Week number 13 but by no means any piece of bad luck. I’m going to get straight to the point on this one, it’s fab! The use of intricate objects and symbols joined together to form a larger shape or symbol is a timeless one and it works fantastically on garments, depending on your subject matter.

This item from the guys at Chop Shop have had the Rock inspiration (quite apt with the current fad for Rock Star Games, Pop Idol etc doing the rounds), the fun thing about this t-shirt is that when you look closely each element of the design is a simple silouhette of a person playing an instrument or singing. You can literally sit there and look at it for ages picking out each individual part…well I said you could, didn’t say that you should! But if you actually do have a flare for music and history then you will also notice that the figures themselves are musical icons from across the decades!

So not only would you be wearing a great t-shirt with an eye catching design but you’re also wearing a little bit of history! Available in plenty of manly colours, this t-shirt is a wicked addition to any budding rocker’s wardrobe!

Tee Boy

The weather is at a low peak, it’s Monday and I’m already waiting for payday! Yes it’s that Monday feeling!

A great weekend of shopping and clubbing has just passed once again. Having scoured the stores for a t-shirt for a spur of the moment night out. Not as easy as you may think though readers, not when your friends are complete shopaholics and are more than likely to either already own the t-shirt that you have decided upon or (oh the shame) are wearing the same one that night. Luckily for me I was shopping with said friends in the day so had the opportunity to ensure that such mishaps of fashion wouldn’t occur. To this day I can clearly remember the time I entered a bar once and my feeling of smugness over my wonderful new purchase earlier in the week was all for nothing when 4 guys (yes 4!) all were there in the same item; queue to me running back home to change!

Back to this weekend and I had the dilemma…I’d already narrowed my choices down to two t-shirts, one from G-Star and the other from Diesel; both my favourite labels, both with a hint of pink, both looked great on me for a change having already hoped that would be the deciding factor. None of my friends had already bought either (in fact there was s distinct hint of jealousy when they realised that they couldn’t call dibs on either!) and neither my friends, passers by or even the very helpful girl on the shop floor could decide which one was the best. After 15 to 30 minutes deliberation, it all came down to the cold hard cash, my friends being shopaholics have their advantages, one being a VIP shopper and having a discount card! And unfortunately the discount didn’t go on G-Star clobber so the Diesel tee won out after all. And looking back over Saturday’s shenanigans, I’m glad I went with it after hearing all the compliments that were well received during the course of the evening…well I vaguely remember them anyway! Sure a number of pictures will appear on a very well known social networking site in the days to come…I await with anxiety!

Whilst out and about in the various bars it was a simple case of people watching for me, seeing what they were wearing (or not wearing in some cases!). In true me style and that of my friends, there was no respect for the weather in that none of us a) worse a jacket or b) had an umbrella; so anyone out on Saturday would have seen us jumping in and out of cabs as we hilariously cab hopped to each pub and club…expensive but worth every penny! Couldn’t get the t-shirt wet could we!?! Saw a few of my own creations in town too, a lovely sight for a t-shirt printer to see his babies being worn and enjoyed! Though it may not have been in good form to drunkenly point the fact out by pointing at said ladies from across the bar! For that girls I apologise.

In the mix of trendy wear, silly wear and down right weird wear there were a lot of fashion fatalities and trend setters, but all in all everyone seemed happy in their decision of what to wear on the town on a rainy Saturday night; and that my dear readers is the main emphasis of my ranting today, that despite my pomp and splendour, it isn’t about the labels, the materials, the colours or the design; it’s how you feel when wearing it. If a t-shirt can make you feel a million dollars, then what’s wrong with that?

Tee Boy

Yup, it’s that time of the year again. The signs are there, Big Brother starts tonight, the sun is shining and yes the Festivals are already up and running. The Big Weekend has been and gone and the larger ones are due any week now. With this in mind it occurs to me that there must be a tricky set of decisions to be made before one ventures out into the countryside for a weekend or longer period to indulge in everything festival-ish; the main one being, what the heck does one wear!? Now we all know that the British weather can be moody at its best. The current “heatwave” is luring us into a safe sense of security and the majority of fest goers are donning the habitual shorts, vests and flip flops. All very good but what if the weather takes a turn for the nasty? I personally would pack a few hoodies in there, a mac (oh the shame!), some good jeans/combats or even some waterproofs if necessary! Footwear, well it needs no explanation, pack the sensible ones as you’re going to be stood around for a long long time! Wellies are a must just in case of downpours, trainers that are comfortable and the flip flop as long as you can cope for a whole day in them are a good idea; leave the heals at home girls!

