's so much great stuff in your cart that something doesn't make the cut. This tee is one of them, languishing behind despite it's big, bold graphic, quirky yet classic concept, and smart use of CMYK (allowing the colors to pop instead of hit you over the head with a weak print joke).

3. Caution (Red) (Supermandolini, shown left): Besides the obvious things drawing me to this shirt (seriously, I feel like I cannot get more self-parodic sometimes), I am in love with the flow of the illustration making its home on this tee, and more so with the smart placement, allowing for a strong double-take when you see what's just over the shoulder. Part of it's also the subject matter... sometimes we need a shirt that truly shows off who we are. Total class, and a tee I've desired for a while.

4. Digfoot (Enclothe): A big and bizarre print with an epic "fun" quotient. I love the character highlighted here, with his loosely drawn body (the way only half the lines ever seem to connect is very appealing when you notice it) and his funhouse-mirror predicament. This is the sort of thing a great one-color tee should be made of... the ink is visible and tasteful against the tee, and the graphic is unique enough that more color is hardly needed.

5. Time (302 Designs): Something about this piece has stuck with me ever since I first saw it (sold out and more expensive). The pose of the graphic seems to be on the defense, blocking an implicit vulnerability. The colors pop on the tee itself. The graphic feels classic and weathered, as the image should portray. I even love the brief text incorporated into the piece: "Time, may I be provided the strength to one day understand you." It's just wise enough to not be cliché, and it makes the piece feel almost personal.

6. Vulpes (Design by Humans, shown right): This graphic simply lures me in... its colors are murky as midnight, and the graphic itself is hypnotic... the fox featured here is not only mutated to start with, with it's multiple legs and tails (the creature is more of a Rorshack test than a true animal), but the base in the back of the same graphic, 180'd and painted in purple, helps make the whole piece truly hypnotising. Creative, unique, and a must-have.

7. The Coral Castles Tee (Paper Root Clothing): We just brought Paper Root into the blog last week, but this is the tee that made me fall in love. It's nothing too complex, just coral textures on a particularly sweet looking heather gray blank, with some geometric elements. It's very hipster, and hits on many chords of what's popular right now, but it's hard to deny how GOOD the whole thing comes out looking. Of the pieces we're featuring here, this is probably the one I'm most apt to grab after the holidays.

8. Ostrich Egg (HaHa Press): There's something about bird skeletons, or really all animal skeletons, that draws me in to a design, and this one is all the more irresistible not only for the life vs. death motif the feathers and egg give, but for the vibrant colors making the whole shebang eye-delicious.

9. Stop (Fullbleed): Rob Dobi of Fullbleed is probably the king of indie tee lines, given the amount of iconic designs he's put out, and the distinctive style his work has. It's a style that, to be honest, I've usually been left a bit cold by, but the more I see Stop, whether for it's great placement, smart use of minimal colors, or simply that his shadowy style is sans human silhouettes in this piece, the more I am simply drawn to it. I figure it's about time... what shirt connoisseur can truly go without a Fullbleed in their closet?

10. Octophant Polo (Resist Today, shown left): Perhaps it's time for something classier? The Octophant polo is absolutely gorgeous color-wise... the blacks and golds shine against the rich cranberry blank, the graphic itself, with trunk and tentacles writhing along, is intriguing and flows amazingly, and the placement, coming at us from around the side, is something I love to see... it helps keep things fresh. But to have all that on an AA polo shirt for the price of a regular tee? I just don't see how a boy could resist.

Of course, we do suggest that if you want a gift guide, this whole blog is technically just that. Especially check out our Contest Watch updates for choice ideas. And don't forget, sometimes it's nice to add new people to your list. Wink wink.

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.

Woot Doesn't Suck For A Week: A Review

Regular readers likely are very familiar with shirt.woot. I know many of you are woot users yourselves... designers, patrons, possibly staff (hi, guys). I know many of you are bloggers, and ergo used to finding yourselves on all the big names. And surely many of the designers and shirt buyers from other sources have been featured at woot, or checked out designer friends when they were featured. So I think it's safe to say that the average visitor knows the simple fact: shirt.woot is not known for great, good, or even decent tees. Which was part of why last week was so glorious for long-time checkers of woot... it was like finding a whole new site!

