The T shirt Thread

[cultpop 0217]

We have a few various vintage threads and one dedicated to loopwheel stuff but I thought we could use one dedicated to the humble tee. 

Graphic or plain, vintage or new, share your favorites here. 

 

I'll start.  

Vintage Lake Whippoorwill Speedway Tee 

Thin knobby fabric, single stitch, no label but feels like 50/50. 

[rbeck]

Oh man I've got too many tees so I will definitely share some of my favorite vintage ones here. 

[LazyS]

[reallypeacedoff]

Anyone got the Lightning Vintage Tees mag? Worth it?

[rodeo bill]

On 2/6/2025 at 4:36 PM, reallypeacedoff said:

Anyone got the Lightning Vintage Tees mag? Worth it?

I think I've had that one at some point, or at least definitely spent time with it. Excellent but exactly what you'd expect, and nothing more, if you know what I mean? I like this book, gratuitous boob cover notwithstanding. It feels very personal and includes a lot of bootleg Ts, which I like.

[mlwdp]

Vintage Harley Davidson tshirt circa 1995.  It’s my lucky shirt that’s been sewn a hundred times due to wear and tear.

 

[patricksjeans]

This ones a good story. This was my dad’s restaurant he owned in Seattle in the mid-late 80s. The story goes that when he and his brother purchased the business, they didn’t want to demolish the cool, vintage “Leroys Grill” neon sign, so they just decided to name it Leroys. They found a bunch of branded gear in the attic and gave it away (wasn’t really a ‘buy a t-shirt’ kind of establishment during their time). By the time he passed, he only had one “Leroys” sweater left, and he gave it to my sister. 

The Christmas after he passed, my mom gave this to me. She randomly stumbled across it on Etsy being sold by a vintage reseller. No backstory as to where it was found (probably a thrift store of course). Definitely one of my prized possessions 

[MJF9]

@patricksjeans great story... thanks for sharing it

[cultpop 0217]

Hunted for this one for years. 

1984 Roy Rogers L.A. Games Tee as worn by Val Kilmer in Real Genius. 

One of my grails. 

A few cheap and inaccurate reproduction have been made but I wanted an original and few years back I finally found one. 

Im not saying it's screen used but I bought it from a seller outside of L.A. so you never know! 

 

Just perfect. 

 

 

[cultpop 0217]

On 2/25/2025 at 3:29 PM, cultpop 0217 said:

Hunted for this one for years. 

1984 Roy Rogers L.A. Games Tee as worn by Val Kilmer in Real Genius. 

One of my grails. 

A few cheap and inaccurate reproduction have been made but I wanted an original and few years back I finally found one. 

Im not saying it's screen used but I bought it from a seller outside of L.A. so you never know! 

 

Just perfect. 

 

 

Godspeed Val. 

[Double 0 Soul]

16x collage of ‘white’ Gildan Tees, in their Ultra Cotton..

I’ve probably got the same amount in gray, black and navy 

Edited April 5 by Double 0 Soul

[Maynard Friedman]

The top one I bought in a little shop in Brick Lane in 1999. The second, I think in Greenwich in the very early 2000s.

[Maynard Friedman]

These 2 I’ve had since 1990. I did some work for a friend (well, more a friend of a friend) who used to own the brand and shop Boxfresh and now owns Boxpark and was paid in clothing he was dealing in. The no alla violenza ones were produced for the 1990 World Cup in Italy. I used to have another in grey and another of the basketball ones in red until my sister stole them. He also gave me a coach jacket, some Soffe sweatshorts and a Burro t-shirt (they shared an industrial unit in Lewisham).

[Maynard Friedman]

I bought this one at the Yankees store in South Street Seaport (NYC) in 1999, purely for the name on the back.

[cultpop 0217]

One of my rarest. And most tattered. 

Roy Lichtenstein X Guggenheim "Grrrrrrrr!" T shirt

In 1993 the Guggenheim Museum used Lichtenstein's 1965 work "Grrrrrrrrrrr!" In promotional materials to advertise their upcoming show: "Roy Lichtenstein: A Retrospective".  

They sold this shirt in the gift shop. It has since become a collector's item. 

I found it about 20 years ago thrifting and loved it so much that I nearly destroyed it.

In fact it made quite a few WAYWT appearances in the early 2000s. Very high rotation. 

It was so beat up I recently bought a reprint so I could semi retire the OG. You can see the reprint image size is a bit smaller and the shirt is pretty thin in comparison. And aside from a few coffee drips it's also still white. 

 

[mondo]

Couple of favourites still on active duty... I like the faded gradients on the screen print for this one, plus it's such a strange way to plug a resort...

This Pat Metheny 1993 tour shirt was a thrift store find, but I would definitely have been there if they'd come out to Australia at that point. From about '86–'89 my night-time listening consisted of C-90 cassettes compiled by my guitar teacher – I'd put them on as I was going to sleep (as a result, there were tracks on the B-sides I only discovered after a few years, and many I was unaware I'd assimilated until encounters later in life) – and one prominent side was a bootleg (made by the same teacher) of a Sydney show, with the track "Phase Dance" looming large in my psyche.