To cover your heads, beanies, caps and for the braver of us the straw hat are great to ensure that you don’t burn those sensitive head parts in the sun..and if the rain poors you will also have something to keep you that little bit drier!

Loving the deals on the tees on the high street at the moment, Topman/Topshop, Next and River Island are all doing BOGOF’s (buy one, get one free; for those of you not in the know!), or 3 for a tenner. Pretty much a bargain for staple garments to wear whenever.

Republic are doing a 2 items for £30 at the moment, including tees, polo shirts and combat shorts or boardies. Having already taken advantage of this offer myself I thoroughly recommend it!

With the sun in mind we also shouldn’t forget the kids, they especially need protection from the UV rays so makesure to kit them out, but please do try and remember that they need to look good too, it’s essential for their self respect!

Next are ahead of the game with a great range of bright and fun t-shirts, linen shirts, boardies and cargo shorts. Especially loving the bright polo shirts available…guaranteed to make any kid proud to be dragged around the shops with Mum!

An additional t-shirt of the week I’ve also found today is this dedication to the old Hanes Manual, that “how to” manual for every type of car imaginable. Well now you can have a t-shirt! Next are now selling a great summer tee with a mini or Ford Capri diagram or comically a land crawler from the Star Wars franchise. Looks great on and also bring a little fun and personality to your wardrobe…buy one now!

Tee Boy

This week’s nominations (yes, more than one!) are apt ones. The sun is out so it’s fair to say that us sun worshippers are up for some summer fun in the brightest and coolest garb.

For the girls we have a nice little number from the gang at Republic. The Crafted “Pop” T-shirt is just that, poptastic, neon multicoloured lip designs repeated in the guise of Andy Warhol. Perfect with a faded jeans or hot pants (for those brave enough and tanned enough of course!). Uniquely printed on the front and back it has the edge to be a firm staple in the wardrobe for a day chilling in town or a night our with the ladies for a few cocktails. Pop perfection!

For the lads it’s all about the basic colours and the prints. This (my personal favourite label) Superdry number has both, a fantastic bright and edgy Sapphire blue partnered with a retro feel motif circa racing driving american style. The quality and price are what you would expect from this exclusive and very sought after brand, partnered again with the faded jeans, boardies or combat shorts, this little number will get the eyes turning as you walk down piazza. Eating out in style or chilling out siesta style. Chilled to perfection.

Tee Boy

This week’s nomination is something of an acquired taste, not only is it not a T-shirt (I like to mix things up!) but it’s a little bit different from the standard type of thing that people go for. There are no slogans, no messages, no cutesy characters, no amusing anecdotes…quite simply this is a piece of art! Brought to you by the people at Fullbleed (don’t let the name fool you, they’re lovely!), this sweatshirt entitled “In Full Swing” has a one colour image of people literally swinging on clouds…aw how lovely. A nice and friendly print that is quite simply “nice”, no need for gimmicks or in your face neon colours, just a great unique print and gives you a feeling of chilling on a swing in the clouds…okay perhaps a bit far fetched but you get my drift. Put together with trendy and affordable garments and you’ve got yourself a nice (there’s that word again) little gift for yourself or someone you love.

With the nice weather coming soon, it’s nice to see something fun, friendly and relaxed for a change. How about some nice things eh, the world doesn’t always have to be harsh and in your face.

What say thee?

Tee Boy

This week’sT-Shirt of the week (again, rather late! Apologies people!) is quite an apt and timely nomination. Ode to the joy that is Star Trek, yes we may all mock those that consider themselves a Trekkie or Trekker as they now like to be called (to avoid ridicule, hmmm me thinks it may not actually work guys!). Having seen the newest addition to the franchise I was surprisingly pleased to find that they did a good job (albeit with a few rather large plot holes but within adequate parameters, and this t-shirt is a perfect gift for those geeky friends and members of the family brave enough to admit their love of all things Sci Fi (as the Klingons say, today is a good day to die (of shame)!).

The crazy yet genius people at Nerdyshirts.com seemed to have decided to play on the invasion (excuse the pun) of all things Sci Fi in the wake of all the Sci Fi themed contributions this year (Trek, XMen, Terminator and Transformers, OH MY!) by recreating one the more prominent elements of the franchise, the uniform! This simple homage to the original series’ simple Starfleet logo on a ladies v-neck t-shirt is perfect for anyone who I contemplating a themed event or convention (again the shame!).

Keeping with that theme I’m going to have a look around and see what other geeky t-shirts can be found, after all it’s now retro and trendy to have once-ridiculed characters and tv programmes emblazoned across your clothing, is it not?!

