As the old saying goes a t-shirt and blue jeans will never go out of style. I think you’ll agree.
A vintage t-shirt is any shirt older than twenty years. Regardless of style, fabric or decoration. As long as the garment was made twenty years ago it would be considered vintage.
TshirtTimeMachine has been selling vintage t-shirts online for over 20 years. The above statement was made with a consensus among vintage sellers. Anything twenty years or older is now bonafide vintage…period.
Let’s also clarify the word vintage. T-shirts have a different meaning than vintage wine for instance. Wine vintage refers to a particular season’s yield of grapes or wine from a vineyard…or a superior wine that comes from a specific year. So wine can be vintage even if its a couple of years old. That’s not true for t-shirts.
A brief history of vintage t-shirts.
Before the 1940s t-shirts were generally worn as undergarments. During WW2, they became more common among servicemen as actual stand-alone apparel. Eventually, emerging as legitimate clothing with the popularity of actors like Marlon Brando and James Dean. In the 1950s and 60s, the t-shirt was embraced as an acceptable garment, not just lightweight apparel worn by a farmer or street kid.
Soon after it became popular for shirts to be decorated (usually screen printed) and used for advertising. In the late 60s and early 70s the concert t-shirt was born! Bands and artists found new ways to express themselves using this medium. T-shirts became an additional revenue stream at events beyond ticket sales. Throughout the 80s t-shirts were one of the cheapest and most popular ways to advertise. Movies, television, professional sports teams and consumer products used them as a walking billboard.
A T-shirt is defined as a casual garment worn on the upper torso that is a T shape when laid flat. Most commonly made out of 100% cotton, 100% polyester, 50/50 blend or a tri-blend mix.
IS A 10 YEARS OLD T-SHIRT VINTAGE?
No, a ten year old shirt is not vintage.
IS A 15 YEAR OLD T-SHIRT VINTAGE?
Most people would consider a 15-year-old shirt to be vintage. The 20-year rule is a hard guideline. 15 years there might be some opposition. Generally, 15 years is probably long enough though.
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN VINTAGE AND ANTIQUE?
A vintage t-shirt would be anything over 20 years old. An antique shirt would be anything over 100 years old. Although the 100-year rule is a hard guideline too. I’m sure if you referred to a WW2 t-shirt as antique you probably wouldn’t be challenged. For the sake of this post, we’ll stick to the rules. A 1975 Jethro Tull t-shirt is vintage. A World War One army shirt is an antique. You can always refer to an antique garment as vintage but rarely the opposite.
Can you show an example of a vintage t-shirt?
I picked 3 shirts for an example. The first is an Animal Muppets tee from the 70s, the center is a Stroh’s beer shirt from the 80s and the third is a Billy Ray Cyrus t-shirt from the early 90s. The first two shirts are 50/50 blends and the last is 100% cotton. The age of the first two was determined by the tag.
- The Animal shirt has a Champion Blue Bar tag. Blue bar was used from the early 70s until around 1981. *Tip* anytime you see a blue bar tee at the thrift shop, buy it. Regardless of what’s printed on it. They’re sought after and usually a quick resell. Very popular among Asian buyers. Occasionally you can find ones worth hundreds of dollars. Like a Harley Davidson blue bar shirt. BIG bucks, and only getting rarer.
- Stroh’s shirt has Logo 7 tag. Kind of unusual because Logo 7 brand printed sports-related clothing almost exclusively. None the less, it dates this garment to around 1987. This shirt was very soft and comfortable btw.
- Billy Ray Cyrus tag was faded but the age was determined by the logo and a tiny bit of Google research. We discovered that the song “Achy Breaky Heart” was actually previously recorded by the Oak Ridge Boys and The Marcey Bros under the name “Don’t Tell My Heart”. But only became popular when B.R.C. unleashed it upon the world along with his atomic mullet. There was a tour to follow and this is one of the concert tees. The song reminds me of drinking draft beer at the Country Boy tavern in St Joachim Ontario. Bad song. Great memories.
As you progress in your knowledge of vintage tees you won’t rely on tags to date a shirt. Although they’re often very helpful. Soon you’ll be able to spot a vintage shirt from 30 yards away.
Can you show an example of a vintage t-shirt tag?
Let’s look at a few dozen of the most popular vintage tags of the last 50 years. If you’re interested in buying and selling vintage shirts. It is your duty to memorize AT LEAST the garment tags you see above. There are many more manufacturers but these are the most popular. If you’d like a larger version of this picture to print out for free just email or DM me HERE.
I used the above tag picture to train my pickers in what items to look out for. Until someone is comfortable sorting vintage they need to learn these tags. I had a big printed version of this for all my sorters at their work station as a guide. It worked really well. After a couple of weeks, they no longer needed it.
As soon as you see one of these tags you’ll know the garment is legit vintage. Of course, there’s always a chance that the item is a modern reproduction or a fresh print on a vintage tee. But that’s really rare and 99.9% of the time it’s the real deal.
*NOTE* Almost EVERY SINGLE t-shirt before 1997 was made in the USA. Meaning fabric, assembly, and decoration. Occasionally they were printed in Canada and rarely the UK. But the majority were American made. So if your shirt says anything else it probably ain’t real. Toss it out and sanitize your hands.
