In our first major guide to buying t-shirts, we talked about tags. If you haven’t read it please click here. All vintage shirts have value to some degree but this guide will list the most valuable tags to look for while you’re thrift shopping. Even if you’re a novice, just memorize this list and you’ll be off to a great start!
The most valuable vintage t-shirt brands are the following.
- 3D Emblem
- Champion Blue Bar
- Nike
- Brockum
- Adidas
- Handtex
- Fantasy
- Liquid Blue
- Giant
There were dozens of popular t-shirt brands in the 70s, 80s and 90s. Manufacturers like Stedman’s, Anvil, Jerzees, Ched, Sneakers, Artex, Velva Sheen, etc. They were also extremely common. So it’s tough to gauge the value of a shirt unless you’re experienced.
The following thing happens to every vintage buyer. You’re at the thrift shop and come across a t-shirt…Screen Stars for example. There’s no date but you’re familiar with the print, you just can’t put your finger on it. Google is no help because it’s non-specific. You think it may be valuable but its $6.99!? Hmmm. Do you buy it and risk wasting your time and money? Or do you ignore it and potentially leave money on the table?
This is a common dilemma for the t-shirt hunter. The challenge of researching a nondescript item to determine its age or value.
Most of the time I would buy the shirt, put it aside until I came across something similar online. Sometimes, it would turn out to be valuable. Other times it was just a sample screenprint from a local business or a DIY project.
So in order to take any guessing out of your purchase. We’ve assembled a list of 9 tags that you MUST BUY anytime you see them. This comes from 20 years of experience buying vintage tees. I’ve included a link to eBay from each tag heading. You can see the prices for yourself. Many of these shirts fetch over a grand.
3D EMBLEM
I started with 3D emblem because I have a cool story that I want to share. The price that some of these tees command lately is incredible…well over $1000.
Backstory.
My top supplier of deadstock items over the years was a guy named Roger. A Pakistani immigrant that opened a “Head Shop” in my town in 1972. It closed in 2018 when he retired. Initially, when I approached him to buy old inventory he was reluctant. But after some coaxing, he acquiesced. We eventually became great friends and had an amazing partnership frankly. I would visit once a week for many years and buy stuff. He would even refer to me as his son.
I used to buy posters, banners, sunglasses, bandanas, belt buckles and of course t-shirts. Anything that was popular in the 80s he had a large collection of…and it was all DEADSTOCK.
When I started buying from him in the early 2000s there was a depression in local brick and mortar shops but an online explosion. He owned a 5 story building that was FULL of inventory. Roger was a pack rat…a collector and the ultimate a salesman. He would constantly buy out other shops and resell the items in his store.
One day I was rummaging around his store (he used to let me roam and pick) and I found a waist-high stack of Harley Davidson t-shirts. They were deadstock with 3D Emblem tags. I had never seen this brand before. They were made in the USA, printed in Fort Worth Texas. So I asked Roger how much per shirt. He said $10. I asked how about if I bought the entire lot? He said $5 each. So I bought them all.
*SIDE NOTE* people ask how I can prove my deadstock items are actually vintage. In this case, it was easy. I used to live right near Rogers shop in the early 80s. I would visit the store often. When I returned 20 years later it was the same inventory. Some of the shirts had been hanging on the wall for decades.
Not everything was licensed but it was all vintage. He had hundreds of thousands of items piled and stacked in every single square inch of the building. EVERY SINGLE SQUARE INCH. Not exaggerating (you can see from the above pics). I used to call it the catacombs. The images are from just before he closed. In the first 15 years, there was easily 5 times that amount of inventory. He had waist-high stacks of rock tees and thousands of belt buckles. Handwoven leather bracelets that I would sell by the thousands. Honestly, I wonder if anyone on earth had this type of massive inventory? From my experience, so far he is unmatched.
Initially, I was reluctant to buy the 3D shirts because they had a burned odor and left a black dust residue. I didn’t know anything about dry rot or threadbare shirts at that time. Also, there wasn’t a print on the back which I had never seen on a Harley shirt before.
What I didn’t realize is that Harley Davidson would print the front of the shirts and ship to local dealerships. Then the backs would be custom printed afterward.
So I bought the lot and auctioned five of the 3D emblem Harley Davidson vintage t-shirts on eBay. As usual, I started the bidding at $9.99 no reserve. Within a few minutes, I had several bids. Then I received an email from a guy in Thailand. He asked how many 3D shirts I had. I had dozens. He offered $15 per shirt for all of them if he could buy it now. Honestly, I considered. But instead, I waited because bids continued to pour in. When the auctions ended every one of the shirts was sold for over $75. In today’s standards, it might seem low but back then it was INSANE!!
Long story long. If you see a 3D emblem shirt. BUY IT. Thai and Malaysian customers are still crazy over these tees. For the right price, you’ll be able to sell one in minutes online (literally).
CHAMPION BLUE BAR/GOAL RUNNER
Champion brand started in 1919 as the Knickerbocker Knitting Company in Rochester NY. They changed to their current name in 1930. In 1989 they were bought out by Sara Lee (yes the snack cake company). Currently, they’re owned by Hanes Brand.
They’ve always produced a quality product so it’s not uncommon to find items dating back over 50 years. They’re synonymous with sportswear. 99% of their garments will have college or sports-related prints. It’s just as common to find a Champion hoodie or sweatshirt as a tee. But it doesn’t matter, we’re just looking for the tag. You see you buy.
For a while, around 2010 the Blue Bar Champion tags were extremely desirable and virtually any print would fetch $100. The market has simmered down slightly except for the Harley Davidson Blue Bar shirts. They’re always in demand. The goal runner tags are from the 50s and 60s and Blue bar tags are from the 70s.
