As June nears, and with it, the opening of the new A-Team movie, i have to wonder about how these movie remakes of retro classics are going to affect the icons that represent these classics.

Wow, a mouthful!

Let me rephrase.

Are all the B.A. Baracus t-shirts out there going to start having Rampage on them, instead of Mr. T? Will Dirk Benedict fade into anonymity as Bradley Cooper becomes the new “Face” for the A-Team?

I’ve wondered this before with other remakes. We’ve seen just about every good American TV show re-envisioned and re-made into a movie recently. All the classics from my youth, anyway. Dukes of Hazard, Starsky & Hutch, Get Smart. Heck, even Transformers.

However, for all these other remakes, the icons tended to be items, not people. At least in the t-shirt world. Few people want to wear a shirt with Bo and Luke Duke on it. But, the General Lee, heck ya! Same with Starsky’s car. Same with Optimus Prime.

And, sure, the A-Team has their trademark black van. But, Mr. T is a different story. He’s an icon. His image depicted A-Team tshirts and memorabilia far more than any other logo, including the A-Team bullethole-laden logo.
Will this change?

I would think that 4 and a half years of devoted work to build up the classic TV series would over-ride one movie’s worth of hype. But, who knows the power of Hollywood’s promotional budget?

Here at Channel Shirt, the A-Team t-shirts have been some of our best-selling TV shirts, long before the movie was announced. Mr. T continues to be a hot item even 25 years after his fame in the show. So, I’m curious to see…. in June, will we be selling Mr. T Shirts or Rampage shirts?

Dave

Hi, all!

I’m happy to announce that ChannelShirt now carries ThinkGeek‘s line of funny tshirts!

Being a computer nerd, I’ve always loved ThinkGeek. They have some of the coolest gadgets, t-shirts, and fun things you can buy on the internet. As a matter of fact, I think the very first funny tshirt I ever purchased myself was from ThinkGeek. I still wear it to this day.

I’m especially enthralled with some of their electronic shirts. These are for the hardcore geek!

Anyway, if you’re looking to re-connect with your inner geek, take a look through our large selection of ThinkGeek shirts, in addition to all of our other funny tshirts. You can find the ThinkGeek ones by either searching for “ThinkGeek” at the top of the ChannelShirt Store page, or by going to our “All Geek Shirts” channel in our left channel guide.

Enjoy!

Designing Dave

If you’re a collector of vintage tshirts, you’ve no doubt noticed how the near-gravitational forces of advertising and marketing can twist and warp the very English language itself. While it may not matter when choosing between a barbeque sauce with a “bold new flavor” and one with a “hot new taste,” a slight difference in language can make a huge difference when adding to your vintage tshirt collection. In fact, knowing the subtle difference between two simple words can save you from making a very big but very common mistake.

The word “vintage,” for example, is supposed to refer to something that was actually created in the past, such as a wine of a particular vintage. Or a vintage 1948 Cadillac Sedanette. Or even those Guns N Roses t shirts that have been hanging in your closet since 1988.

“Retro,” on the other hand, refers to something that is made today but is reminiscent of a previous style. Retro is basically a copy or impression of something vintage, but is not actually vintage itself. Newly manufactured Hammer pants are retro. Sideburns are retro. Neon-colored leg warmers are retro. Unfortunate, but retro.

To put it more simply, if you go to a thrift store and buy some 80s tees that have been well-loved, those are vintage. If you go to Hot Topic and buy a new black tshirt with a Thundercats logo on it, that’s retro.

Simple, right? So why so much confusion? Well, part of the problem is that, to many young people, “vintage” and “retro” are both just categories of “old.” Is that vintage Star Wars tee cool because the shirt is old, or because Star Wars is old? Are those vintage concert t shirts cool because they came from the actual concert, or because the bands are retro trendy? A high school kid probably doesn’t care and makes no distinction between the two.

Another part of the problem is marketing. Retro tshirts are all the rage right now. The logos and designs of popular things of the past have become hugely popular again. In fact, they’ve become so popular that many t shirt designers haven’t stopped at just using a Transformers, Pepsi, or Rolling Stones logo, they’ve gone so far as to manufacture the t shirts in a way that makes them look previously worn, well-loved, and quite distressed. The result is retro tshirts that look like authentic vintage tshirts but aren’t.

So, what’s a poor collector of vintage tees to do? Well, you can make sure to know the difference between “vintage” and “retro.” You can make sure to read product descriptions carefully, looking for phrases like “licensed t shirts,” which suggest that the rights to the design were purchased but the shirt itself was probably printed recently. And, when in doubt, you can always contact the t shirt shop and ask them directly if their shirts are retro or truly vintage.

Of course, if you’re not a collector or a purist, none of this probably matters to you. Who, other than a collector really wants to buy a 21-year old t-shirt? I mean, unlike a vintage car, some things aren’t really designed to be used 20 years later. Particularly clothes. And, super particularly, inexpensive t-shirts. Maybe a retro tee really is the best of both worlds.

Or maybe I’m just being nostalgic. Some part of me wishes the term “vintage” would only be correctly applied to my trips to purchase old vinyl records and 80s t shirts, and not be used to push the “anything old-looking is cool” fad. I guess I’m just old.

Wait, does that make me cool?

Dave