Tshirt Fun in the Sun(Ladies Edition)

T-shirts have definitely made a comeback as a fashion staple in the recent decade, and sometimes pairing a t-shirt with blue jeans/jean shorts just does not cut it anymore! So here are a few tips on cool ways to rock your shirts this summer (ladies edition)!

1) Skirts

 

Probably one of my favorite things to pair with t-shirts, skirts are super versatile! They come in all different patterns, colors, and silhouettes. I chose A-line (above,left) and Fitted (above,right) because these styles of skirt are flattering on all body types. The awesome thing about pairing a cool tee with a t-shirt is that its super easy to look dressed up or casual , simply by changing your shoes, or adding a blazer.

2) Colored/Patterned Jeans

Colored and patterned jeans are really popular this season. Paring a really cool t-shirt with patterned jeans (for my more daring ladies) look really cool and edgy. Colored jeans can easily complement a sweet vintage tee, and give a nice pop of summer color. Like skirts, with your rocking printed pants or bright fun jeans, it takes very little effort to transition from day time casual, to going out, by simply adding a few accessories.

3) Rompers

 

Okay, so this may be a little different for some people. I actually tried this idea last summer and it worked out pretty well. First off, Rompers are great because its an outfit rolled into one. Then, adding your favorite tee over it is a really cute, quick, and comfy look. This goes really well with t-shirts that are a bit off the shoulder, and really cool with a cropped tee, or a tee that has the back cut out.

There’s are so many unique ways to rock your unique t-shirt, don’t be afraid to experiment to find what works best for you. Tweet us your ideas or comment on this post on how you make fashionably rock your unique tees, and maybe I can feature them in the next post!!!

Wear Original everybody!

 

 

 

**Products and Pictures from http://www.hm.com/us

 

Doing Good

As you know, we at SleeveCandy really value doing good and giving back to the community. Salvation Army has been doing just this in the US as early as the late 1800′s. We give 30% of our proceeds to Salvation Army’s Adult Rehabilitation program. The Adult Rehabilitation program has 119 centers in the country to help adults from all walks of life including but not limited to substance abuse, unemployment, and homelessness. Below I’ve provided a link to the Salvation Army Blog that tells a remarkable story about one of the Adult Rehab Center residents and his journey.

http://blog.salvationarmyusa.org/?p=10172

Do Good and Wear Original everyone

 

Cut and Style

Came across salinabear on YouTube! She has videos of cool and creative ways to cut and style your t-shirts. This especially great for ladies! Check it out!! http://www.youtube.com/user/salinabear?feature=watch

Tote-astic!

Hey cool people! The SleeveCandy master minds have been cranking out new and innovative things you can do with our one-of-a-kind tees. The most recent idea that we’ve been tossing around is give people the option to have their tee turned into a sweet tote.
Yeah,you read right, a tote. Why totes, you ask? Totes are totally in and they never go out of style. They’re eco-friendly, because they eliminate the need for a plastic shopping bag. And, if it was made out of a pretty cool shirt, it definitely makes an even cooler tote bag.   This is a great option for our lady fans because we do not (yet) have lady shirts, and ladies can get most any of our shirts and have an awesomely unique tote that they can wear on their arm! There’s a lot of ways you can do it! There are 4 simple steps

1. Find a badass shirt

2. Cut off the sleeves

3. Cut the neck (by this point, the shirt should look like a bro tank)

4. sew the bottom

And you’ve got yourself a tote!

T-Shirt Evolution: The Dawn of a New (Stylish) Era

We are in the midst of a new age, where t-shirts are no longer associated with the unstylish, or for lounging (bumming) it out on the couch. Unique, vintage T shirts have become a fashion staple, a way of self expression, and look downright awesome! We folks at SleeveCandy pride ourselves on providing you with a great selection of t-shirts that are not only one of a kind and unique, but also make you stand out and says something about your personality.

There are different ways to take your look to the next level without even trying. Obviously the first thing you need is an awesome vintage tee (that you no doubt got from us, of course). Most vintage tees are cool enough to stand on their own, but sometimes you can add a little something extra just take you and your tee to the next level of awesomeness.

