The Mighty Tee

The word “vintage” usually brings up thoughts of musty thrift stores with their eclectic collections of zoot suits, ’60s prom dresses and cracked leather. Lately, though, the term vintage has been co-opted by a trend pairing humorous slogans and pictures with super-soft cotton tees, straight off the assembly line instead of dug up in the basement. And while this may not be cutting-edge fashion, the availability of these vintage-style shirts has increased exponentially as online vendors have caught on to the craze. Any average Joe with a credit card just has to google the phrase “vintage shirts” and thousands of vendors, from online mega-chains to do-it-yourself home ventures, will appear at his fingertips.

With the endless variety, it’s easy to find a shirt to match anyone’s personality. Want to represent your favorite kids’ TV show? Sport a shirt featuring the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Alf or Mighty Mouse. Limitless nostalgic cravings can be fulfilled with shirts that feature slogans, celebrities or movies that had their hey-day decades ago.

While haute-couture clothing dresses to impress, many of these fashions amuse, shock and even horrify with sayings paired with unlikely pictures. In the amusing category is an Urban Outfitters shirt that includes the phrase “My Peeps” and a picture of Peeps, the chick-shaped marshmallow candy, below. Another Urban Outfitters T-shirt phrase includes the underhandedly sexual “Ain’t Nothin’ Like A Sausage Party.”

The most popular shirt designs, though, offer an opportunity to sport hometown pride without ever owning a high-school letter jacket. These location-themed shirts feature slogans ranging from the infamous “Everything is Bigger in Texas,” to the lesser known “New Jersey—The Almost Heaven State,” “Ain’t No Lovin’ Like West Virginia Lovin’” and for us North Carolinians, “North Carolina: We Like Being on Top.”

The downside of the trend is that some of these vintage-style shirts can be expensive, running almost $30 a pop, at the pricier sites. The best bet for getting in on the trend without breaking your wallet is to skip the popular sites and instead see what you can dig up on eBay. eBay features an entire vintage section with both true vintage and vintage-style T-shirts, many of which go for under $10. This tactic might require a little searching to find that just-right slogan, but with so much selection and such cheap prices it’s definitely worth the effort.

But no matter where you shop, remember: it’s not how old it is, it’s how old it looks.