Calling all T-Shirt Heads...

[dagsolo]

I was shopping today on Broadway and I'm confused as shit!

1. What makes one t-shirt (worth) $80-$100 and another $20?

I inspected similarly made tees and coundn't discern, besides brand name, any difference in quality or technique or added value. I understand that some tees have added processes like discharge and other things, but some were the same basic tee. Some of the tees were even in the same place (Atrium).

2. If you're looking at a rack or a wall of tees and the prices for the tees are $20, $40 & $80, which tee are you going for? Why? Is it assumed that the $20 tee is crap or easy to get or on sale, or last seasons?

3. How does all of this apply to your online spending? How much do you spend online for a tee?

Can I ask you something? These sunglasses: they're really nice. Are they like government issue, or do you guys all go to the same store together?

[dilemma]

1. I would pay more for a t-shirt that had a better fit. I would also and check to see if the shirt is made of something else besides cotton and try to imagine if the shirt would keep its shape (not stretch too much).

2. I'll buy the shirt that I like the most (graphic or design, fit, and breath ability), but if its $80 I probably won't buy it.

3. I would spend about $50 for a shirt online.... Otherwise I think I could live without it....

[horriblyjollyjinx]

1. Quality, fit & uniqueness, and also maybe message. Very few tees are worth $80. Watch out for overpriced 'street wear'.

2. I decide based on cut, quality, graphic design(if there is any). I'm very picky though.

3. I could spend $80 if it was worth it, and I know it will fit. But as I said, VERY few tees are worth it.

I haven't bought a tee for that much yet though, I was going to didn't have any money at the time. It was handmade, one of a kind, good quality and with a great print, made by art students, so I figured it was kind of like a piece of art too.

tally-hoo

Edited by horriblyjollyjinx on Sep 12, 2005 at 02:03 PM

Edited by horriblyjollyjinx on Sep 12, 2005 at 02:05 PM

[neawts]

It depends on the design and brand for me. Personally, I would not spend $80. But there are market forces out there that lead people to do unnecessary things. This is conspicuous consumption. I'm still not 'getting a deal' on a $20 tee.

I could jack some white tees from the Salvation Army if I really wanted to prove how much better I am than all the slaves to fashion. But of course I am one....

[darkanimal]

Even if I really like the graphics, it should fit me first. I would pay extra if the material is already soft and pre-shrunk, as oppose to wearing, dunking them in the washer regularly to get soft. I know alot of people who will get them altered just so they can wear 'em. If I can walk out of the store wearing the shirt, that's my cue that I should buy 'em. I've never bought a t-shirt that goes for more than $80.

[boystory]

Quote:

It depends on the design and brand for me. Personally, I would not spend $80. But there are market forces out there that lead people to do unnecessary things. This is conspicuous consumption. I'm still not 'getting a deal' on a $20 tee.

I could jack some white tees from the Salvation Army if I really wanted to prove how much better I am than all the slaves to fashion. But of course I am one....

--- Original message by neawts on Sep 12, 2005 02:03 PM

after jacking said shirts, i would then proceed to spend 300 dollars on jeans and 200 dollars on sneakers just to balance it out.

[dagsolo]

Quote:

Quote:

It depends on the design and brand for me. Personally, I would not spend $80. But there are market forces out there that lead people to do unnecessary things. This is conspicuous consumption. I'm still not 'getting a deal' on a $20 tee.

I could jack some white tees from the Salvation Army if I really wanted to prove how much better I am than all the slaves to fashion. But of course I am one....

--- Original message by neawts on Sep 12, 2005 02:03 PM

after jacking said shirts, i would then proceed to spend 300 dollars on jeans and 200 dollars on sneakers just to balance it out.

--- Original message by boystory on Sep 12, 2005 02:05 PM

LOL

Can I ask you something? These sunglasses: they're really nice. Are they like government issue, or do you guys all go to the same store together?

[tangerine]

1. In your case, where you examined the shirts and there was no discernible difference in quality, then I think it is a matter of cost of production (made in sweatshops?), cost of design and what the market will bear, ie a much-hyped label. In general, though, the higher-priced tees I have seen seem to be made from better cotton (I only buy 100% cotton tees.)

