Guns N' Roses Tees: The Appetite Cross, Bullet Logo and Classic Tour Shirts

Few bands have a logo as easy to spot across a crowded room as Guns N' Roses. The pistols, the roses, the cross of skulls and Slash's top hat have been printed on T-shirts for almost forty years, and they still look as loud today as they did on the Sunset Strip. This guide covers where the band came from, the classic designs each era left behind and how to wear a GnR tee now.

From the Sunset Strip to the biggest band in the world

Guns N' Roses formed in Los Angeles in 1985, and the name itself came from two earlier bands, L.A. Guns and Hollywood Rose. The classic lineup settled quickly: Axl Rose on vocals, Slash and Izzy Stradlin on guitar, Duff McKagan on bass and Steven Adler on drums. They earned their reputation the hard way, playing the clubs on the Sunset Strip at a time when most of the scene was glam and hairspray. GnR was rougher, meaner and closer to punk, and that edge is a big part of why their shirts still feel dangerous.

Their debut, Appetite for Destruction, came out in July 1987. It was a slow burn at first, then MTV started playing "Welcome to the Jungle" and "Sweet Child O' Mine" and the album climbed all the way to number one. It went on to become one of the best-selling debut albums in history. Songs like "Paradise City" and "Nightrain" are still staples on rock radio.

The Appetite cross: the design everyone knows

The Appetite for Destruction artwork most people picture is the cross of five skulls. Each skull stands for one member of the band, with Slash easy to spot under his top hat. The design came from a tattoo by artist Billy White Jr., and the album's first cover painting was quickly moved inside the sleeve after stores pushed back on it. The skull cross took over the front, and it has been the most famous GnR image ever since.

It's also one of the best band-tee graphics of the 80s: black and white, high contrast and readable from far away. The Appetite Cross Skulls tee keeps that classic look, while the Skull Crossed Guns Flag long sleeve is a good pick once the weather cools down.

The bullet logo and Slash's top hat

The other mark every fan knows is the circle logo: two crossed pistols wrapped in roses with the band name around the edge. It's simple, it works on a chest print or a full back, and it's been reworked a hundred ways since the 80s. The Bullet Logo with Blood Drip tee gives it a darker, heavier spin.

Then there's Slash. The top hat, the curly hair hanging over his face, the cigarette and the Les Paul slung low made him one of the most recognizable guitarists on the planet. A Slash shirt works even for people who only half know the songs, because the silhouette says everything. The Slash Top Hat tee is a classic example.

Use Your Illusion and the long tour

In September 1991 the band did something almost nobody tries: they released two full albums on the same day, Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II. The covers used the same image in two colors, a detail taken from Raphael's painting The School of Athens and reworked by artist Mark Kostabi, one in yellow and red and the other in blue and purple. Songs like "November Rain," "Don't Cry" and "You Could Be Mine" made the albums huge.

The tour that followed ran from early 1991 into 1993, one of the longest rock tours of its time, and it left behind a whole wardrobe of tour shirts with date lists on the back. The Use Your Illusion tee puts the famous album art front and center, and the Use Your Illusion Tour 1992 Europe tee carries that old-school tour-shirt feel.

When GnR and Metallica shared stadiums

In the summer of 1992 Guns N' Roses and Metallica co-headlined a run of North American stadium shows. It put the biggest hard rock band and the biggest metal band of the moment on the same bill, and fans of both still talk about it. Shirts from that tour mix the two logos, which makes them a natural pick if your closet leans both ways. Check out the Metallica and Guns N' Roses Stadium Tour 1992 tee with its city-list back.

How to wear a Guns N' Roses tee

• Black first. Most classic GnR designs were printed on black, and a faded black tee with a white or grey print is the easiest look to pull off.
• Denim and boots. Slim or straight-leg jeans, ripped or not, with boots or worn-in sneakers is the Sunset Strip uniform.
• Layer it. A leather or denim jacket over a GnR tee is about as classic as rock style gets. An open flannel works too.
• Pick your fit. Go true to size for a fitted 80s look, or size up for a relaxed, boxy fit.

Shop new vintage Guns N' Roses tees

Every shirt at 5MV is a new vintage tee: new cotton, printed and finished to look and feel broken in from day one. You get the classic band-shirt look without hunting flea markets or worrying about a fragile shirt that's older than you are. Browse the full Guns N' Roses tee collection for the Appetite cross, the bullet logo, Slash, Use Your Illusion and plenty more.

Questions about sizing or a specific design? Email us at eve@5mv.com.