Apparel Software | Fashion Software Systems

Spookily Symmetrical

Monsieur T. are here with their spring summer 2009 collection of crazy new designs which you will probably want to spend all the money you saved up for that holiday on. Well, you’ve got to look the part right? The ‘History’ shirt might be one of their most memorable designs by Emil Kozak. Displaying an oversized fountain-pen nib and a drop of red ink, the tagline to this t-shirt is: ‘History was often written in blood’. Chilling isn’t it. I don’t know about you but I like the shapes on this shirt, and even if the tagline does but more sensitive souls off this shirt, you can always ignore it and just pretend that it’s novelty ink/tomato ketchup.

Another of Monsieur T’s summer line designs is named ‘Low Self Esteem’ created by Andy Rementer. The story behind this shirt is more of a question: ‘Do you ever want to kick yourself in the head?’ The answer to that question might have already flashed through your mind once or twice, but hopefully you haven’t taken it quite as literally the chubby little guy on this t-shirt who is about to stamp on his own decapitated head. His facial expression is quite something, and his green beanie hat really does bring out the colour (or is that fear?) in his eyes.

Don’t try this at home

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Here’s something I’ve not seen before. They say that ingenuity is in simplicity and this t-shirt design by Brooklyn based PASTE is simplicity at it’s most ingenious, or is it? Here Paste’s graphic artist Jason Laurits has designed a t-shirt featuring nothing but a sketch of a…..t-shirt……yes, you heard correctly, on the front. Despite its blatant simplicity, I still can’t get my head around this t-shirt. There are a million questions I could ask: is the t-shirt on the design inspired by the t-shirt itself? Which came first, the design or the t-shirt? Whether you like it or not, the tee on tee is one of the PASTE’s more simplistic designs.

See two tee?

Others include the slightly more adventurous ‘Damn – Girl’ shirt, on which a Jane Austen-style legacy hero casts a flirtatious look at the bee-hind of one of his female companions, and by his comment seems, well what can I say? Rear-ly impressed. Not sure what Austen would have to say about that, but if this indie design soars in popularity perhaps it will be added to the script of the next Pride & Prejudice adaptation, completely changing the characterization of Mr. Darcy for generations to come. I predict outrage. Like it or loath it, you can’t accuse Laurits of failing in his vision to associate his t-shirt line with art, culture and humour.

Damn-Girl

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Speaking on behalf of the shorter creme-de-la-creme of the population, it’s time to be short and be proud. Well, maybe I’m not quite speaking about height, but in the fashion stakes this summer being short is big news. A couple of summers ago wearing a pair of shorts would have been a no-go, it was the denim skirt all the way, but in 2009 shorts are back and they’re shorter than ever. Denim is still the fabric, faded is the colour and folded over is the hem. Shorts are beautiful for a number of reasons, most importantly you can get out of a car without worrying that you’ll flash your underpants at passers by, AND you can do cartwheels in grassy summer fields with the same freedom. When you’re wearing shorts a spectrum of normally undignified physical activities become permissible. Go on….do a forward-roll. Urban Outfitters have a range of Renewal denims available. The Renewal brand is UO’s vintage label which earthily recycles vintage pieces by collaborating them with unique added details such as trims and buttons. These shorty shorts are recycled from Levis 501s. A classic denim staple that will prevent any outfit fail, and at £28 they shouldn’t break the bank either. Enjoy your freedom.

Be short. Be Proud

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Starlight in Monaco

Indigo Clothing printed t-shirts for the Starlight Children’s Foundation’s recent trip to Monaco where F1 fan Courtney (pictured) got to meet his hero, driver Lewis Hamilton.

