The vintage tee - a love story
a short (slightly personal) history lesson, a big roundup
This is rewrite #5, listening to the soft steady thumping of my heartbeat in my noise canceling headphones, accepting slowly that phones have stolen my ability to focus on anything for any period of time and sometimes the words don’t flow out from my fingers the way I wish they would and the collage doesn’t quite come together in Photoshop the way that I saw it so perfectly in my brain.
Not that writing about style and things of the sartorial dilemma sort are topics that need to be perfectly eloquent by any means— a critique I feel deep in my bones when reading any very-serious-about-fashion-article because sometimes (most times) it’s just not that deep and sometimes (most times) the best way to find your style is to not think at all but to let your gut gravitate towards what’s instinctually “you.” (This is my argument for thrifting a wardrobe — you’re less influenced by overwhelming size runs of trends caving in around you while you shop and more influenced by colors, patterns, and textiles that grab your attention— more on this another time.)
Enter a not-so-serious-doesn’t-need-to-be-eloquent fashion topic.
While taking stock of my closet in my recent closet edit, I came to the conclusion that I don’t know how to wear “tops.” I know this because the “tops” section of my closet consists of five thrifted striped oversized button downs and approximately four ribbed tank tops and that’s it. I hate shopping for “tops.”
Puberty was a fucking brutal time. I was horrified to realize the cruelty of genetics and that my body was destined to be an exact photocopy of my sturdy Scottish/Irish ancestors. I was 12, suddenly a stranger in my body, confused about my 34DD boobs and mourning the fact I would never be one of the tall, slender models I saw in all of the magazines I loved. While not a unique story when it comes to adolescence, it was one that paired so effortlessly with being cripplingly shy and insecure with no parental figure to rock me in their arms and tell me it was all going to be alright one day.
It was from that day on that I said no to “tops” and never looked back.
I’ve seen many an article recently reminiscing on “the going out top” — a millennial staple that defined evening wear culture in the late 90’s, losing it’s popularity somewhere in the last decade or so only to make a TikTok resurgence in the last few months.
While I was completely and totally and utterly obsessed with fashion at this point, my lack of confidence, complete disgust at having giant boobs, and crippling self doubt led me to never really partake in the trend (there are two parties I can think of in which I borrowed a friends top and was so horrified after seeing photos of myself in them I deleted all evidence.)
I did, however, find comfort and adoration in the graphic t-shirt.
The history of the t-shirt dates back the Middle Ages, when wealthy men wore T-shaped cotton garments under their blouses as a hygienic layer between their not-often-bathed skin and fancy-heavy-ornate-look-at-me-I’m-rich clothes. As the years progressed, the T-shaped garment became more fitted, sewn in different textiles, and was adopted by most militaries and working class men as an essential workhorse of their uniforms and lifestyle. In the late 1930’s Sears came out with ad popularizing the casual plain white tee as something you could wear all time - “it’s an undershirt, it’s an outershirt!” The excitement!
From there, it was embraced by young Hollywood as a sign of rebellion, with James Dean and Marlon Brando branding themselves as ~bad boys~ in slim white tees and rolled up jeans. By the 60’s, women were wearing tees as a way to explore sex appeal and break free from the social constructs of the feminine dress code. As t-shirts became less defined by gender and more widely accepted as everyday clothing, people discovered they could market just about anything on a plain t-shirt. And so, the graphic tee was born.
The end. But not the end, because there are literally millions of t-shirts on this planet looking for a place to call home.
If you haven’t had your own Trash Panic about the overwhelming shitstorm of clothing polluting our planet yet, let me help you join me in this fiery place of anxiety - we donate so many clothes to charities, various thrift stores, donation centers, etc etc that there are simply too many pieces for most of those places to organize, sort, and sell on their sales floor in our and your children and their children’s lifetime. The pounds and pounds and tons and tons and tons AND TONS of clothes that they can’t hold on to, get shipped off to other parts of the world where they are bundled into bales and sold in thrift stores and warehouses in other countries (or end up on beaches, deserts, forests, and all sorts of other places where they don’t belong.)
This New York Times article is an insightful read on learning more about the growing resale market in other parts of the world and how South Asian communities are starting businesses selling highly sought after and collectable vintage clothing and t-shirts they find sifting through thousands of bales.
This is why, if you’ve ever found a super rad vintage tee that’s in perfect shape on Etsy, it’s probably from a shop located in Malaysia. But if you’re looking for that perfect staple that can single handedly combat the “stuck in a rut, nothing to wear, I hate everything I have” kind of morning, spending the money on a fits-just-right, worn-in-the-right-places graphic tee is worth it (at least to me) for completing a “forever” secondhand wardrobe.
The best part? There’s really no wrong way to style a vintage tee.
Here are some looks I have saved to inspire me when I’m getting dressed.
And now, for some of the vintage tee finds sitting in my watchlists and favorites.
(clockwise from top left) 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10 / 11 / 12 / 13 / 14 / 15 / 16
(clockwise from top left) 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10
There’s obviously plenty more to say on the matter, but I hope this inspires you to at least dig digitally to find a perfect vintage tee that speaks to you. If you’re looking to go down the rabbit hole of sifting through thousands of shirts on eBay specifically, I would recommend filtering —
Buy it Now - Condition: Used (pre-owned) - Choose if you want to see International sellers or just US sellers
Thank you, as always for reading! Tell me your thoughts, feelings, emotions by replying to this newsletter via email or leaving a comment! I want to hear from you!
Until next time,
xo,
G