As Contest Watch goes, we're pretty psyched to announce that two of our four predictions panned out for their last Editor's Choice week. The best of the two (and the best print of the week, if I do say so myself) was EdgarRMcHerly's "Air," a gloriously sunny and bold watercoloured piece that has absolutely exceeded my expectations in print. It came out big and bright and beautiful, while preserving the hazy weirdness of this city in the stratosphere. It really hits a standard of design, not to mention print, that woot rarely can find itself measuring up to. It's simple complexity and charming little cloudmen make me wonder why a site with this sort of talent wouldn't print things this wonderful regularly.

Also succeeding in printing was Drakxxx's "Steamworks Operatica," a piece (shown below) which truly illustrates just how needed these editorial fingers in woot's pie are. The piece took fourth in woot's Steampunk derby, missing a print despite being more on-theme than the rest of the top-5 combined. It is, however, a wonderfully detailed piece, full of the bits and bobs that capture the imagination in the style. It aims to capture the aesthetics of the technology, the fashion, and the art, instead of simply condensing it down to gears, smoke and robots (though there's certainly plenty of that, too). Again, it makes for a shirt that is attractive and artistic enough that it's a wonder people take the generic route so often.


It's not to say woot was short on its humor, giving us Dekonstruct's smart-yet-nerdy Cthulhu BBQ to prove that it is indeed possible to appeal to the average wooter base AND the people who want a little more in concept, as well as Artulo's clever parody Gonna Make You Lunch, which serves to prove that cuter art need not be geared to children. For people who wanted a moodier piece, there was Jewelwing's The Pressure Lessens, which stands out even against the other artistic pieces this week. It was just nice to see a week that was diverse without being super-niche, and to see derby designers get some recognition without needing to be generic and cloying.

Of course, while the reviews were pretty raving all week long (and why shouldn't they have been), it's looking like the sum total of awesome will be lost to the sands of time this coming Monday, during the reckoning. Le sigh, this is why we can't have nice things. But there is time yet for you to make a difference for these lucky tees that got a chance to rise above the milieu normally surrounding the contest they were denied print from. It'd be nice to see something good succeed for once, and it looks like you can buy with confidence in these cases, so feel free to snag yourself a woot shirt you'll feel good about. We all know it could be a while before that happens again!

The $5 Select Blog

You Heard Correctly! Threadless is putting their Spring Sale into high gear with $5 selects! This is huge news, and probably the first time they've done this with Selects. If you've ever wanted some blissfully amazing Threadless shirts, now would be the time to browse:

And of course, don't forget about those $10 Selects I mentioned before!

Tee-cember: A Minor New-Year Miracle

Two deal-a-days. Two budget tees. Two completely buyable designs. In all honesty, the idea that I could love a teefury AND a shirt.woot on the same day is a fully new and baffling feeling, but one I quite enjoy. My only regret is not being able to buy them.

Above is the TeeFury offering, an anti-humor piece called Life Is Complicated (by Lehel Kovacs). I quite enjoy it, with that bland sigh coming out of the horn's bell. It could be the frustration of playing a new instrument (as Lehel suggests it may), or it could be a joke that such a normally bold and blaring instrument would put out but a sigh, or it could be a French Horn's lament, knowing that to most, it is a frivolous piece of brass. Whatever the case, it's an outside-the-box piece, which is enough to make me love it, even the positioning... what others see as too high, I see as ideal, having the horn positioned about where a real one would need to be to play it.

As for shirt.woot, as the year dies, so does their shirt offering. Dale Edwin Murray is the person responsible here, with a piece called Death Stare. There sure is a lot of staring going on, too. It's a little unsettling, but I love the eyes, simple as they are. I also love the drippy comma-ghosts, each one bringing something a bit different to the party, and I appreciate the blue background, not only for its welcome splash of color, but because it creates a contrast, not only between the shirt and itself, but acting as a canvas for the darker elements of the design, helping them show up against the asphalt, which would otherwise likely swallow them up. In general, this is the sort of thing I'd like to see more of at woot... think creative, attractive, and wearable. Instead of a cute twee shirt, why not have something which is both adorable and a little morbid. Morbidorable. All I can hope for is that I'll be able to snag one in randoms.