2. I almost always buy based on design. I have bought cheap shirts on crappy cotton because I liked the graphic, and have paid $80 (absurd) for shirts on good cotton with great graphic and fit. I am sorry to say I do assume that lower price is, in general, not as good, if for no other reason than that there is an increased chance that I will see 3 other people wearing it next week. I pretty much won't buy Urban Outfitter or Obey because this has happened too many times, even though they often have good graphics.

3. I hardly ever buy tee shirts online because there are so many readily available in stores, and I do like to get a sense of the material first. I have bought some tee shirts from Bluefly because they were on sale, probably haven't spent more than $50 for a shirt online.

[djrajio]

Quote: I only buy 100% cotton tees

This statement is total BS. Because of economies of scale, technological advances, and distribution, you'd be hard pressed to find any t-shirt this day and age NOT 100% cotton. Its such a load of bull when companies try to market this aspect to inflate the price. Cotton is cheap. Don't let anybody fool you into thinking differently. The quality of the cotton and how it has been processed is a totally different matter. But the fact that something is 100% cotton should be the rule rather than the exception.

[tangerine]

Quote:

Quote: I only buy 100% cotton tees

This statement is total BS. Because of economies of scale, technological advances, and distribution, you'd be hard pressed to find any t-shirt this day and age NOT 100% cotton. Its such a load of bull when companies try to market this aspect to inflate the price. Cotton is cheap. Don't let anybody fool you into thinking differently. The quality of the cotton and how it has been processed is a totally different matter. But the fact that something is 100% cotton should be the rule rather than the exception.

--- Original message by djrajio on Sep 12, 2005 05:27 PM

I did not mean to imply that anyone was telling me a shirt was worth more because it was 100% cotton. I was only trying to say that one reason for a difference in price between one 100% cotton shirt and another could be that one shirt is made from better cotton, and this is something I look for when buying shirts.

It's kind of irrelevant to the original post anyway, because dagsolo said

Quote: I inspected similarly made tees and coundn't discern, besides brand name, any difference in quality...

[Ahlvahroe]

What difference does Egyptian Cotton make on a shirt? I have seen some expensive plain shirts that say made of Egyptian cotton so I would like to know, please.

[TragicBliss]

Quote: Egyptian cotton is a general classification for the strong, lustrous, long staple cotton produced mainly in the Nile River Valley. The fibers average 1-1/8 to 1-1/2 inches long. The fibers are fine and vary from a light cream to a dark tan in color. Egypt is the world's largest producer of beter quality cottons.

http://www.fabriclink.com/FAQ.html#Cotton

Quote: Egyptian cotton, Gossypium barbadense, boasts a resistance to Verticillium wilt disease that U.S. cotton growers would love to transplant into their favorite cotton, Gossypium hirsutum. Verticillium wilt is caused by the fungal pathogen Verticillium dahliae.

http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3741/is_n1_v39/ai_11203652

http://www.tragicbliss.com

[greentalks43]

Im going to get myself a load of american apparel t-shirts soon. Found a place that sells em for 5 bucks a pop.

"Patience, both we and our words are overproduced by influence"

[TragicBliss]

And that would be...?

http://www.tragicbliss.com

[showbiz00ditc]

yea spread the lovenews, AA t's are alrite, i especially enjoy the pocket ones. they 5$ also?

[evlhunter]

yeah, lets us know, don't make this place become Niketalk.

[verb]

You also have to take into account import costs for foreign T's. The current customs %'s on T's are like 16-18% whereas denim is 6%. I'm not sure if this applies to huge US distributors but I'm sure many smaller stores get fucked on this.

[ok]

are you guys saying you want shit printed on american apparel t's? personally i dont. it has become way to easy to buy aa t's and come up with some bullshit grafix and say you have a clothing line.

the value of an aa t with a print on it is about $20.

but a c/s t, washed, with creative grafix, tags, good name $60-80.

i wear tshirts everyday. its like they have become such a staple that people forgor they were wearing them. how often do you notice a plain button down or sweatshirt? rarely. but see a dope t and it is stuck in your head all day.

[dagsolo]

very true. question is: what is a good name and how does it become a good name?

Can I ask you something? These sunglasses: they're really nice. Are they like government issue, or do you guys all go to the same store together?

[ok]

good point. i am not a crazy brand guy. i like a little street cred. something i didnt necessarily see on the oc or laguna beach.

by now i am really not huge about having logos on the exterior. so the design of the piece or the graphic has to speak for itself.

there seem to be brands that i feel like represent me. for everyone it is different. i like dior, tsubi, kim jones for umbro right now. and obviously not everything i own is super pricey. but i also own a woven line so i am real picky about t's.

