Life On Mars

I cannot explain how much I love David Bowie even though, back in the seventies, he looked like your average androgynous anime male, he still has a special place in my heart. I could stare into his mismatch eyes all the time and see the stars therein.

RikkiB (her dingo ate her baby) designed the shirt for Myke D, who runs In the Dryer, has this amalgamation of Ziggy Stardust and Marilyn Monroe. RikkiB also has another spankin' shirt for sale on Tee Fury. This has been a good week for her.

Monies: US$21 (In the Dryer), US$9 (Tee Fury)

"Nice thinkin', Ray."

If you don't buy this shirt, I don't think we can see each other anymore.

Monies: US$20

A Good Start to the Week

Let's start this Monday off with a bang shall we?


Grace, who handles promotion from Eio Clothing, likes to taunt me with their cool sexy parties (see above) knowing full well that I can never set foot on England soil because of my unfathomable hatred for the Spice Girls.

Oh, yeah and Eio Clothing also have their new Spring / Summer lineup like the sexy number above that's good to wear at cool sexy parties.

Monies: £29.95 or US$60

The dudes at The Ryde are organizing a design t-shirt competition to raise money and awareness for breast cancer prevention. If you hate cancer but absolutely love the breasts, this will be perfect for you.

Daryll from Indivisual Clothing gives a heads up about a new polo shirt designed by Daniel Vigil. Geometric shapes, mysterious letterings... there's a lot going on on the shirt.

Monies: US$58

You've seen them before but they're worth mentioning again. Amanda, from Reverie, likes "dressing the dreamers," so how does she know this is what I dreamt of last week?

Monies: US$19

Bang Bang T-Shirts released three new t-shirts and I like this shirt because I think today's cinema is poorer without the rich stereotypical kung-fu revenge flick.

Not to nit-pick but Bang Bang call this their Ninja T-Shirt, which is disparate from Shaolin kung fu. I'm just saying.

Monies: £13.99 or US$28

If you mofos have anything you want to make known, feel free to shoot us an e-mail.

Except, you, Carl. Please stop stuffing our inbox with pictures of your wiener. It wasn't funny during the first seven times.

What I Got - Bite Mark Clothing

Elaine Blakely from Bite Mark Clothing, which specializes in zombie chic wear, sent over her work for scrutiny. Let's see how it holds up.


First off, you know you're in for a treat when the package it comes in looks like this.


Blakely calls it a "body bag" - a black envelope and honest-to-gosh stamps of the Queen. A quick flip over...


... and you get a sense of the effort gone into designing the exterior (how did this ever got through customs, I would never know.)


Notice the blood smears? Those are Blakely's own fingers.


Every Bite Mark Clothing package is unique, a snowflake.

I should delve into Blakely's working habit and environment.


This is where she works the size of the room. It's a one-woman operation. She does the designs, the packaging, the postage, the marketing...

She even does her own screenprinting, something which she had to learn from scratch. She details her process from designing to screenprinting and just reading it made me tired. It's laborious.

Back to the package.


Here are the contents: an ominous red packet and a nice letter from Blakely telling me to produce a prompt review or she'll stretch out my foreskin and make me wear it like a little hat. While I file the letter away for my lawyers, let's take a look at the red packet.

Here's a closeup.

As I peeled open the packet. The inside spilled forth like a ritualistic disemboweling. This is a very rare instance where I thoroughly enjoy the process of unwrapping something. It's very amusing to me.


Here's a closeup of the promo card (very catchy slogan)...


... and the back of it.


I think this is a sticker.


I was expecting a t-shirt with a zombie muttering "braaains" or something but this is is a nice surprise. No undead. It's just the city under a sinister full moon.


A city scene in the night should invoke a sense of midnight tranquility...


... yet Blakely manages to instill a certain dread in it. Well-done! Gives a whole new turn to the term, "moon-face."

Just as you think that this is as good as it gets, there's one more surprise. At the back of the t-shirt...