As always, remember: TeeFury shirts WILL NOT EXIST tomorrow, unless they get optioned elsewhere at a later date. Thusfar that's been the vast exception to the rule, so if you want this at all, your only guaranteed chance (and your cheapest chance, at that) will be to snatch it up in the next 21 hours. As for woots, you'll probably have a two-week window after today to buy it at $15, but as with all dailies, and indeed almost all woot shirts worth wearing, I cannot presume this particular one will last any longer than that. As always, the early bird catches the worm, so grab it now to make sure you don't lose out.

Tee-cember: Our first Threadless updates.

Welcome back to the blog. Forgive me for my extended absence... 25 days of blogging (and a holiday to recover from) can be exhausting.

With the year drawing to a close, it is sometimes worth taking an inventory of what you've done the year before. In the case of this blog, I've been averaging over 2000 hits a month. I have no clue how many are unique, but for someone who is convinced he's small time, it seems like solid numbers for an upstart, so I'm quite proud, and excited to see what the new year holds. I am also proud of my 17 contest watch segments, largely because in four measly months, 7 of the pieces I talked up have seen print. Those last two can be seen at Threadless this week.

My pick of the week, by far, goes to Death and Colours (week of 10/16) by Thiagob. It made every bit an attractive shirt as I presumed it would, and even with recent Mathiole prints that revel in similar simulated process color splashes, it still stands out as unique against the average Threadless shirt. It's a definite buy as soon as I can justify a new Threadless shirt... I -did- just get my 8 in from the holiday sale.

Earlier than all that (week of 10/9), I talked up another design with a much different but still definite artistry: The Mouse Tamer by Phillydesigner. This one is definite Threadless, mixing the art with humor to bring us a mouse taming an elephant. Or a mouse gymnastic troupe showing off their finale. Whatever the case, it always seemed like it was meant for Threadless to me, and it's good to see exactly that through its printing.

Half the fun of this blogging thing is seeing truly wearable and creative content get its day in the sun. It comes as no surprise, then, that my favorite part is seeing a piece come from a lowly submission to a full-blown print. It's something I hope we can rejoice in together more often in 2009.

Tee-cember: Hark, Selects and Updates Sing!

In the spirit of the holidays, I'd like to regale you with a couple of T-shirt carols:

Joy to the world, for Jublin prints!
Let Earth receive his tee!
Let every drawer prepare him room
And Designing Humans sing!
And Designing Humans sing!
Designing, Designing Humans sing!

Joy to the Earth, his shirt is called
You Just Can't Kill The Beast!
Its size & style are worth your praise
Perhaps you should buy 4?
Perhaps you should buy 4?
Perhaps, perhaps you should buy 4!

He rules the day with awesome squid
And DBH does prove
The prescience of my contest watch
Dated October 3, Dated October 3
Oh dated, oh dated October 3!




O Fishy Tee, O Fishy Tee,
How truly sweet your graphic?
O Fishy Tee, O Fishy Tee,
How truly sweet your graphic?
This week you earn all our respect
At Threadless, as their new Select.
O Fishy Tee, O Fishy Tee,
How truly sweet your graphic?

O Fishy Tee, O Fishy Tee,
You're titled I Love Sushi.
O Fishy Tee, O Fishy Tee,
I also do love sushi.
You do depict an animal
Both businesslike and cannibal
O Fishy Tee, O Fishy Tee,
I'll wear you out to sushi.

O Fishy Tee, O Fishy Tee,
Your line work does excite me.
O Fishy Tee, O Fishy Tee,
Your color scheme delights me.
You plain and simple rock the house.
I'm glad you made this, Flying Mouse!
O Fishy Tee, O Fishy Tee,
Don't sell out quick to spite me.