So if you ever see one of these Champion tags. BUY IT.
NIKE
Anything related to vintage Nike is valuable. The pinwheel tag is especially rare. In all my years of t-shirt hunting, I’ve only come across one Nike Pinwheel shirt. And I’ve sorted through MILLIONS AND MILLIONS of shirts. Orange tag is very rare as well and blue tag is more common but still pretty rare frankly. I’ve posted below another variation of the orange tag.
I particularly like that era because all of the shirts were 50/50 fabric. Soft and comfortable and fit really well. Similar to Screen Stars brand. When Nike switched to the red tag heading into the 90s all the shirts transition to 100% cotton.
Nike had some super comfy tri-blend fabric shirts in the mid-80s too. I included a pic of my own personal Detroit Tigers tee. It’s one of the very few shirts that I regret selling. It was the softest shirt I’ve ever touched and fit perfectly.
Don’t get high on your own supply!
Drug dealers and vintage sellers have the same motto.
*Quick Tip* Take it from a vintage veteran. Don’t fall in love with your own product. Get it in and get it out. If you start wearing all your gear you’re going to stress when you have to sell it. Keep a few choice pieces for yourself and sell the rest. Remember you’re selling someone else’s favorite shirt. Don’t deny them that pleasure.
BROCKUM
Brockum is next on the list because they were exclusively licensed for rock tees in the late 80s and 90s. Some of the most valuable t-shirts of the decade have Brockum tags. Including many Seattle grunge bands like Nirvana, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam and Alice in Chains. Also other bands like The Rolling Stones, Metallica, GNR, Blind Melon, Pink Floyd and AC/DC.
Really valuable and sought after stuff. So if you see this tag generally you know you have something special. They come in 2 colors. The Silver one which is earlier (late 80s till about 1992). The Black Brockum Worldwide tag was mid 90s.
ADIDAS TREFOIL
When looking for a valuable Adidas tag, I want you to focus on the Made in the USA trefoil. That’s the one they used through-out the 70s and 80s. The trefoil is a three-leaved plant that was meant to represent Europe, Africa, and the Americas. Other famous trefoil symbols are the Fallout shelter sign, the recycling logo, and Biohazard! It was common to see Bob Marley sporting Adidas as well as RUN DMC of course. The famously have a song called “My Adidas”.
People think the word Adidas is an acronym for “All Day I Dream About Soccer”. But in fact, it’s just named after Adolf “Adi” Dassler…the founder of the company. He was born in 1900 in Germany and died in 1978. Just before the brand absolutely blew up.
HANDTEX
Keep your eyes peeled for this one. It’s not super common but worth a buy every time. There are a couple of variations of the Handtex tag. The flat bottom and the sawtooth. They’re made in the USA of course…there’s also a 100% cotton version. This tag will be attached to very collectible items. Metallica, Rolling Stones, Motley Crue, Def Leppard, Anthrax and Exodus. The shirts will be licensed to Brockum most likely. They’ll be very soft and thin and extremely sought after. The style of shirt will be crew neck tees or raglans.
FANTASY
Oh, Fantasy……what can we say about you. If you have any experience in vintage you’ve run across this tag so many times.
Fantasy was a bootlegger from Pakistan. They started in the late 70s and operated for about 10 years. The made super cheap 100% cotton rock tees that warped so bad when you washed them they were almost unwearable. It’s like they used cheesecloth. lol.
They bootlegged virtually every band in every genre as well as Harley shirts. They’re recognizable from their primitive-looking screen prints and blue sleeve and collar trim they used on their tees. Many of their raglan shirts had printed sleeves as well.
I stated that they were bootleggers (which they were) but licensing was different before 1983 which was their heyday. I’m sure they were one of the catalysts for more stringent licensing laws.
I would imagine they printed millions of shirts. They were popular in head shops because the owner could buy printed tees for $5 and mark them up to $15 and $20. Michael Jackson and Def Leppard were really popular Fantasy shirts.
Even though they’re a much lower quality shirt. They’re still very popular and collectible.
LIQUID BLUE
Liquid Blue shirts are the most vibrant, colorful, creative prints I’ve ever seen. Synonymous with the Grateful Dead these cotton beauties are hippie heaven. They had hundreds of styles and fully licensed rights with NFL and MLB. Along with Champion, Nike and Adidas they appear to be the only company on the list still in operation.
They’re similar to Brockum’s all-over prints with the exception that Liquid Blue uses dyes to color the shirts more so than screen printing. This helps, in the long run, because plastisol ink will tend to crack and flake over time.
GIANT
Let’s not leave out Giant brand. It’s very similar to Brockum in that nearly all the shirts are oversized 100% cotton tees. Red Hot Chili Peppers, Smashing Pumpkins, Danzig, Sade and Tool all had shirts printed on them. There are two tags you’ll be keeping an eye out for. The one that says Giant (made in USA) and the other that says Giant by Tultex (assembled in Jamaica). During the 90s, a bunch of brands outsourced t-shirt assembly to countries with cheap labor. Although they did use US fabrics.
I included 2 Nirvana shirts above because they’re the most desirable artist related to Giant. The Seahorse Nirvana shirt is exceptionally rare. It’s unique because it only mentions the word Nirvana in tiny letters on the back. That’s most likely why it didn’t sell very well. People like big bold logos to advertise their favorite band.
I really hope you find this guide useful. If it works for you shoot me a message or DM here and let me know what you found! I’ll share it in an upcoming blog.