1) The Cardigan

Cardigan sweaters have definitely made a comeback. A cardigan is a nice complement to a cool tee. They come in many different colors and patterns. They’re not stuffy, and they’ll make you look casually put together and not like you spent hours strategically constructing an outfit.

 

2) The Vest

Do not knock the vest! Vests are very “in” and very cool looking if worn the right way. One of the coolest ways is obviously to pair it with an awesome, one-of-a-kind tee. A vest gives you a bit more edge, without looking over the top. The key is to make sure your vest fits, and keep it simple, sticking to solid colors, or simple patterns as not to overpower the awesomeness of you tee.

 

3) The Blazer

And last but certainly not least, the blazer. I also like to call it “the lady killer”. Blazers come in so many different colors, patterns, and materials. It’s an awesome addition to a badass t-shirt. You’ll look cool, not to mention dapper, and extremely well dressed. Paired with your unique vintage tee, it’s a great way to show your personality with a touch of style and sophistication, and all without having to wear a tie or patent leather shoes!

So here’s to looking awesome, original, and fashionable. And, as always, let’s not forget to always Wear Original

Peace!

Allow Me To Introduce Myself…Again

Alright folks, it’s been a while since you’ve heard from us! We’ve been so invested in finding the most awesome vintage tees ever that we’ve become beyond delinquent with updating our blog. With that being said, now seems like a great time reintroduce our selves.

Hello world, we are Sleeve Candy, trying to save the world one unique vintage tee at a time! How exactly are we saving the world you ask? By making sure that there’s a place where people can get awesome vintage tees that look badass, keeping people from looking atrocious, and giving back all at the same time. Talk about multi-tasking! It’s not an easy job, but, hey somebody’s got to do it, right? What we do here is unique. We go out on a mission to find sweet pre-owned tees, restore them back to their original awesomeness (wash them), and allow unique folks to purchase them and give them a good home. Part of all the profits we make, get donated to charity. Bottom line, this is awesome. Come on people!

Don’t you hate it when you’re rocking a cool shirt only to see ten other folks wearing the same damn shirt before you’ve set one foot out the door?! If you raid Sleeve Candy’s virtual closet, you’ll see that the likelihood of that happening is very slim. These shirts are super exclusive! So come check us out! What better way to show what a unique intelligent individual you are by rocking a unique and intelligent, not to mention vintage tee? And you’re helping us give back to the community. That’s the best of both worlds, if you ask me. Do some good and look good while doing it. Peace and “wear original”.

Double Take

Picture this: a petite female wearing a t-shirt with a humongous t-bone steak on it proclaiming her love of barbeque meats. Wearing specifically this t-shirt.

Pretty amusing, right?

I call this my “double take” t-shirt because every time I wear it, people have to do a double take. That’s how cool it is. I wear it and I feel fresh and confident. It separates you from the masses. It’s got a graphic or message that’s hilarious, thoughtful, or unique. And as I look at the big stack of Sleevecandy tees waiting to be inventoried, I remember that every t-shirt in the stack was handpicked with those criteria in mind. Hilarious. Thoughtful. Unique.

When I sit in the Sleevecandy HQ and I see a package of t-shirts being shipped out, I know the future owner of that t-shirt is going to be looked at twice.

Bespoke T-Shirts @Sleevecandy? Sort of!

So how can a 20-year old vintage t-shirt be bespoke for someone in modern day use? Okay…well…you got us there but every time I fill an order for a Sleevecandy tee, I know that shirt has its own story to tell.  Let’s face it, because that t-shirt is in fact the only one of its kind for us making the t-shirt in some sense “picked to order” (we don’t make t-shirts…er…yet…).

I was in the Sweet Pit (our offices/order center and what I am calling it these days) yesterday and noticed all of the tees, each one unique, and was reminded by Ben Stiller in Meet the Parents.

Greg Focker on the phone with the airline company:

“Yeah, you gave me the wrong suitcase. Uh-huh. Yes, it’s a black Samsonite. Uh-huh. Ok, well don’t you think that the Samsonite people, in some crazy scheme in order to make a profit, MADE MORE THAN ONE BLACK SUITCASE?”

