Whenever our pals over at Ugmonk release a new tee, I get ape happy. I’m a huge fan. So can you imagine how excited I was when they recently unveiled three new items, including a new tee design, their first long sleeve shirt, and an … And Then I Woke Up mug! Seriously, I’m already a fan of Ugmonk’s timeless And Then I Woke design, but … a mug! Right, I’m sure a mug is not a big deal to many of you. For me, however, this mug is awesome because 1. I already own the And Then I Woke Up tee in two different colorways (and if Ugmonk were to add more colorsways I’d probably get those as well) and 2. I’m a drink fanatic, a lover of all things liquid and I even blog about drink culture. As you can see, this new mug is kind of a big deal for me.
Enough about THE mug.
It’s About Time is a great addition to the already splendid Ugmonk line. It sort of reminds me of a mashup of Path To Nowhere and There’s More To Life. I like it. As far as that long sleeve goes, pfft! I live in Hawaii – it never gets cold enough here to warrant the use of a long sleeve T-Shirt! Ugmonk, I say bring on the Raglans!
It’s About Time, Half Full and the And Then I Woke Up Mug are priced at $24, $28, and $14 respectively. Remember to use the coupon code COTY09 at checkout to score yourself 10% off your entire order at Ugmonk!
Threadless: it’s fun and it’s social. It also has its secrets. In this post I reveal a few of my favorite Threadless “secrets” and “hacks” so that you can save some extra cash on some fresh new tees. How does $2 for a Threadless tee sound? I’ll also show you how you can give YOURSELF a few extra StreetTeam Points every time you make a purchase!
1. See Every Threadless T-Shirt, Ever [Secret]
That’s right, you can view every T-Shirt that Threadless has released in chronological order by visiting this page right here. They don’t advertise this page in any way (you won’t be able to find it within their site menus or navigation system, but nonetheless, it’s there if you get the inkling to stroll down memory lane. By the way, if you really want the scoop on the earliest Threadless tees, the best thing to do is to pick up a copy of the official Threadless Book (read my review). The retail price is $22 but you can get it for $15 from Threadless directly, it’s even cheaper than Amazon! Tip: Apply Hack #3 below and the book becomes $12.
2. Score a $7 Threadless coupon [Hack]
Coupon codes are hard to come by when it comes to Threadless. Googling “Threadless Coupon Code” will probably results in a bunch of expired coupon codes that simply do not work. BUT I know how YOU can score a $7 Threadless coupon code.
In order to score the $7 Threadless coupon, you must sign up for the Threadless Newsletter using the sign up box see in the image below. You’re already receiving the newsletters and have been for a while now? That’s not a problem, just sign up again and you will still get the $7 coupon, even if you’ve previously signed up for the newsletter. They’ll send you a confirmation email with the $7 coupon – zing! And don’t worry about SPAM because Threadless doesn’t SPAM, but do expect a newsletter from them every Monday and Thursday regarding new tees. Of course, you could always sign up for the newsletter, score the $7 coupon and then unsubscribe from the newsletter.
3. Give YOURSELF Threadless StreetTeam points [Hack]
Threadless has an affiliate system that they call StreetTeam Points. Basically, every time you refer a sale, you get Threadless StreetTeam Points. More specifically, you get 2 StreetTeam points ($3) credited to your account (you can see how many StreetTeam Points you’ve accrued in your account page on the Threadless website) for every sale that you refer to Threadless. Neat, but what if you buy more Threadless tees than your friends do? The thing is that the system doesn’t care whether or not it’s you or a friend making a purchase. So every time you make a Threadless purchase be sure to give YOURSELF some Streetteam Points. How? Let’s say you want the awesome Three Keyboard Cat Moon T-Shirt. The link that you see on the product page is:
Now before you click “Add To Cart”, you want to be sure to append your StreetTeam information to the url. My Streetteam info is ?streetteam=iCoty so if I add this to the url above, I get:
The above hack becomes especially useful when Threadless has a $5 dollar sale. But the best part is that you don’t have to wait for a stinking $5 sale that comes around once in a cat moon, errr, blue moon. Threadless has a large selection of $5 tees that become $2 when the above principles are applied. To view the selection of vulnerable $5 tees visit the link below:
Since you get $3 back for every T-Shirt you buy, you are effectively purchasing a Threadless tee for just $2. Crazy, huh?! They currently have 26 available tees priced at $5 that you can have for $2 by applying the principles from Hack #3 above!
