34 replies to this topic

[David Meadows]

Today is the day of the year when I wear this t-shirt:






Sorry the photo quality is a bit rubbish but hopefully you can see the date: 1985. That's when I bought it. It's the oldest piece of clothing I own (I suspect it's older than some of the people posting on this forum ) and I still wear it -- though rarely, because I get nervous whenever I have to wash it.

It's a souvenir of the best day of my entire life (no exaggeration).

Saturday 22nd June 1985 was when I went to my first rock concert. I travelled through Friday night to get there, arriving at the park at about 6am. I wandered around this vast field, wondering which of the dodgy food stands I should buy breakfast from. I was a student, at the end of the year, and had very little to spend. I just had enough for breakfast, and maybe dinner if I was lucky. I bought a cup of something brown that was pretending to be tea. Then I found the merchandise stall and decided a souvenir was more important than food.

Best concert I've ever been to. Worth the (comparative) fortune, the two nights without sleep, the two days without food, and the 18 hours standing in a field of mud on the wettest midsummer weekend in recorded history. And this t-shirt reminds me of that every time I look at it.



Anyone else got a souvenir (not necessarily a t-shirt) with a good memory behind it?

[garjones]

I saw a bloke on the diamond jubilee coverage wearing an "I ran the world" t-shirt. That's a 1985 vintage as well I believe.

[David Meadows]

I saw a bloke on the diamond jubilee coverage wearing an "I ran the world" t-shirt. That's a 1985 vintage as well I believe.

Sport Aid... 1986 I think? I have him beat by about 11 months

[Martin Smith]

That t-shirt is indeed older than me. I've think it's weathered the years better as well.

[Michael Stranger]

I've still got a Batteries Not Included t-shirt that I won from a comic fanzine called, I think, Kaboom, or maybe Kapow. They had a competition to win the entire back catalogue of DreamWorks films on VHS (in 1987 this wasn't that many), with the runner up prize being the Batteries Not Included tee. I always remember being a bit sniffy that they sent the t-shirt without even a note in the bag, whereas it was such a big deal to me that I'd won, I thought there should be a congratulatory certificate or something (I was ten).

It's nice knowing it's fairly rare though.

I'm a bit gutted that I let my mum cut up my old Senser t-shirt and use it as a dustcloth.

I also won a 'See No Evil, Hear No Evil' and 'The Tall Guy' t-shirt at a matinee showing of The Masters Of The Universe (same year) - got home and my Dad had 'em until I was old enough to fit into them! Pfft. Still, the 'See No Evil, Hear No Evil' tee was cool, purple text on grey, I wore that into the ground.

[stephanie familiar]

i have a t-shirt i stole from my ex-boyfriend's sister that says Helsinki Fuckin City. it's a souvenir of what a bitch she was. but ya, i do have a lot of clothing from various vacation spots, events and whatnot. my favourite was a pair of pants with the nickname of my original alma mater printed on the bum. sadly, over the years they become crotchless pants, and thus unwearable.

[garjones]

Crotchless pants are never unwearable, you just need to select the right occasion.

[Robert B]

I never buy T-shirts at concerts but a few months ago I went to see Van Halen and said "screw it, I'm buying one." I prepared to part with $25 at the absolute ceiling.

They were $35. I didn't get one. $35!

[garjones]

I don't have that many old clothes as I keep moving but it does amuse my friends that in photos when I go home I'm always wearing the same sweater and jacket for the last 9 years or so. The temperature here never drops below 25 degrees celcius so I only wear these things when traveling so the sweater and jacket are worn for very few days. I'm not going to buy new ones.

I went to Levi's shop in Texas and the assistant had quite an admiration for the jacket and wondered why he hadn't seen that one before. I said it's 10 years old but looks new because I almost never wear it.

[njerry]

I have a t-shirt that I never wear, from U2's 2004/2005 Vertigo Tour, which is a souvenir of the first concert I took my son to. I just can't find an appropriate occasion on which to wear it.

[Lucian Von Dooom]

I no longer have any old clothes. Stacy made me throw them out a few years ago. My oldest shirt was a NIN Pretty Hate Machine shirt from 1989. I loved that shirt.