Is there another way to determine if a shirt is vintage?
There is a way to determine age even if there is no tag (like this example). Anyone from my generation remembers Wendy’s “Where’s the Beef” campaign. Even if you don’t there’s a quick way to verify age. Very often there will be a date somewhere near the logo. It’s a copy write. This was very common, especially in the 80s. Many of the shirts are date stamped. It will help in your pursuit until you’re good enough where you don’t need it.
*Quick note* many of the popular 80s and 90s tees are being reissued. So you may see an old date near the logo but it should be followed by the modern reproduction date. If you’re suspicious check the tag. If it isn’t one I listed above or its made in China. It’s NOT vintage. Even without a date or tag, I would be able to tell that this was a mid-80s screen stars brand. I’ve sold thousands of them.
SCREEN STARS
Let’s discuss the most popular t-shirt brand of the 1980s. SCREEN STARS! They began to appear in the mid-late 1970s and carried on well into the 90s. Their early shirts were unbranded and mainly 100% cotton but then emerged as Screen Stars and quickly transitioned to 50/50 almost exclusively afterward. They’re lightweight, durable, inexpensive and great to screenprint. Perhaps that’s where the name came from.
They fit really nicely and are extremely comfortable. They hold their shape even after dozens of washes. I have a few that I still wear that have been washed 100 times. They look better as they age and fade frankly.
They were well-manufactured tees for the most part. Their cotton content held up well. Even though they would fade and become thin and soft, they rarely became threadbare. That’s the sign of a quality shirt.
They were the brand of choice for most advertising tees in the 80s. Likely because they were inexpensive and readily available. Plus, they came in a variety of colors. Screen Stars were produced in the USA, Canada, and Ireland. If you see this tag you have got yourself a bonafide vintage shirt.
What if there’s no tag or date and I want to determine if it’s authentically vintage?
Inspecting closely can often reveal secrets. Tees from the 70s are almost always 100% cotton…thicker cotton. Often they have a high crew neck. It’s a wider collar than a conventional tee. Also, investigate the subject of the print. Is it something that was popular during that era? Google will help.
With 80s shirts, they’ll tend to be thinner 50/50 fabric and smaller sizes were common.
90s t-shirts reverted to 100% cotton. RARELY will you see smaller sizes either. Mainly large and XL.
If you’ve followed all the steps and still can’t determine if the shirt is vintage, just shoot me an email or DM. Try to send a pic if possible. I can probably help you solve the mystery. CLICK HERE FOR CONTACT.
WHAT ARE RETRO, REPRINT, REISSUE, REPRODUCTION, OR THROWBACK T-SHIRTS?
All the above terms basically mean the same thing. They are re-creations of the originals. The first retro shirts started appearing in the market around the early 2000s. Vintage was becoming popular so printers were reissuing designs and styles. They’re fairly easy to spot. Mainly because they were made overseas and it will say on the tag. Often they’ll have a printed tag in the neck, not a paper tag. Most of the throwback tees aren’t attempting to identically replicate the original….plus most of them are licensed. So in that regard, they’re different than a fake or a bootleg.
WHAT IS A BOOTLEG VINTAGE T-SHIRT?
A bootleg t-shirt is an unlicensed garment created to replicate an existing shirt. A VINTAGE bootleg t-shirt is the same just older. Anytime there is a popular item or product you can guarantee a knock-off or bootleg. Ever been to a concert and someone is trying to sell you a $10 shirt in the parking lot? Some are of excellent quality and others are poor. The funny thing is now many of the bootlegs are just as valuable as the originals. Most of the time they’re fairly easy to spot. If you think you may have one, read my post all about spotting a fake shirt by clicking here.
WHAT IS A PARKING LOT T-SHIRT?
It’s called a parking lot t-shirt for that very reason. When you exit a concert or sporting event and someone is selling unlicensed t-shirts in the parking lot. It’s illegal but an easy sell. People are excited after leaving the show but didn’t buy the overpriced merchandise in the venue so they quickly pull the trigger on a $10 tee.
I went to the final Slayer concert at the LA Forum in November 2019. When we left the venue there were several people in the parking lot selling FIVE DOLLAR Slayer shirts. They were screen printed and actually excellent quality even though they were unlicensed (bootlegs). I didn’t buy one because they were size XL. I couldn’t figure out how these people could possibly make money? It would’ve been hard to make money on a $5 tee even 30 years ago.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Defining vintage is a funny thing. I began selling online in the year 2000. I was 23 years old. Back then if I sold a New Kids On The Block shirt I referred to it as vintage. Even though it was only ten years old. My rule then was anything made before 1990 would be considered vintage. Currently, a ten-year-old shirt would never fit that category. Perhaps there is a different sentiment regarding vintage t-shirts as the niche has evolved and become more refined. Also, more time has passed since those shirts were created. 70s, 80s, and 90s are what people are looking for. Anything afterward isn’t as collectible and anything before is more difficult to wear. Sizing and fabric before the 70s tended to be stiff and odd-shaped.