Do Hypercolor t shirts expire?
June 7, 2013 6:52 AM   Subscribe

Do Hypercolor t shirts expire? Seeing some on ebay but none say whether they are still heat sensitive.
posted by josher71 to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (7 answers total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
They definitely lose their potency. I threw one out about 2 years ago that I had gotten when they first came out as a kid, and it definitely held on more to the "hot" color every time I washed and dried it.
posted by hrj at 7:02 AM on June 7, 2013


Thermochromic leuco dyes tend to be fairly long-lived, provided they are shielded from sunlight (UV radiation) and high heat.

If the shirt is worn outdoors and put through the dryer, it will lose more and more of its ability to change color over time. Since everyone wore them outside and washed them, they may not have much color change left if buying a second hand garment, tho NOS items may be good.

You can buy new thermochromic t-shirts from Bodyfaders - tho it won't have the sweet '90s-cachet "Hypercolor" logo on 'em.
posted by Slap*Happy at 7:15 AM on June 7, 2013


Yep, they definitely stop working/work less well after a while of normal use.
posted by pianissimo at 7:17 AM on June 7, 2013


I had some back in the day. Putting them in the clothes dryer a few times totally nuked them. So yes, they can "expire".
posted by PuppetMcSockerson at 7:55 AM on June 7, 2013


I had one that was pink-to-white when I bought it, and at some point changed to purple-to-green, except for a grease spot that stayed the original color. Not terribly long after that, it all faded to old-T-shirt gray. I'd imagine that if the photos show the original "cold" color and it's still fairly bright, it probably has some juice left. A never-worn shirt would have better luck over time.
posted by Metroid Baby at 8:32 AM on June 7, 2013


My impression is that heat (washing in hot water, ironing, drying in the dryer) was the most common way to damage them. A vintage clothing dealer I know jokes about having a dozen of them socked away in her cold, dark chest freezer.
posted by pullayup at 12:16 PM on June 7, 2013


American apparel sells new ones(example)

I wouldn't expect an old one to still work satisfactorily, as I've definitely heard about the effect failing over time.
posted by emptythought at 12:35 PM on June 7, 2013


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