[Guest]

Quote:

very true. question is: what is a good name and how does it become a good name?

--- Original message by dagsolo on Sep 13, 2005 10:57 AM

Interesting question. THere's ,many parametres i think. What's the story of the brand, design? Can you relate to it/ want to be like associated with its signals? Who's wearing it? And ofcourse the quality!

Like Bape- for some reason people seems to care about pharrell and kanye wearing it.. It started with a small crowd diggin it and all of a sudden its all over mtv and shit. That's when i lose interest.. I don't want to be associated with that image at all! Still, it's getting bigger and more succesfull.

A couple of years ago i got fascinated when a new shop opened. They made their own brand, and also sold a narrow selection of other peoples stuff. Got blown away by their attitude. They didn't give a fuck about me as a customer, and i felt like a burden when i was in their shop. They were so fucking cool. Sort of weird, but all of them sooo cool! Soon i developed a taste for their stuff, and ever since then it's the first shop i visit when i'm in the neighborhood. Later on i found out some of them were old writers and got even more hooked on them.

Turned out i wasn't the only one- they've been in magazines as upcoming trendsetters and are now selling their shit worldwide. They even get their own version of the upcoming adicolor! (Woodwood), and have made a ipod case exlusively to colette.

They went frenzy with their logo, the arrowcloud, and now their coolfator will dramatically decrease because of their popularity.

There's a thin red line between being popular and being commercial(which is very non-appealing to me).

Believe i got on a sidetrack here.. hehe

[Guest]

Quote:

very true. question is: what is a good name and how does it become a good name?

--- Original message by dagsolo on Sep 13, 2005 10:57 AM

Interesting question. THere's ,many parametres i think. What's the story of the brand, design? Can you relate to it/ want to be like associated with its signals? Who's wearing it? And ofcourse the quality!

Like Bape- for some reason people seems to care about pharrell and kanye wearing it.. It started with a small crowd diggin it and all of a sudden its all over mtv and shit. That's when i lose interest.. I don't want to be associated with that image at all! Still, it's getting bigger and more succesfull.

A couple of years ago i got fascinated when a new shop opened. They made their own brand, and also sold a narrow selection of other peoples stuff. Got blown away by their attitude. They didn't give a fuck about me as a customer, and i felt like a burden when i was in their shop. They were so fucking cool. Sort of weird, but all of them sooo cool! Soon i developed a taste for their stuff, and ever since then it's the first shop i visit when i'm in the neighborhood. Later on i found out some of them were old writers and got even more hooked on them.

Turned out i wasn't the only one- they've been in magazines as upcoming trendsetters and are now selling their shit worldwide. They even get their own version of the upcoming adicolor! (Woodwood), and have made a ipod case exlusively to colette.

They went frenzy with their logo, the arrowcloud, and now their coolfator will dramatically decrease because of their popularity.

There's a thin red line between being popular and being commercial(which is very non-appealing to me).

Believe i got on a sidetrack here.. hehe

[simonthediamond]

Interesting question. THere's ,many parametres i think. What's the story of the brand, design? Can you relate to it/ want to be like associated with its signals? Who's wearing it? And ofcourse the quality!

Like Bape- for some reason people seems to care about pharrell and kanye wearing it.. It started with a small crowd diggin it and all of a sudden its all over mtv and shit. That's when i lose interest.. I don't want to be associated with that image at all! Still, it's getting bigger and more succesfull.

A couple of years ago i got fascinated when a new shop opened. They made their own brand, and also sold a narrow selection of other peoples stuff. Got blown away by their attitude. They didn't give a fuck about me as a customer, and i felt like a burden when i was in their shop. They were so fucking cool. Sort of weird, but all of them sooo cool! Soon i developed a taste for their stuff, and ever since then it's the first shop i visit when i'm in the neighborhood. Later on i found out some of them were old writers and got even more hooked on them.

Turned out i wasn't the only one- they've been in magazines as upcoming trendsetters and are now selling their shit worldwide. They even get their own version of the upcoming adicolor! (Woodwood), and have made a ipod case exlusively to colette.

They went frenzy with their logo, the arrowcloud, and now their coolfator will dramatically decrease because of their popularity.

There's a thin red line between being popular and being commercial(which is very non-appealing to me).

Believe i got on a sidetrack here.. hehe