Tee-cember; God Rest Ye, Limited T-Shirt Deals

A couple limited-time only deals to discuss today. For starters, Uneetee is starting the back-half of the third sale they've had this season, based on the 12 days of Christmas. Today's deal offers all tees at $13, and $2 flat shipping on all orders for US/Canada, but it'll be worth checking back daily, both for new deals and for their $10 Insanitees (today's being Pick Up the Peace, tailor made for any classic rocker who's a fan of The Who).

Definitely head over to Teefury today as well and check out Edgar R. McHerly's "Stream of Consciousness" (shown left), a thought-provoking and evocative piece. It combines his cartoony and artistic sides in one design. This is the sort of thing that makes this particular designer so exciting... he's not afraid to go hyper-artistic on us, and his unique style and distinct frame of mind give us a glimpse into a totally different world. It's good to finally see more of his signature work printing, as his successes often come from his least distinctive pieces. Even if you're not into the shirt, at least stop by for the beautiful but macabre poem included in his sidebar portfolio. And don't forget, as with all TeeFury shirts, this one is gone-zo forever at midnight tomorrow (EST).

Finally, in the world of apparel the tshirt is king, but over at Inkhound, they're polygamous. Inkhound's new-ish, and actually combine a little bit of both the sites above: they feature one shirt a week (or so), like Uneetee, after which the shirt is no longer available through them, much like Teefury. Also like TF, the rights remain with the designers, so they can market their shirts themselves or anywhere that will take a slightly used design. The difference? Along side each shirt is a hat, with the same sale time and same rights-retention. The current one is from Compete-Tee-Tion's MJ. It's based off an old shirt design, Professor Von Platypus, and while I'd much rather have the monocle wearing, mustache sporting bizarro mammal on a shirt, the contract means it's ever possible, and the hat looks incredibly swank for so limited... the image is embroidered on, for starters, so it's going to look as high quality as your buddy's Local Sports Team lid, but it'll be a lot more fun, loads more distinctive, and start far fewer pissing contests among fans of other animals. With all this going on, surely something out there might strike you today.

Tee-cember: They Call Me Shirt-Miser

Design by Humans has been conspicuous in its absence for the last month in my write-ups. It's partly due to their VonZipper sponsored competition, which announced winners last week. It's partly due to their holiday sale ending before December hit full swing. But it's also because somewhere along the line, DBH seemed to forget they once had a $19 price point. To me, having some shirts debut at $19 made the more expensive ones more justifiable... "well, I've got two cheaper shirts, so I can toss in this 24-dollar one." It was always something a little special, so the price tag was worth it. Lately, it's felt that shirts that would have been cheaper beforehand are just defaulting to $24. It's not a practice I want to encourage, but nevertheless, this week provided a couple tees that just might be worth that extra splurge.

Torakamikaze's Enchanted Nightmare straddles the price line to me, given that it is a good sized discharge print. Even so, though, to me it's more than worth the consideration anyway. It's gorgeous in a dark way. The colors are wonderful together (and it doesn't hurt that the hooded wraiths remind me of Mumm-Ra). I love how the linework doesn't appear to be anything but the shirt itself, which really integrates it into the blank well. I love the details and characterization, the textures on everything and the way the spirits in the background look (a bit of maniacal whimsy) and fill up the scene. Everything about it falls into place just right, and while I'm not fully swayed from appreciation to purchase, it is far and away the most tempting new shirt DBH has put across in a month.

Also straddling that very line: DCAY's "Wild Things." It's got my love this week for a number of the same things Tora did above, but in totally different ways. The colors for example... DCAY goes classic and rustic here, which works wonders with the style and concept of the piece. The linework is also similarly attractive, with simple, delicately lined leaves melding with animals that look like classic woodcuts. The kicker here is the use of transparencies, and the ways those transparencies work... sometimes the leaves are printed over the animals, sometimes they only show through the empty space in the linework, and still other times the animal is obscured, as if the leaf is no longer transparent. It gives a great sense of how nature relates to itself... how ecosystems rely on each other, and how animals can inhabit their surroundings. Or maybe I'm just reading too much into a simple and highly wearable nature shirt. That certainly doesn't make this any less tempting, and the full-frontal print assuages the guilt of the price a tad, also.