It is a great charity and if you have not heard of it, here are some key facts you should know about them:

• Starlight Children’s Foundation is the leading charity in the UK, granting wishes of a lifetime to seriously and terminally ill children, and entertaining children with fun and laughter in every hospital and hospice throughout the UK.
• In its first year Starlight helped just 4 children.  This year, Starlight will help 500,000 sick children throughout the UK.
• Starlight was founded in 1987 by Emma Samms (Fallon Colby from Dynasty). When Emma was growing up, her nine-year-old brother tragically died from aplastic anaemia.  This understandably had a devastating effect on Emma and her family. Years later Emma helped a very ill boy fulfil his wish to visit Disneyland.  She was deeply moved to see the positive effect the ‘wish’ had on the boy and his family.
• Starlight operates with very low fundraising costs, with 91p of every £1 donated helping Starlight’s very ill children.
• Starlight does not receive Government or Lottery funding and relies entirely on the generosity of the general public, companies and trust funds.
• Starlight celebrity ambassadors are Sienna Miller, Matthew Williamson, Bill Nighy, Keira Knightley, Dougray Scott, and Gemma Atkinson all of whom have shown great dedication to helping Starlight’s sick children.   Starlight also receives huge celebrity support in granting wishes from people such as David and Victoria Beckham, Tom Chambers, Orlando Bloom, Sharon Osbourne and McFly – to name just a few.

To refer a seriously ill child to Starlight or to make a donation, simply log on to www.starlight.org.uk or call 020 7262 2881.

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All my friends love the name Keith. It’s one of those names that you never quite know how to spell properly, which gives it a bit of mystique, and at the moment it seems to be experiencing a retro renewal in popularity. I can’t tell you how excited I get when I meet new Keiths. A Keith I recently met is ‘Keith the Quiet’, a little fellow designed by Linty Fresh. Keith the Quiet is the perfect summer character because he loves ice-cream and comes in a yellow and white print on a bright blue t-shirt, just like the sky. This Keith is also a literary character, being the star of his very own poem composed by the Linty Fresh folks. His tale is a quaint one: being so quiet all Keith does is stay at home eating an ice-cream cone. It’s a short and pretty uneventful life really, but isn’t it special when your tee has a meaning? And when you buy this shirt you’ll get a printed collectors card so that you can read the whole poem whenever you like. Keith the Quiet is so shy that he’d probably never ask you to wear him, but he sure wants you to.

Sssssssh, it’s Keith the Quiet

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Over the summer months herds of British sun-seekers typically flock to bathe under Spanish skies, where warm weather and sunshine is usually a little more stable than it is over here. Spain might be an ideal sun spot, but thanks to outfitters like Kling, it’s becoming a fashion hot spot too. You’re going to love their clothes, I can tell. Kling are adept at merging colours and shapes. Here you can find clothes that stand out from the crowd; from t-shirts with billowy arms to retro sun dresses, there seems to be something for every taste.

Summer’s Here!

Even though it is summer, it’s worth having a gander at the autumn and winter collections too, not just because it’s good to plan ahead, but because their seasonal collections have amazing titles such as ‘Spring 09: I love mornings’ and ‘Winter 08: The Coquette’. Kling offer more than just clothing because they help you to style your look too. They offer weekly deals where you can buy the Total Look, and if you don’t know just how to wear your new Kling clothing, all you need to do is drop an email to Emma the stylist who will ‘work out your look’. Keeping things simple but stylish, there’s also a section of the website where ordinary folks, like you and me, can send in our pictures and become international supermodels (don’t laugh). So if your holidaying in Spain this summer, make sure you seek some shade in a Kling store – oh and take some extra spending money too.

Red and spotty has never looked so good

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Pinecone + Chickadee might sound like a children’s storybook duo, but they’re actually a t-shirt designing duo from Portland, across the pond in New England. Their studio is formed by a married team: s collaboration between the graphical designer wife Amy, and musician husband Noah. Pinecone + Chickadee silkscreen all their imaginative artwork onto a range of apparel including t-shirts, journals and greeting cards. All their papery goods are made from recycled materials, and even the ink they use is water based and earth friendly; a preservation attitude that is encouraged by looking at the beautiful Maine coastline I’m guessing. Currently, men can choose from designs including giant pandas, a cyclops and this stripy whale and lighthouse shirt. Some of the designs are printed on organic t-shirts, but not all of them, so it’s best to check first if you want to stay super earthy.

Admittedly this whale doesn’t look as friendly as Free Willy

For women, the designs are slightly more peaceful and subdued, including this red and black bird design on a long grey shirt and a gold wolf on navy blue, which would incidentally look great with a green shopping bag…hmmm perhaps this handsewn ‘Broccoli’ bag? I can’t help but love it when veg gets promoted through artwork.