Note: Threadless only gives you the 2 StreetTeam Points ($3) for every order referred, not per shirt referred. So, whether you order 1 T-Shirt or 5 T-Shirts at once, you will still get just 2 StreetTeam Points.
5. Threadspot and Earn Points [Secret]
So Threadless does this thing called Threadspotting. Basically, you spot a Threadless tee in the wild (in person, in a video, magazine, etc) being worn by someone of stature (aka a celebrity) and Threadless will send you StreeTeam points if you email them photographic proof of said Threadspotting. It’s a secret because Threadless doesn’t advertise this on their official StreetTeam page so it’s not officially listed as a way to earn StreetTeam Points. And also, although a new edition of Threadspotting is supposed to come out every Friday, there hasn’t been one since August of this year. So who knows if they are still giving out StreetTeam points for Threadspotting, but it’s worth a shot. Seen a celebrity wearing a Threadless tee while perusing PerezHilton.com? Send it over to Threadless and MAYBE they’ll send you some StreetTeam Points. By the way, the amount of StreetTeam points is a secret, it’s unconfirmed and unlisted on the site. For examples, visit:
Do you know something about the Threadless website that I don’t know? I’d love to hear what YOUR Threadless secret or hack is? Leave them in the comments and I’ll be sure to include them in the next edition of Threadless Revealed! I’d also love to hear what YOU think of the above secrets and hacks!
You can say that at times I can be pretty jaded by overhyped emails notifying me of a new clothing brand or a just released seasonal line. I get a lot of these emails and most of the time, the hype isn’t worth the product. Sistine, a progressive streetwear and lifestyle brand based out of New York is different. I checked out their site and was blown away by their unique designs. It’s almost as if their T-Shirts deserve to be framed and hung on the wall of an Art Gallery in Manhattan.
Sistine’s winter collection is called Live and Let Live and it features 8 eclectic designs with a splash of pop. Imprint and I Am Not Young Enough To Know Everything are two of my favorites from the winter collection.
Imprint is inspired from Hermann Rorschach’s classic inkblot test. For the most part, I think psychoanalysis is utter bullshit but for some reason I’ve always been fascinated by the Rorschach inkblot test. It’s used by psychoanalysts as a tool to record and analyze a subject’s personality characteristics and emotional functioning using psychological interpretations. I’ve always wondered what I would say if presented with inkblot test.
I Am Not Young Enough To Know Everything is a quote from the great Oscar Wilde. It’s a reminder that the older you get the more you realize just how little you know.
I also have to mention a design from Sistine’s summer release. The shirt is called Stay Hungry Stay Foolish. The quote originally appeared on the back cover of the Whole Earth Catalogue in 1974. It’s memorable to me because Steve Jobs famously referenced this quote in his iconic 2005 commencement speech at Stanford University. Stay Hungry Stay Foolish. I live by those words.
If you love fashion and you dig art then I highly recommend that you checkout the rest of Sistine’s winter line. The shirts are priced on the high end at $36 a piece, but hey, can you really put a price on a well thought out piece of art? Nah, don’t think so.
It’s really awesome whenever I stumble across a great shirt and I have no clue what it’s about. Seriously, when I saw WTWTR by Evolved Athletic Brand, I thought to myself, “wow, funky design.” Then I noticed the name of the T-Shirt, which was WTWR. I had no clue what WTWTR stood for and so I investigated and checked out the product page for more details. Now usually in the product pages you’ll find a short description of the T-Shirt. There was nothing there. Nada. I was left with a funky design and I had no clue what it was about.
And so I checked out Google. And even the almighty Google had no clue what WTWTR stood for.