Also making things a bit more guiltless: DBH is donating $1 from each shirt sold this season to Toys for Tots. It's no price break for you, the shirt buyer, but it's an easy and painless way to give without even making an effort.

Tee-cember: Threadless Holiday Sale Finale

The final week of Threadless' extensive holiday sale is upon us, and there are some serious discounts. Like what? Like at least 10% off all orders over $50 (as high as 20% for orders over $100, so if you've still got a massive cart, you can be seeing $20, $40, $60 off your bill). I personally like free shipping more, but that's maybe cheap of me. For the rest of you, this is pretty epically awesome.

Epically awesome comes in many forms, but one such form is RED, by Roadkill3d. I shouldn't need to enumerate the reasons why, because it should be obvious. The rendering is perfect... rarely do you see realism as real. The background elements turn back the real, and let the character be the main focus... I love how even the hyper-skilled drawing fades simpler toward the edges. Then again, there's not much to not love. The concept blends fantasy and humor, with a hefty dose of darkness and a little sexiness... it's like one big pulp shirt. Fairytale noir. It takes a child's tale, and makes every last bit of it mature in all the right ways. I'd go so far as to say that hating this shirt is like hating To Kill A Mockingbird: it's beautiful and elegantly composed and sums up all the potential and power of the medium... you don't need to love it, but you need to appreciate what it is. If this was the standard all shirts were held to, we'd need to do way more laundry, because there simply wouldn't be many to go around. Entire sites wouldn't exist. And that's all while thinking the print is maybe a tad too small on the finished product... this would be devastating otherwise. I'll be the first to admit that I'm glad to have simpler fare around, but we should consider ourselves lucky that there are people who can elevate a shirt to more than a consumable, but to something which is both incredibly artistic and incredibly wearable.

Of course, the other side of epic is knowing when simple is the way to go, such as kaloyster's "Friday, I'm in Love." Where "Red" should need no explanation to see why it is an amazing piece, this shirt may need some. Not that I'm giving it. When it comes right down to it, though, this is simply the sort of shirt that if you don't get it immediately, you shouldn't wear it. It's concept concept concept, and that makes up for a lot of things that should be flaws. The boxy design is forgivable because it gives it a calendar feel. The simple restroom man that is the main character oddly makes the charades he engages in all the more skillful that they came across so accurately. There is a time and place to use work this simple, and this is that time... the small space of each square makes detail a waste, and the infographic concept of this homage requires a simple, infographic look. It really is a homage to the original inspiration, too... there's clearly care put in, and some great subtle humor (I love the final Thursday, especially). There are lots of smart decisions also, like the consistant refusal to simply clone Tuesday and Wednesday... even cloned Friday at least flips back and forth on every other iteration. It's not something everyone will love, but I can't see how anyone not in on the joke wouldn't at least give a smile.

Get those Threadless orders in quicklike now... they're insisting over there that we won't see this sale come Christmas. This might be a time when your "purchase ban" should be broken, because nothing guarantees a post-Christmas sale, just like nothing guarantees a shirt will survive through the sale for you to pick up later even if there is one.

Tee-cember: I Wish Me a Merry Christmas

This time of year, many blogs will give out gift guides. Tech blogs will let you know the hottest gadgets. Amazon will make year end lists of the best books and CDs, as well as clue you into great gift choices. To be sure, the humble shirt blog is no different. If you search the blogosphere, you'll surely run into plenty of suggestions for everyone on your list's chest-covering needs. Here at SingulariTee, however, I wanted to give you a holiday guide with a difference. That's why I'm focusing my attention on a very underserved market: me. So if you have an Adder on your list, get out your pen, paper, and maybe a trusty credit card. I guess you can keep reading if I'm not on your list, too. Or you could add me. New friends!

