gone shoppin'

October 30, 2005 6:32 AM

Anybody have a place to get cool threads on the net?

I'm looking for shirts and shorts, nothing fancy as I'm a student and can't afford, nor have the need to, look nice most days. The shorts I'm not too picky about, just something decent that breaks out of the trend of khaki cargo shorts that you pick up at the < a href="http://www.oldnavy.com/browse/product.do?cid=5226&pid=290951">any store at the mall>. E.g.: I had a pair of bright orange shorts I bought off ebay called "abercrombie paratroop" shorts that I was fond of, however it looked nothing like what would come out of abercrombie, and I couldn't ever find them again.

The shirts are probably more difficult for me. I want something that is either a independent, vintage, or international looking simple t-shirt, but not obnoxious "kiss me I'm a douchebag" or generally anything with an excess of words. Basically, tasteful, intriguing, but not monetarily gouging (it's a T SHIRT, ARGH I don't want to pay 20 dollars and a bajillion more to ship).

I have to apologize in advance because I know I sound like a whiney little bitch (but I'm a special unique snowflake and I need something that represents me as the complex and fun individual that I AAAAM), but if there is one thing that I've learned since I've been on the MetaFiler is that you guys are both clever and resourceful.

Any links to favorite shirt projects, tips outside of "suck it up and get your ass to goodwill," etc. would be greatly appreciated!

posted by GooseOnTheLoose to clothing, beauty, & fashion (14 comments total)

Have you checked out American Apparel? They have really decent, well-made, inexpensive t-shirts, many with a vintage fit.
posted by iconomy at 6:41 AM on October 30, 2005

Go back to Ebay? I recently had a hankering for some Hawaiian shirts, couldn't find anything to my taste locally, but quickly scored a couple of great shirts on Ebay for less than $10 each, shipping included. It can sure take a while clicking around through the clothes listings to find what you want, but if you have more time than money it can be rewarding.
posted by LarryC at 6:57 AM on October 30, 2005

The cheapest t-shirts I've ever seen are at this Yahoo store. Nothing fancy, just really cheap - great for stocking up on every color known to man.
posted by iconomy at 7:06 AM on October 30, 2005

Seriously–go back to the mall. Kohl’s and Sears sell plain t-shirts, at decent rates. Avoid Target’s offerings, however; the shirt stitchings of their Cherokee line often unravel after a couple washings.
posted by Smart Dalek at 7:22 AM on October 30, 2005

How about Threadless? They have $10 sales a couple of times a year.
posted by amarynth at 7:41 AM on October 30, 2005

There are a few blogs out there that focus on clothing. Check out Preshrunk or the T-Shirt Archive of Cool Hunting. Though the prices have gone up recently, I really like the designs of ISO50 as well. Threadless has a very large selection, some of which are reasonably priced.
posted by istewart at 7:46 AM on October 30, 2005

Know anyone who works in screen printing? If you do, try to get them to order you American Apparel at wholesale.
posted by Evstar at 7:46 AM on October 30, 2005

Agreed with Evstar, American Apparel ain't cheap, generally.
posted by ITheCosmos at 8:20 AM on October 30, 2005

Thanks a bunch guys, istewart had some good links which in turn had good links. The thing is, almost all of the content of the pages I perused fell into the "artsy" or "geeky" category, which isn't necessarily bad, but I can only imagine a wardrobe getting stale with the addition of more than a couple of these shirts (which is a problem for me as I rarely have the initiative to go and spend money on clothes). Though this one had some charm.

I really don't know the extent of internet apparel, so please don't hesitate to post as there is no "best answer," and the topic can only get better with breadth.
posted by GooseOnTheLoose at 8:43 AM on October 30, 2005

threadless
preshrunk
skylab
full bleed
posted by chuckforthought.com at 10:28 AM on October 30, 2005

enclothe have some good tees, like bleedbot.
posted by holloway at 1:17 PM on October 30, 2005

digital gravel
posted by mullacc at 4:32 PM on October 30, 2005

For shorts check out Gramicci.

Also I thought I had a link to some cool, hiphop, surfer skates. They came in orange among other cool colors but I can't uncover it right now...
posted by deanj at 2:36 PM on October 31, 2005

Another vote for iso50. Tycho has a great eye for good designs on the right color of T-shirt (can't say the same for many Threadless designs).

For the price-conscious, I recommend Naive Clothing and White Frog. Great designs, comfy shirts, and only $12-$14!
posted by junesix at 3:50 PM on October 31, 2005