... holy jumping Moses! What is that? It's a shirt tag! On the outside! There are even instructions on how to wash and care for your t-shirt. The kick-ass part of this is that...


... the tag is sewn on by hand. That's right, good readers, Elaine Blakely sews the tags at the back of each and every damn t-shirts by hand!

Which would explain the pic of the bloody fingers.

I love shit like this! The whole, D-I-Y operation in making a t-shirt, you can really see the work Blakely put into her lineup and package. Judging by the current design, Blakely knows what she's doing and she's always honing her skills.

Designs aside, remember, she does everything herself and that alone should count for something. I'm a big proponent for small companies that offer that personal touch big companies seem to lack. If Blakely continues her current work ethic, I envisioned we'll be seeing more of her stuff in the long run.

Building Better T-Shirts

I just watched Aliens Vs. Predator: Requiem or as the very lazy would say, "AVP R" and I remembered this t-shirt from Last Exit To Nowhere. Their M.O. is a little similar to Found Item Clothing but this British shop specializes in making t-shirts inspired by the movies (see: Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Shaun of the Dead).

Some of your Sci-Fi geeks might remember Weyland-Yutani Corp from the Alien series and it's a little cool to see this and others on Last Exit.

Monies: £17.50 or US$35

FYI: A Wikipedia post about Weyland-Yutani and the origins of the name.

ALLLLVIN!!!

I know it's part of Jenky Productions' ABC Alphabet Series but if you get the largest sized t-shirt and you'll be almost the spitting image of Alvin from the Chipmunks.


Heavens, no! Not those abominations.


That's more like it.

Monies: US$16

Frank

I got to watching the director's cut of Donnie Darko and it's funny, but I prefer the original cut of the movie.

Toronto-based, UBERINDEX has the creepy Frank the rabbit t-shirt on their site but does the t-shirt forfend disaster or something else?

Monies:US$20

What I Got - Dance Party Massacre

A while back, I did a post on Alex Dakoulas' new line Dance Party Massacre (DPM) and he was so nice and filled with the joy of Christmas that he sent me a little something something.


Within were...


... badges, t-shirt, stickers and a bunch of cards.


The front of said card...


... and the back. Isn't it nice that you immediately get the gist of the company's manifesto as well as the line-up of what he have to offer.


There are also buttons.


Now I can't get enough of the t-shirt. You don't get to see that kind of blood splatter that often and I'm glad Dakoulas is bringing it back.

I wore that t-shirt in public and someone asked me if that's a band, which it's understandable. Dance Party Massacre does sound like a band. An emo band, if any.

On the inside of the t-shirt is the logo for DPM.

Wait a minute! Zoom in!


Arrgh! There's... still... tag... remnants... must adhere to... new year's resolution... and not be a... bitch about every... little... thing... ack!

Okay. So, overlooking the slight tag remains, this entire package feels so professionally put together, even though the company was launched las Halloween. There's a really nice theme going on. The advertisement doesn't seem in-your-face. You can also see the little details put into this like the card tag attached to the t-shirt....


And for the curious, here's the back...


... and here's the front. Doesn't it look similar? The image of the Gonzo Fist symbol of Hunter S. Thompson immediately comes to mind.

See?

This is the love of horror mixed with tongue set firmly in cheek. Dakoulas respects the genre but also knows how to have fun with it. Designs are printed on high-quality cotton (Dakoulas says it's AA but doesn't want to broadcast it). I'm keen to see the next line of designs he has.

I give this several (severed) thumbs up.

That's Gonna Sting

We did a post on Alex Dakoulas and his marvelous rendition on Scream. Dakoulas has been keeping busy, this time with a venturing into his own clothing line. Continuing with his fascination with horror films, we get Dance Party Massacre.

This December, t-shirts are twenty a pop. Get yourself a lovely tee like Blood on the Dancefloor, a homage to the poster of Sleepaway Camp.

Monies: US$20

What I Got - Austin Film Festival '07 Tee

Some of you might have heard that I've attended the Austin Film Festival and usually when it comes to events like these, I always like to buy myself a t-shirt for posterity.