1: Bears With Saws (shown above) - Pretty much the most epic thing ever. From TopatoCo, featuring web comic merch galore. A great stop for any fans of such strips as Dinosaur Comics, White Ninja, or A Softer World, but just as interesting, and sometimes moreso, to browse through unbiased. Half the fun on this shirt is not understanding the why of the ridiculous collage, and the other half is appreciating it anyway, as well as the sweet text job.

2: Captured Nostalgia - A simple drawing of a camera, but with much more impact. The black-on-white linework is stark and perfect, while the small stream of color gives a focal point to the piece. This shirt is perfect for photographers and dreamers and obviously me, and due to Threadless's swanky holiday sale, it's an easy and cheap decision to slip one into your cart while checking out for yourself. What's an extra $10, right?

3: Bees - Probably more logically titled "Elephant Head Man," this Heavy Tees shirt is something I dig for the bizarre factor, as well as the weathered feel and the colors. It's something I'd rock happily yet am tentative about biting the bullet on, which could make it a perfect surprise gift for anyone who loves oddities and surprises.

4: Das Einhörnchen (shown right) - It's adorable. It's a little evil. It's bloody well drawn. This little squirrelcorn is ideal for nearly anyone on the cute spectrum, whether in love with fuzzy bunnies or preferring a mix of creepy with their sweet. It's from A Better Tomorrow, which is a German site, so you'll give the extra gift of not making your loved one have to figure out German to get it.

5: The Great Gatsby - I've got to hand it to Urban Outfitters, the unlikely purveyor of this classic literature tee. It's easy to pass off retro film, music, even cartoons as hip fashion, but to suggest those same hipsters embrace classic literature is a pretty ballsy move. Still, it helps when the cover art is so gorgeously translated into a shirt, eschewing boxiness and opting for a navy backdrop and full-size print. As a lit nerd, I'd wear this proudly, though I'll be the first to admit part of my desire for it is to give me the proper kick in the pants to finish The Great Gatsby once and for all. If you have a Fitzgerald fan who is less of a slacker, or really any bookish sort, this could be a quite unique gift idea.

6: Avocado Man (shown left) - This one's specifically for my own sake. You're probably not going to come across this shirt.woot cult classic, because it's been reckoned away for well over a year now. Still, like those massive Lego space stations I always knew I'd never get, I have to include it. Part of the appeal is being outside the realm of what i'd normally try to scoop up. Part is the color combos. Part is that I want to imagine avocados looking like this in the wild. But what it comes down to is a desperate hunt... one of the ones that got away. If you find a copy, score for you, but if it's a men's XL, I will so hunt you down.

7: Intelligently Designed - You really can't get much simpler than this godly Cotton Factory tee. It makes a statement while remaining wearable and keeping an air of maturity in the mix. While evolution is certainly the theory of choice for the overwhelming majority of the educated, intelligent design IS evident in the tee, where the black outline and gold ink play against each other to give a brown look to the star of the shirt. A solid idea if you're looking for one more stocking stuffer for your favorite science-type, animal lover, or a gag gift for the yankee swap your Baptist neighbors are throwing.

8: Taft in the House - Love history, politics or bathtubs? Consider Amorphia Apparel, which also sells a handful of other tongue-in-cheek presidential designs. Taft's is the most family-friendly, but then, Taft is funny in general. The simple icon of an image helps keep the whole thing attractive, and while I, once again, stand by Amorphia's default suggestions, both in brown and blue, you can even create your own custom color combos. Just play it safe.

9: The Retort (shown right)- An exercise in absurdity, and frequent readers know I love me some absurdity. Big, Bold, and Colorful, like any good Design By Humans print, the designer sums it up as "a collage of public domain imagery with patterns and a touch of snobbery." Two out of three ain't bad for me! The color choices, the eyecatching patterns, and the big-ass fish make this ridiculously wearable and wearably ridiculous, but the speech bubble is the point of the shirt. Might be perfect for your favorite fisherman, but might be even more perfect for your favorite economist.