Needless to say, I present to you: WTWTR. I have no clue what WTWTR is or stands for but that shouldn’t stop you from enjoying a design that features what seems to be a jester wearing pajamas with seemingly nasty feet riding on top of what looks like a water bufallo sporting a pair of wayfarers all while riding an undersized bicycle. Enjoy.
[UPDATE: I figure out what WTWTR stands for. I think. See below.]
So upon closer inspection of the Google search results, I saw the words Where The Wild Things Ride. I’m guessing that this is indeed what WTWTR stands for. Could it be in reference to Where The Wild Things Ride (see trailer belowO, an independent film by Colin Droster? What do you guys think?
On December 25th 2008, Ben Davis decided to get his life in order. He was a young guy that weighed 360 pounds. He was obese and miserable. And so Ben decided to make a change. He decided to do life. He decided to do life in a healthy way. He started by doing short jogs, then he did a 5K, then he did a 10K and then he did a sprint triathlon. He didn’t stop there. He kept running and eventually did a full marathon and then he completed an Ironman. Ben has lost 120+ pounds since his journey first started.
Watch the following video and you will be touched. And hopefully, you’ll be inspired to start leaving a healthier life.
To track his progress, Ben started a Tumblr blog to track his journey and weight loss. Since he first started his blog in 2008, he has built up quite a following. In fact, his story was recently featured on the Today Show and subsequently went viral on the Internet. And now, he has a T-Shirt.
“Yes, I decided to make a Do Life T-shirt and I’m really excited with the way they came out. I’ve always loved the idea of “doing life” as a message; a message of not just losing weight or becoming a runner, but becoming a better person in all aspects of life, so I made a shirt to go along with that idea.”
The shirts are priced at $13.50 and are available now at Ben Does Life.
Muzed Wear is a brand new skate/snowboard focused brand based out of Canada and they are ready to take over the world. Started in the summer of 2010 by two high school buddies, Muzed Wear is intent on combining new fashion trends with different types of skate and snowboard styles.
They currently have 4 tees available for sale featuring two different designs in two different colorways. Both designs are typographic heavy, with one featuring a grunge type look while the other features simple tight kerning that is reminiscent of the Itself logo. My favorite of the bunch would probably be the simple mu. logo tee.
Muzed Wear is still very much a young brand and I think that they are still trying to figure out what their unique style is. Based on their current crop, I wouldn’t know that they were targeting extreme athletes like skateboarders, longboarders and snowboarders. Needless to say, I am interested to see where they go from here. The founders sound like a couple of enthusiastic and passionate hustlers so I am excited to see what they do with this project.
By the way, you must be wondering what the meaning of muzed is? I thought it was short for amuzed. It actually means: Stoned on music, and can also be described as a lasting eargasm.
We’ve seen exploded tees before but none as geeky mysterious as Diagram 5-3 by 15 Bit Gamer. If you know what particular item is exploding than I tip my hat off to you, because, I had no clue. It turns out that Diagram 5-3 references a small detail from Super Mario Bros. 3 for the NES. Apparently, Diagram 5-3 is a diagram of Kuribo’s shoe. But who the heck or what the heck is a Kuribo? The Giant Bomb explains:
Kuribo’s Shoe is a rare power-up first seen in level 5-3 in Super Mario Bros. 3 for the NES. It is first mentioned after you beat World 2 in a letter given to you by Princess Peach. The name “Kuribo’s Shoe” comes from the fact that in the Japanese version of Super Mario Bros. 3, Goombas are known as Kuribos. A second revision of Super Mario Bros. 3 was released that renamed Kuribo’s Shoe to Goomba’s Shoe, though in its appearance in Super Mario All-Stars for the SNES, it had reverted to its original name.
Kuribo’s Shoe is a giant green boot with what appears to be a spring-winding key on the side, and it is initially occupied by a Goomba. While attempting to jump on top of Kuribo’s Shoe while still occupied by this Goomba will eliminate both Kuribo’s Shoe and the Goomba, attacking from underneath knocks the Goomba out of the shoe, making it possible for Mario to take control. While Mario’s speed is reduced while in Kuribo’s Shoe, he’s able to traverse terrain that would otherwise harm him. These terrains include spiked floors and jumping baby pirahna plants. Unlike other power-ups, it is possible for Mario to keep his current power-up (e.g. Fire Flower) while using Kuribo’s Shoe.