Mmmm, broccers

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Indigofera

An Indigo Clothing fan sent us this image from the Birmingham Botanical Gardens: a label for an Indigo plant. Ironically the gardens are one of Indigo’s clients – we make their staff uniform!

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All Irish people are like this aren’t they?

The Irish have brought many wonderful things to the world. Guinness, leprechauns, potato based foods, a very unique way of pronouncing the word ‘tart,’ and lots of general cheery charm. No wonder I’m moving to Dublin, what’s not to love? Hmm, the exchange rate maybe – but that aside the emerald isle is one of the most iconic places in the world, and then there’s the street art scene which turns the city wall into a canvas itself. Turtlehead are a t-shirt design collective stemming from Dublin, but also featuring artistic collaboration with designers from New York and Canada. They have been ‘touching cloth since 2006′, and they have a solid mission statement. Aiming not to bring down corporations or presidents, Turtlehead simply want to show that they care, which they do by donating 5% of their profits to a charity of the customer’s choice and printing on ethically and environmentally friendly tees. If this isn’t enough to whet your appetite and get your teebuds tingling then you should know that all their designs are limited to 500 pieces, so your shirt will be pretty original. And if you’re an aspiring designer your artistic submissions will be welcomed, with all winning designs rewarded in prize money and your very own Turtlehead line of shirts!

But before your incredible winning design is featured on Turtlehead’s website, maybe you’d like to have a peek at their current edgy designs, firstly from Irish designers Chris Haughton and Will St. Leger. St. Leger’s design features a taster of the artist’s famous stencilwork, and handily reminds us that not all pigeons love bread. Haughton’s more colourful purple-headed, yellow-eyed, big-bearded posing man is printed on a bright yellow shirt and accompanied with a bit of Irish vocab: ‘ag damhsa,’ which means ‘dancing’ in the Gaelic language – and as you can see, this guy sure has some moves

Chris Haughton’s Dancing Man

If you prefer dentures to Irish dancers then maybe Marc John’s ‘Famous People’s Teeth’ shirt is the one for you. This could be part of the perfect outfit if you’ve scheduled an appointment with the dentist in the near future. But if famous artists rather than famous teeth are more your thing, then you might like to display the progenitor of pop-art on your chest. Why not wear this Andy Warhol shirt by Italian designer Laura Paperina, which shows the famous artist looking worried while he eats a banana. Maybe it had gone mouldy, I hate it when that happens.

I can see Brad Pitt’s molar

Just in case none of these capture your eye, you’ll find it impossible to dislike my all time favourite Turtlehead shirt, which has to be Mountain Man, designed by Melbourne artist Adam Cruickshank. Simple and effective, this shirt works because specs and beards are cool, and it’s like carrying a friendly little friend around with you. If you spill some soup down your t-shirt, don’t worry – you were just feeding him, if you need to go somewhere fancy dress – wear your shirt over your head, and if you get lonely – have a little conversation with the guy. People won’t think you’re strange, promise.

Your new best friend

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The first time you see these you’ll probably do a double-take. Ever feel that denim is just too heavy to walk around in? Do your favourite pair of jeans become much less appealing on a warm summer day? Have you got the guts to wear something a bit weird? If the answer to all these questions is ‘yes’ then a pair of “Jeggings” might be just the thing you’re looking for. Are they jeans? Or are they leggings? Would be ok questions to ask, either way there’s no doubt that they’re tighties and definitely not  for the feint hearted. I’m sure that if you layer your outfit up enough so that you can only see from the knee down they might work out. The Jegs are a summery alternative to wearing jeans, whilst giving a denimy feel to a plain old pair of leggings. Some of them are a little bizarre looking, like these crazies by Silence & Noise which are available at Urban Outfitter, but there are some that look slightly more appealing.

Pull-ups

As a rule of thumb I’d advise opting for the ones that look darker and more like jeans, these ones designed by James Jeans seem to fit the bill. I don’t think there’s any way to really avoid these this summer, as much as you might want to, but perhaps they’re one of those things that you said you’d never wear and by next week you’ll have three pairs hanging in the wardrobe.

They might look like Jeans, but they’re actually James Jeans Jegs

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