Later, in 2020, I scored a last-minute ticket on a whim to see Metheny and experienced many of those tracks from my teenage subconscious... a memorable evening, not least because it was the last thing I saw before pandemic lockdowns hit. Unbeknownst to me I'd been able to get the ticket so easily due to all the cancellations – there were many empty rows in the grand old theatre...

Edited April 6 by mondo

[cultpop 0217]

1975 N.P.P. ( National Periodical Publishing,  now DC Comics)  Superman Tee

I have a vague childhood memory of seeing this shirt for sale at Marriots Great America theme park. 

 

[cultpop 0217]

Vintage Stedman brand 1989 Betty Page t shirt 50/50 poly/cotton t shirt XL

 The art is by Steve Woron but seems to be vaguely inspired by Dave Stevens' Rocketeer comics. 

Another massively oversized t shirt. 

This started out life in my best friends collection but somehow I ended up finding it in a box wrapped around a die cast model of a Delorean. 

Didn't wear it much due to size.

[cultpop 0217]

One of my very favorite finds ever and perhaps one of the most historically significant. 

1980s People Power Unarmed Forces of the Philippines T shirt. 

The People Power Revolution, also known as the EDSA Revolution or the February Revolution, were a series of popular demonstrations in the Philippines mostly in Metro Manila, from February 22 to 25, 1986. There was a sustained campaign of civil resistance against regime violence and electoral fraud. The nonviolent revolution led to the departure of Ferdinand Marcos, the end of his 20-year dictatorship and the restoration of democracy in the Philippines.

Just a reminder that sustained non violent protest and strikes are some of the only actions that have ever toppled an authoritarian regime.

[cultpop 0217]

Vintage Cal Cru 50/50 t shirt with Superman iron on and flocked letters. 

In the late 1970s this iron on was ubiquitous.

I received one on a light blue tee at Marriots Great America sometime in the late 1970s. 

That tee was eventually sacrificed to make a Halloween costume.  

Originally produced for Superman : The Movie this sparkly slab of nostalgia was a stiff sweaty experience. And since the fabric underneath would shrink up over time the iron on would eventually bubble and wrinkle. 

Some clever lad decided to personalize this example with some sweet flocked red letters. 

Good call, Jay.

[cultpop 0217]

GENTLEMEN START YOUR ENGINES! 

It's INDY 500 race day so here are a few of my favorite motorsport tees. 

Vtg White Lake Speedway 1981 T Shirt. 

Simple and perfect. 

White Lake Speedway opened in 1960 and has changed names several times. 

It's now known as Bethel Motor Speedway and is located near the site of the original WOODSTOCK festival.

 

 

 

[cultpop 0217]

GENTLEMEN, START YOUR ENGINES! 

It's Indy 500 weekend so I'm going to post some vintage motorsport tees. 

Two sided with a bonus sleeve hit? Puffy cracked print? Cool color, multiple fonts, and simple clean yet killer graphics with a date? Made in USA and single stitch? 

10 out 10. 

Jerzees by Russel brand 50/50 poly/cotton 1990 "12 Hours of Sebring/ Triangle Lounge Package Store" tee, USA, Large

 

 

[cultpop 0217]

 

Another two sided beauty in my favorite non black color. 

Vintage 1970s "A bad Day at Lake Whippoorwill Speedway" T shirt.

More lightly cracked ink, multiple fonts, simple graphics, and a clever tagline make this another perfect example of the race day tee. 

Tag is faded but it looks like maybe another Velva Sheen,  probably size small and definitely 50/50 poly/cotton.

 

 

[cultpop 0217]

My newest and a real banger imo.

1983 VOLUSIA SPEEDWAY "Dirt Racing"  T Shirt

Two sided, great lettering in multiple fonts, killer yet primitive graphics, splash of color on a perfectly faded paper thin. MIUSA single stitch CHED brand 50/50 tee. 

 

 

[cultpop 0217]

 

I have saved the best for last.  

Probably my favorite t shirt of all time. 

I only visited the local Santa Fe Speedway in Willow Springs only once or twice to watch the demolition derby before it closed down but those memories live large in my mind. 

Perfect graphics, faded but legible, on a  super thin single stich 50/50 Made in USA Screen Stars tee. 

Every new find is judged against this one. 

Earlier this year I found a local making reprints on plain white so I grabbed one.

 

 

 

[smoothsailor]

https://youtu.be/s0mNZe472KM

[smoothsailor]

Computer nit wit here, tried to put southern culture on the skids song in a link.

the t shirt reminded me of it @cultpop 0217

[cultpop 0217]

Perfect. 

On 5/26/2025 at 10:49 AM, smoothsailor said:

Computer nit wit here, tried to put southern culture on the skids song in a link.

the t shirt reminded me of it @cultpop 0217

Here's another

 

 

 

 

[Maynard Friedman]

I must’ve bought this one at least 20 years ago, colour’s a bit off in the photos, it’s much bluer in reality.

[House md]

Whitesville 😍 one of the best tees by far!

Edited May 31 by House md