Vintage Printed T-Shirts Never Go Out of Fashion

Monday 06th of February 2012 06:32:51 AM

Brandon Gardner in Birmingham in the U.S. has a passion for certain kinds of printed t-shirts - the vintage kind. He first came to love printed t-shirts when he was in middle school and saw other students wearing t-shirts they bought at concerts he couldn’t afford to attend. At 12 years old, he experienced some of his first jealous moments on Monday mornings when his fellow students would show up wearing really cool shirts they nabbed at those music concerts.

A love of the vintage is in his family. Gardner’s parent are antiques dealers. Now, at the age of 36, he has started a business selling vintage clothing online. The online store inventory includes vintage jeans, sneakers, leather jackets and t-shirts. However, it’s the t-shirts printed before 1990 that are his favorite items.

8onrepeat Vintage Clothing, the name of the business, is not just found online. Gardner also has a mobile t-shirt show so he can carry his vintage t-shirts in plastic containers to various locations. Looking through the t-shirts is like a trip through old rock concerts. The college students love his inventory which includes shirts commemorating rock bands, athletic teams, special events, famous sites, and much more.

Not all of the 8on repeat Vintage Clothing t-shirt printing reflects well known events. Some of the shirts memorialize church picnics or the local carwash. The fact that he is able to sell so many t-shirts printed with not-so-well known names or events is testimony to the fact that Gardner is careful about the shirts he includes in his inventory. They must be colorful, and feel good.

So where does Gardner get his inventory? Many of the shirts come from the thrift store. He says that a lot of people like the t-shirts in thrift stores but don’t want to dig around in old clothing to find them. That’s his niche. He loves to search for his inventory and knows that thrift stores area gold mines for vintage t-shirts.

Gardner believes he is doing everyone a service. Some of the t-shirts he sells are collector items. For example, a pre-1977 pre-plane crash Lynyrd Skynyrd t-shirt is highly collectible. He even sells band and concert vintage shirts that are stained or have holes in them to avid collectors. So when you are ready to throw away those printed t-shirts from your youth that are in your closet right now – think again. They just may be collectibles.

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