Band T-Shirt Guides

The skull cross, the pistols and roses, Slash's top hat: Guns N' Roses made some of the most recognizable band tees ever. Here's the story behind the classic designs and how to wear a GnR tee today.

From Wu-Tang's C.R.E.A.M. to Biggie and Tupac memorial shirts and the Up in Smoke Tour, 90s rap gave us some of the boldest tees ever printed. Here's the story behind the classic designs and how to wear a rap tee today.

From LA funk flyers to stadium tour backs, the Red Hot Chili Peppers have put some of rock's best art on a T-shirt. Here's the story behind each era's classic designs and how to wear an RHCP tee today.

If you search "where to buy vintage band shirts," you get two very different kinds of answers mixed together. Some people want a true vintage shirt: one that was actually printed decades ago and worn at the time. Others want the look of a vintage band tee in a shirt they can wear every day. Both are fine. They just come from different places, cost very different amounts, and need different kinds of care. This guide lays out the options honestly, including where we fit and where we don't.

Walk through almost any flea market or thrift store and you'll find them: huge, loud NASCAR shirts printed edge to edge with cars, drivers, sponsor logos and checkered flags. For years they were just what race fans wore to the track. Now vintage NASCAR shirts are a full-blown fashion category, worn by people who couldn't name a single driver. Here's why the style took off, the drivers and designs that define it, and how to wear one without looking like you're headed to the infield.

There was a time when the horror section was the best part of the video store. The covers were the scariest thing in the building: a hockey mask, a glove with knives for fingers, a doll with a kitchen knife. Kids who weren't allowed to rent those movies stared at the boxes anyway. That artwork is exactly why vintage horror movie shirts are so popular now. Here's a look at the villains who own the category, why the shirts look the way they do, and how to wear one in October and the other eleven months too.

A vintage band tee is the easiest thing in your closet to wear and, weirdly, one of the easiest to get wrong. Too tight and it looks like a souvenir you outgrew. Too styled and it looks like a costume. The best band tees look like they have always been yours. Here's how to get there, whether you wear men's sizes, women's sizes or just whatever fits.

The 90s rap tee has a look you can spot from across the street: a giant photo of the artist, usually cropped tight, surrounded by chunky type, airbrushed color or a collage of album covers. It was loud on purpose. These shirts were sold at shows, in mall kiosks and at swap meets, and they ended up on everyone from teenagers to the artists themselves. Today "vintage rap tee" is one of the hottest searches in graphic tees, and people want the 90s version. Here is what defines the style and how to find one you'll actually wear.

Ask anyone who went to a big rock show in the 70s, 80s or 90s what they brought home, and the answer is usually the same: a shirt. Not the ticket stub, which got lost in a drawer, but the tee bought from a folding table under the stands, still stiff with ink and smelling like the venue. Those shirts are the reason "vintage concert tee" is still one of the most searched phrases in band merch. This guide covers what makes a concert tee look the way it does, which tour designs keep coming back, and how to wear one without worrying about wrecking a collector piece.

From Ditko's first webs to 90s comic-cover chaos, Spider-Man has always looked great on a shirt. Here's the story behind the art, why the Green Goblin is the perfect October villain, and how to wear a loud all-over print.

Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax defined thrash metal in the 1980s — and their shirts still do the talking. Here's what made those tees iconic, and which designs to look for now.

The vintage band tees that keep showing up among the most-sold on US eBay, from Nirvana and Metallica to Fleetwood Mac and The Cramps, plus the 5MV new vintage reprint that matches each one.

Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins, Alice in Chains and Pearl Jam shirts are everywhere again. Here is why 90s grunge and alt band tees came back, the records behind them, and how to wear one now.

New to collecting vintage band tees? Here is how to pick a theme, spot the main styles, from tour backs to bootlegs and all-over prints, and read the details collectors check first.

Want that soft, faded thrift-bin look on a crisp new tee? A step-by-step guide to distressing and aging a cotton t-shirt safely.

Band, movie, anime and cartoon tees share one vibe. Why we keep them on the same rack, and why mixing genres is more fun.

What single stitch and double stitch mean on a band tee, how to spot each hem, and why 5MV cuts its new vintage reprints single stitch.

Standard print means a big chest graphic, while overprint can cover the whole shirt. How the two compare, plus how 5MV builds each style.

Vintage can mean a shirt from the era or a new one made in that style. How true vintage and new vintage differ, and what each one offers.

Great t-shirt design depends on the printer as much as the artwork. Why mastering silk screen printing makes the difference between a good shirt and a great one.

Search for the top-selling t-shirts online and the results get weird fast. A closer look at what's really behind today's graphic tee market.

A love letter to the band t-shirt: how tour shirts and album art became a way for fans to show who they are, decade after decade.

Searching for the perfect Christmas gift? Why a band, movie or cartoon tee is one present they'll actually wear all year.

Band and movie tees make easy, personal Christmas gifts. How to choose the right one for the music and film fans on your list.

A Björk tee with a mosquito-headed twist: why this unusual design stands out as a piece of wearable art.

For music fans with a love of timeless style: how classic band t-shirts bring vintage vibes to any outfit.