Also to rub it in the faces of those who could not attend.

What I Got - Found Item Clothing

Since last Thursday I attended the Austin Film Festival. I watched a lot of movies, sat in panels, schmooze with writers, directors, industry big-wigs. And what better choice for fashion than a couple of t-shirts from Found Item Clothing.

For those not in the know, Found Item Clothing replicates t-shirts seen in movies and television. Sometimes, when I see a t-shirt in the movies, I want to get that but then find it's a one-in-a-kind. That's where FIC steps in. For this review, I won't be talking about the designs because... it's not original. It's a replication. So I'm going for familiarity of the product, of how meticulously accurate the designs are.

So. The package arrived promptly. It felt heavy. Heavy is good because that means there's a lot of t-shirts. Unless it's just a bag of cat feces, then that's cruel.

And what do you know? FIC isn't cruel.

Let's start with an old favorite, something that immediately clicks with your average savvy college teen...

... that's right. The Big Lebowski. There's nary a man or woman that I've met who didn't know about the Dude or quoted lines from the movie. I wore t-shirts with the Dude's mug on it and people really reacted strongly to it but what if I wore something that is actually a replica of the baseball tee the Dude was wearing?

And you know what? People thought I was wearing some weird top from Japan or something. Nobody got it but that's fine with me. I felt like the smartest kid in the room when I tell them that this t-shirt's from The Big Lebowski. Oh, the look on their faces...

It's accurate in everyway from the color to the design. The only thing missing is the smell of bong water. I heard FIC is working on that as we speak.

Next is Zombaid from Shaun of the Dead.

People recognized this t-shirt instantly. I'm not sure if they're real big fans of Shaun or they like zombie movies.

To me, the State were the Americanized Monty Python and their humor may not appeal to the masses, at least, they were breaking taboos and new ground on comedy. So, it's no surprise that Wet Hot American Summer is one of my favorite movie.

I wish this t-shirt was a little tighter, in keeping with the eighties sensibility so it goes with my tiny yellow shorts. Someone from the movie industry actually recognized me in this t-shirt. Apparently, she is a State fan and it's always nice to see someone you can connect with.

It's great to see these t-shirts that FIC produces. It's sort of like an archival system, a way to preserve them yestertees of yore. And I think the guys behind FIC loves a little challenge with the replication. As the site grows stronger, their line will expand and who knows maybe they'll come up with foreign and obscure t-shirts.

For now, amuse yourself with FIC's costume guide for Halloween.

What I Got - Kindred

I must be a good boy recently because look what I got in the mail.


Yes siree, Kindred Clothiers, those talented bastards sent a package. It's real nice, an attractive color. Even the behind of the package attracts the eyes.


"Fresh from the mill" indeed. I could still smell the wood shavings as I opened it.


The design just grabs you, doesn't it? It's clearly Walter Sobchak from The Big Lebowski or if you're not familiar with the works of the Coen brothers, John Goodman from a Halloween episode of Rosanne.

The ink is printed out evenly. I almost never notice the raised image. The logo on the inside of the t-shirt though, seemed like a poor color choice. You can only see it clearly when I adjusts the color contrast accordingly.


But wait! Zoom in near the collar.

What the... it's the remains of a tag. Okay, look. I know it's the cool thing to have a t-shirt without the tag, I dig that but if you're gonna do that, rip the whole tag out. First of all, it's for completion sake. Second, it just mars the quality of the t-shirt. It might not be a big a deal but it's always the little things that matter.

Either remove the whole tag or leave it. That's all I have to rant on the matter.

But it's a pretty swell t-shirt. It's an AA apparel, so you got that slim and comfortable fit. When I wear that t-shirt to school, I get random strangers walk up to me and quote lines from The Big Lebowski. It's nice to connect with people of the same movie taste.

In other news from Kindred - they have a competition where you submit a story for a t-shirt and if you're chosen you and your buddy will get that winning -shirt each. Click here for details.