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In with the old, Vintage Tees
BY ALLYSON BIRD
Of the Post and Courier Staff

As the shirt's answer to the favorite pair of jeans, there's nothing quite as cozy as an age-softened vintage tee. Brands such as Abercrombie and Urban Outfitters have replicated the look, but not without a price and the problem of selling the same slogans and images to everyone.

A vintage T-shirt isn't like a vintage car, which has to be 25 years old to be authentic. Style takes precedence over age, and some of the most stylish tees are remakes. But, as with vintage cars, shoppers have to hunt to find vintage shirts cheap.

Vintage tees hide in the racks at thrift stores, and shoppers must be willing to spend a little time combing through them. Because stores that specifically sell vintage tees rely on inconsistent merchandise from secondhandstores and online auctions, they too can be sporadic. And expensive.

The phrase "vintage T-shirt" encompasses anything from band shirts (such as The Grateful Dead or Bob Marley, but not Hootie & the Blowfish's 1995 tour schedule) to goofy phrases such as "I'm a rock star in Japan!!" to muscle car logos. Vintage T-shirts have a worn, tighter fit for guys and girls.

"They're good sweat-grabbers," says Joan Graf, who owns four area Exchange Factor and Factor V stores. She began selling vintage tees 13 years ago and says her customers encompass "everything from beatniks to preppies."

Graf's employees often scoop up shirts before they even hit the racks. "We don't have health benefits here, so they have to grab what little perks there are," she says.

Exchange Factor sells new vintage-style tees with images such as Super Fly or a Slinky for $15. Since cutting out T-shirts with drug references, she has noticed a considerable decline in available merchandise. Graf buys shirts from customers, who can earn 35 percent of the anticipated sale price or $5 in store trade. These authentic secondhand shirts run from $3 to $12.

"It's hard, because we're competing against Goodwill," Graf says. "With them, it's a hit or miss. With us, it's always a hit. It's just whether or not it fits."

Today's most dependable source for vintage tees is the Internet, and cheaper is better, as the shirts have become a clothing staple for college students. Here is of our favorite Web site for vintage tees:

-- Crushi Vintage at Crushi.com has similar top-dollar originals and a host of humorous men's and women's tees for $15 along with rare original vintage t-shirt iron-ons that you can collect or put on your own shirt.

The online vintage tee stores have created a modeling subculture built on sarcasm. Crushi.com invites "ugly folks" to model T-shirts for a refunded T-shirt price. The Web site now uses two creepy mannequins that model shirts saying things such as "Get Crunk."

The goofy models go hand in hand with the lighthearted nature of the fashion. A vintage T-shirt captures a simple spirit that Graf says "marks an era, celebrates an era." Her shirt customers are mostly 25- to 28-year-olds who "hang on to them for undershirts and for nostalgia."