10: Black Ceremony - I don't understand "streetwear," which I believe this alleges to be, but I cannot help but be drawn to this Tank Theory tee. It's a double sided print with bold colors, beautiful flowing lines, and creepy shadow silhouettes. It's a great example of how a shirt can become wearable art. It also looks oh-so-very rockstar, which on its own is reason enough for me to be drawn to it. And because it's priced for indulgence only, it makes for a much more special gifting experience. Especially for the shirt-addict blogger who might not be able to afford it otherwise. Not that you know anyone like that.

Hopefully I've provided some fresh new ideas for the holidays. Sometimes it can be difficult to find something a little special and different, but you should be able to find something here that's just right for any size-XL-but-2X-at-Design-By-Humans on your list. Or probably people of other sizes. They might like them too.

Tee-cember: Threadless Holiday Sale pt. 3

The Great Threadless Caper continues this week, and while the extra price cuts of last week are gone, something even better has replaced it: free shipping for orders over $50. Ten to one, if you were going to make a purchase under $100 before, this will save you a couple extra bucks further. While we're at it, the good folks at Threadless Blog would like to inform you that you can save another $3 with the coupon code "holiday08," among other $3 coupons.

It's a great week for it, too, as you could probably fill that order just from the new shirts. We've got the fan-favorite Monster Mash collab, the me-favorite Aphte getting his first print, the perennial favorite Communist Party reprinting for the umpteenth time... the boards have been buzzing for this week, and almost every shirt is a winner. My favorite this round is from Wotto. His "Thou Shalt Not Steal" is 100% Wotto characterization... the thief's face and the ghosts coming from his coat make that abundantly clear. Still, it feels a departure in some ways. This is, for example, one of the best uses of the splatter/inkblotch style that I've seen... I love how it forms the peddler's hair and beard in a huge amorphous blob... it's as if he sneaked out of the shadows to try to sell his hot merchandise: "Pssst... wouldja like t' buy a watch?" Of course you would. Or maybe a bird, some bones, a heart, the sun, or the flippin' Mona Lisa. The humor is as rampant as the style, and that's what Wotto at his best delivers in spades: humor and style.

While you're filling your cart up, I was also drawn to one of the reprints: Odd but Cute by azrielen. It's simple and bizarre, a one-color print whose name sums it up perfectly. It makes intelligent use of color and lines. It's also well over 5 years old... under 300 votes... it's a great indicator of how far Threadless has come. On the other hand, it's a great indicator of how well Threadless has stayed the same... it still fits their current selections and its title sums up chunks of their catalog. It's that combination of quirk with the everyday, that dash of humor, that finds its way into so much of their product. That they can reprint it five years later and still have it look fresh is testament to just how well they've built their brand. And c'mon, you've always wanted an elk-or-devil bunny. Don't even pretend.

Next week appears to be our last gift of the sale, and I for one am excited to see how they top this. Having seen my own cart deplete over the past two weeks, though, I have to urge once again... now may be the best time to bite, especially if you want these tees in your hands in time to gift them.

Tee-cember: We Wish You a Merry Shirtsmas

The holidays are largely about giving and spending time with friends and family, to me. I think that's what it boils down to no matter how you celebrate, or which holiday you consider your own. It doesn't matter if you're giving to charity or your children, spending time with your college friends or your church family, that's still the crux of the season. As such, I feel it's vital to give you a run-down of some shirts out there from my extended "family," the people I've rooted for, the people who have tolerated me, the people I cut my shirt-elitist teeth with. It is my hope that you will, in return, give them your business.

I don't think I could start this little rundown without mentioning We3Tees, a spreadshirt shop which even sounds Christmas Carol-y, featuring the combined talents of wooters twallis, Soothedbyrainfall, and the ubiquitous tgentry (TGWA, to you Threadlessites). Being three wise design minds, it's simply one of the most well-rounded print on demand shops you'll stumble across. There will always be a part of me that wants to give Mr. Gentry a "what were you thinking" shake for not pushing "Mine!" (above left) at other contests, but what he may have lost in prize money, you gain in being able to snag one of woot's most legendary losses right now. Just as legendary in my mind is Soothedbyrainfall's "Barnyard Apocalypse" (above right), inspired by Cake's "Sheep Go To Heaven." It takes a special sort of shirt to entice me into a print-on-demand site, and this is one I've wanted long enough to go all in when I can. In fact, the designers may as well guarantee you'll find SOMETHING you wanted before, or something you didn't even realize you wanted. Definitely worth the browsing.