Live long and prosper…

Tee Boy

This week’s rather late nomination is from the boys and girls at Eio Clothing other wise known as Excess is OK (definitely my new mantra! Something to live by).  Having recently uber updated their website into a nice clean cut and my I say stylish site, they’re designs pretty much speak for themselves. Incorporating very contemporary and sometimes retro designs with neon and colourful gradients makes for a great combination and their prices aren’t too bad either.

These conscientious designers now only know what they’re doing with fashionable prints but they are also trying to ensure that the customers like what theyre wearing. After endeavouring to find a great source of well fitted, soft and comfortable fabrics, they now boast the use of a soft cotton known as esmeril, which is produced in Portugal. So you get a nice fit and perhaps the advantage of forgetting you’re even wearing clothing! Oh what fun!

My fave on the site has to be the colourful sunglasses design, to me it screams elements of Sam Sparro or Calvin Harris with a hint of the 80s, but I will let you decide.

Put with skinny jeans, shorts, straw hat and big retro sunnies and you’ve got yourself an album cover. Excess is definitely okay if it involves excessive use of a fashion accessory!

Keep it up people, loving your work.

Tee Boy

Hi peeps, unfortunately (or fortunately, whichever way you look at it I suppose!) we’ve been pretty busy in the office so I’ve been neglecting my blog duties (I know tut tut, but we can’t all print t-shirts, answer the phone, write emails AND create fantastic in depth and interesting blog articles can we?!).

On this lovely Friday afternoon I just have 5 minutes while the printer works its magic to regale you all with my findings in the world of T-shirt designing and printing. My favourite this week comes from America as usual (those imaginative cousins of ours), from a company called Glenz, they’re philosophy seems to be that they aren’t content with producing run of the mill retro and current well known images, but they would rather put their own little comedic spin on something that perhaps even though cute or popular, is rather dull. So hats off to you guys across the atlantic, you’ve got a sense of style and most importantly a sense of humour. Amongst the gems are the Darth Vader buffing his helmet, Nemo being custard pie’d by another “Clown fish”, a very famous fast food clown appearing in a rather whimsically ironic coffin come burger box; and finally my favourite simply titled “Mushroom Soup”, a rather innocent dish design with what appears to be a floating Smurf corpse, yes perhaps a little macabre but I like it (yes I am slightly twisted). Come on, enough of the sweet, cutesy Mr Men designs, enough with the pinks and the pastels, lets have some fun and show our dark sides, and then wear them proudly to show the world and influence the next generation to see things that little bit more realistically!

Tee Boy

This week’s nomination is from a designer based in Amsterdam called Rockwell. Based on hand drawn artwork, colourful fonts and interesting fun sayings this rather quaint brand has something going for it. Simplicity! They manage to fill the t-shirts with the design rather than keeping it minimal, meaning that you feel that you’ve purchased something worthwhile and not just a plain t-shirts with a label on it somewhere un-detectable for a rather large price tag. My favourite would be the Crazy Mixed Up Kids t-shirt, simply because it’s so simple! The use of the fun font and bright neon-like colours is just very appealing. There are no hidden agenda’s no crude slogans, just artistic prowess and the liberal use of fun!

This brand also produces a wide variety of other items such as bedding, cushions, stationery and even trainers! For those of you on the hunt for that little something that no one else has just yet, check them out, I reckon they’ll be over here in blighty in no time!

Hear it here first people!

Tee Boy

This week a little something for those Emo’s amongst us (emotionally unstable for those of you not in the know, like myself I had no idea), I noticed during a visit to one of those funky student come-indie come-goth shops, the very colourful label called David & Goliath.

This silly and fun company’s policy is to apparently create the funniest and stupidest products in the world. Their t-shirts employ a simple bright, funny character based humour, a take on words, a play on current street slang being heard from the youth of today.

Originating with a young man called Todd in Florida, USA; this unlikely visionary’s doodles soon became the main characters and designs for a range of t-shirts for men, women and children alike. Over the years this interesting and rather amusing brand has exploded onto the street and fashion scene. Perhaps a little unfortunate for those rebellious teenagers who don’t want to be seen wearing something that has appeared in Cosmo magazine recently, but obviously great news for the man himself! Progressing to pyjamas, hooded sweatshirts, underwear and socks this brand is fast expanding now with over 5000 individual characters and the diversification into books and greeting cards (the book “Boys are stupid, throw rocks at them!” has recently been a huge hit, full of silly jokes and fun doodle like illustrations. Overall, the only word that can be used is “fun”, if you’re looking for bright, colourful, amusing without being crude t-shirts and clothing; then look no further. Available on the high street and on-line, check them out, the website alone is worth a look.

Tee Boy