[Miqque Loveland]

Since I went thru losing everything - twice - I don't have any of my old y-shirts. (That's right = brontosaurus size - shaddup.) One of my favorites was my Security shirt from Survival Sunday II (or III?) in '83 or so. (Still have the Access All Areas patch on my guitar case.) Could write a long article on my experiences that day.

On the flip side, took my newest on it's maiden voyage Wednesday - the V for Vendetta one that sez "People should not be afraid of their governments. Governments should be afraid of their people." Decided that was not the t-shirt to wear to visit my friend who is currently in jail. Many more reactions than from my S-symbol shirt.

Had an aquaintance who worked hospitals part-time and the rest of the time ran the t-shirt concession for REO Speedwagon. Sure, the T's cost $35 or so and up, but the main reason is not greed. The overhead - buying the T's, getting them silk-screened, packaging (which can mean tossing a bunch in a box), transporting them to the venue, the cost of the concession booth plus a per-item surcharge many places- and, mind, the concessionaires have to travel, eat, housing many nights, all on top of maintaining a home base. Add it up andit'spricey!

[garjones]

On the flip side, took my newest on it's maiden voyage Wednesday - the V for Vendetta one that sez "People should not be afraid of their governments. Governments should be afraid of their people."

In Michael Moore's film Sicko he interviews a bunch of American expats living in Paris and they use a similar line to explain the differences between the countries. In the US people are afraid of government, in France the government is afraid of the people. Interesting fare.

[craggy]

looks like She-Ra logo font.

[njerry]

Had an aquaintance who worked hospitals part-time and the rest of the time ran the t-shirt concession for REO Speedwagon. Sure, the T's cost $35 or so and up, but the main reason is not greed. The overhead - buying the T's, getting them silk-screened, packaging (which can mean tossing a bunch in a box), transporting them to the venue, the cost of the concession booth plus a per-item surcharge many places- and, mind, the concessionaires have to travel, eat, housing many nights, all on top of maintaining a home base. Add it up andit'spricey!

I've never considered the price of concert tees to be high, particularly since they are (usually) only available at the venues during the concert tour or festival. You have to be willing to pay extra for the exclusivity of the item, sort of like a variant cover on a comic book.

[Robert B]

I've had a lucky Celtics tee for about 12 years now. I wore it to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2002. They lost. Wore it during the Finals in 2010. They lost. Wore it this year for the Eastern Conference Finals. They lost. I'm beginning to think it's not so lucky.

[David Meadows]

Had an aquaintance who worked hospitals part-time and the rest of the time ran the t-shirt concession for REO Speedwagon. Sure, the T's cost $35 or so and up, but the main reason is not greed. The overhead - buying the T's, getting them silk-screened, packaging (which can mean tossing a bunch in a box), transporting them to the venue, the cost of the concession booth plus a per-item surcharge many places- and, mind, the concessionaires have to travel, eat, housing many nights, all on top of maintaining a home base. Add it up andit'spricey!

But I've seen bands who charge £25 (around $35 I guess) for their t-shirts and others, such as the one I saw last week, who charge £15. Same quality shirt, same quality print. And the ones who charge top rate are the ones who ought to benefit from economies of scale because they'll sell 500 in a stadium for every 5 the other band sells in a pub. Whichever way you slice it, the $35 shirts are ripping us off somewhere in the supply chain.

I've had a lucky Celtics tee for about 12 years now. I wore it to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2002. They lost. Wore it during the Finals in 2010. They lost. Wore it this year for the Eastern Conference Finals. They lost. I'm beginning to think it's not so lucky.

My favourite post of the thread

Edited by David Meadows, 23 June 2012 - 06:00 PM.

[garjones]

Buy a t-shirt off the touts that charge a fiver.

[David Chapman]

On the flip side, took my newest on it's maiden voyage Wednesday - the V for Vendetta one that sez "People should not be afraid of their governments. Governments should be afraid of their people." Decided that was not the t-shirt to wear to visit my friend who is currently in jail. Many more reactions than from my S-symbol shirt.

I nearly got one of those to wear to work on Casual Fridays, but thought better of it. I work in local government.

[David Meadows]

Buy a t-shirt off the touts that charge a fiver.

That's almost as bad as downloading albums