You'll note, then, that this entry is going to largely feature personal printshops of the on-demand variety, perfectly viable sale options that just don't seem to get the right exposure due to how much clutter there is in the market. The only way to get less exposure, perhaps, is to not promote at all. Former woot designer Gargrazz has a shop with this issue, but also has a shirt worthy of that promotion. "In Case of Emergency, Tear Shirt" is your step-by-step guide to Hulkamania, and a perfect gift for wrestling fans of the non-shirt-tearing variety. In all honesty, though, the humor is such that any survivor of the '80s should be able to appreciate it, especially how the "safety instruction" style is blended with the characterization which makes the joke. Worth checking out, brotherrr.


I've discussed my totally heterosexual love for Dekonstruct before in this blog, but it is worth noting specifically that he not only has a web comic which is sadly on hiatus (though that means it's a great time to catch up!), but also has opened his own MySoti shop. One of my favorites, and I do have a couple, is Space Bunneh. Space Bunneh was an entry in woot's "Line Art" derby, and while there were scads of absolutely beautifully drawn entries, this struck me for being so simple and offbeat. The bunny aliens are wonderful, odd without sacrificing charm, but my money is on the carrot satellite for best detail. Do look through his other work too for more solid ideas in his unique style.

Someone else who knows how to rock the simple is friend-of-the-blog and super-commenter JadenKale, who rounds out the three most logical Print On Demand options with her Cafepress shop. While her Winter Cthulhu cards are totally worth it for the season, they simply aren't shirts, and SingulariCard makes no sense. Definitely check those out, but if you want apparel, her Garlic and Gaelic products are apt to be a big draw as well for anyone of Italian-Irish descent. I imagine it's biggest draw would be with new parents, as Jaden has wisely added onesies and plenty of junior apparel, but there's plenty of garb for the adult crowd, and even other options like coasters and a keepsake box (great idea, Cafepress) for those people who might feel they've outgrown wearing cute on their chest. For those of us who know you never really "outgrow" cute, though, it could be the perfect gift for your friends whose favorite sort of potato is covered in a tomato-basil sauce.

I know there are some of you who might not trust the Print-On-Demand scene, and that's understandable. There are definite limitations and differences from the regular screenprint process, and while I believe their work can and will look great with good shirt care, some people just want the real deal. For those people, I do urge reconsideration, but also offer you a couple "classic" style prints. On the one hand, we have Monster's Throne, a design from Anti-Clothes and woot's illustrious print guru, James Cho. It's selling down pretty quick, so now's the time to snag one, or else toss a reprint request toward the site. Quite the opposite is Robbie Lee's "The Summerai," which just won over at Springleap. Where Cho's is showing a shirt on its way to sold out, Robbie's is a shirt that doesn't even physically exist yet... Springleap doesn't even seem to make the blanks until winners are announced. The con to this is a wait: if you order your Summerai now, it will probably arrive closer to spring. The pro, though, is grabbing a shirt so new that you won't be running into sell-out issues. At least, one presumes you won't. Better yet, when you do finally have it in your hot little hands, it'll be fresh off the presses. It might not be ideal for a Christmas gift, but you should certainly consider it for your post-Christmas money.

This all leads to an important request on behalf of this blog. I am but one set of eyes, and you are apparently hundreds. Are you a popular designer (woot, threadless, etc) with a small print-shop, whether On-Demand or otherwise? Let me know. I'm not gonna love all of you, so I offer no guarantee of mention, but I also don't want to miss out on something I want to share. Have you seen a shirt I've talked up in a Contest Watch up for sale at a more obscure shop I might have missed? I'd love to hear about it. Send me an email at 5songsinc@gmail.com, and I'll get around to it.