Sometimes I wonder if he were on the phone about a lost Sleevecandy shirt:

“Do you think the Sleevecandy people, in some crazy scheme in order to make a profit, WOULD STOCK MORE THAN ONE OF THE SAME SHIRT?”

Actually Greg, for now, we are working on making it a one and only one shot deal, we’ll keep you posted if that changes.

Wear Original Focker!

Immortalize the Tee: How to Care for Your T-Shirt

What is the right way to care for your perfect, vintage, or perfect vintage t-shirt? At it again, we at Sleevecandy wanted to provide instructional guidance on how to make that beloved tee stand the test of time.

It probably goes without saying but as a precursor, take care in handling and wearing your t-shirt is the first step.  Exposing a pre-loved shirt to the elements like wearing at the beach, gym, or any location where excessive sun, sweat, and other forces can affect it will accelerate the rate at which your t-shirt degrades over time.

Contrary to popular belief, dry cleaning your t-shirt is probably one of the more dangerous routes in caring for your shirt beyond the obvious stigma of being “that guy(or girl)” who dry cleans their t-shirt! Dry cleaners often use equipment that generates excessive heat which can not only damage the fabric but also can ruin the logo, expand the size of preexisting pinholes, and destroy other attributes of the shirt.

A few tips Sleevecandy has for you on proper t-shirt care:

1. Wash Gently: The safest way to wash your tee is to hand wash it in lukewarm water using a hand wash detergent.  While this might be excessive, washing your garment on the delicate cycle in your washing machine is another way to really care for your vintage or favorite t-shirt.

2. Avoid the dryer: For similar reasons to dry cleaning above, excessive heat can be damaging to tees. Hanging your shirt out to dry away from sunlight (indoors) is the best method of preserving your shirt. If you just can’t spare the time however, opt for putting shirts in the dryer at a light/gentle setting.

3. Store Properly: For long storage, use a plastic back or sleeve similar to the one shown in the picture above sealed if possible to keep mold, dust, and moths away from your sweet t-shirt.

4 Use the right Detergents/Soaps: It’s preferred to use gentle hand washing detergents and soaps. It probably goes without saying but do your best to avoid chlorine-based cleaners, or bleach. If you do find yourself with stains however, more sophisticated cleaners using oxygen-based technologies like OxiClean work best.  In all cases, be sure to read instructions.

For vintage shirts, one tactic to eliminate odor-causing bacteria is to take the stored shirt (in a sealed plastic bag/sleeve similar to the one shown above) and store it in the freezer for a few days (using the opposite technique of heat). Hopefully your shirt doesn’t have this and it certainly won’t if bought from Sleevecandy since we inspect and clean every garment before sale.

We hope you enjoy Sleevecandy’s tips for proper t-shirt and vintage t-shirt care.  Wear Original!

How Vintage is the T-Shirt?

At Sleevecandy we decided to explore the origin of the vintage t-shirt further and see the history behind the tee and where it came from.  During a short Wiki and Web binge, we learned that the modern t-shirt is an evolution of undergarments worn in 19th century when Union Suits (those strange looking off-white PJs people wear under their clothes in movies about the past like old westerns) were separated into a top and bottom piece.

An even more contemporary version without buttons was then adopted later by miners and dock laborers and eventually became an undergarment for modern laborers. Although many also credit the Navy for having been the inventor of this garment. Further on, the great depression made t-shirts more prevalent in society due to the cost-effective nature of buying and maintaining them. In fact, the word t-shirt didn’t even earn its name into the American Dictionary until the 1920s, which by then was included in the Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary.

While some believe t-shirts became a symbol in mainstream fashion in the 1960s, it was the actions of celebrities like Marlon Brando and James Dean wearing t-shirts on screen in 1950s movies “A Stretcar Named Desire” and “Rebel Without a Cause” that made this iconic look cool!

The 1960s then saw the creative explosion of the modern printed t-shirt with people using t-shirts as canvases for expression through looks like tie-dye, band logos (the tongue logo of the Rolling Stones), advertisements, and smiley faces.

Whatever the origin, we at Sleevecandy are glad that t-shirts are here to stay!

Picture above is a Vintage Adidas-Run DMC 1980s concert promotional shirt highly valued by collectors.