So there you go. Kuribos is actually the Japanese translation for Goombas. Who knew! Now, if you are enough of a gamer geek to appreciate this T-Shirt or are one of those super obsessed Super Mario freaks than you probably want to buy this T-Shirt to stump your geekiest friends. Head on over 15 Bit Gamer to purchase Diagram 5-3 now for $17.
And for more on Kuribo’s Shoe, check out the video of it below in play!
If you’re seeing this post than you’re viewing this blog from our new host, MediaTemple! For the past three years I have hosted this blog on Powweb’s service. They were an okay service, but a major issue was that whenever I would receive spikes in traffic, I would often see the site collapse and buckle under the heavy load.
I’ve been talking about making the switch for some time now, but the last straw came last week when we garnered major StumbleUpon traffic. In a span of two days, over 40,000+ unique visitors accessed the blog. That’s insane traffic and my host just couldn’t handle it. That site crashed twice and the blog had to be replaced with backups from the server. It’s a good thing that they (and I) had those back ups.
And so, with the recommendation of TCritic’s Karl Long, I decided to switch hosts from Powweb to MediaTemple. It costs twice as much to host at MediaTemple but I think it’s a fair trade-off for stability and speed. A major selling point for me is that MediaTemple is said to be able to handle intense bursts of web traffic quite efficiently and the WordPress database will automatically scale along with web traffic.
First thing that I noticed was that when I called Technical Support to help me set up a few things, the person that I spoke to was an English native speaker. Whenever I called Powweb technical support, I would get a non-native speaker which always complicated things.
The MediaTemple knowledgebase was very useful in helping me accomplish the migration. Nearly every question I had could be answered by searching their knowledgebase.
I already have noticed an reduction in load latency, meaning that the site is loading much faster than before. I will actually look at the load time statistics in the future to actually see the numbers, but so far it looks very promising.
What’s Next?
We’ll, host migration was the biggest thing that I’ve been wanting to check off my list of site improvements for the past year. Now that I’ve accomplished that, I will focus on:
A new site design: the blog is starting to look a bit dated.
More advertising opportunities: the single Project Wonderful ad isn’t cutting it for everyone. I’ve had various offers for ad placement over the last year and I think now is a good time tackle that issue.
Implementation of categories: I’m quite good at tagging posts, but when it comes to categorizing posts, I suck! When the blog first started I blogged about a lot of other things than just T-Shirts. So instead of having different categories of T-Shirts (i.e. Humorous T-Shirts, Political T-Shirts, etc), I had just a generic T-Shirt category alongside more generic categories (i.e. Music, Movies, etc.). This obviously makes searching for specific categories of tees that much more difficult. This is the most tedious change because it will involve me editing each posts to classify the new category for that post.
So I guess now we wait to see what happens the next time one of my articles go viral on Stumpleupon, get ReTweeted like crazy on Twitter or gets posted on a major heavy traffic website. These will be the ultimate tests as to whether or not the switch was worth it.
In any case, I am pretty happy that I was able to do the host migration all by myself! I feel like a big boy now!
And what’s even more exciting than ALL of the above? MediaTemple has been known to send free T-Shirts to happy customers! Let’s see if MediaTemple will send me a tee!
If James Bond had to wear a T-Shirt, it would probably be this one. Okay, maybe not -- it’s probably a little too flashy for his taste. However, this is the perfect spy enabled T-Shirt for mere mortals looking to conspicuously capture sneaky video of others. The brilliance of this tee is the perfect placement of the spy camera.
“It’s so deliciously obvious. Centered in the artwork on the shirt is the man himself, holding a camera to his face. But not just a picture of a camera. Hidden behind the soft cotton exterior is a fully-functioning spy camera. That’s right. Whatever your chest can see, the camera can see. A cable connects the camera to a small black box that fits discreetly in your pocket. Just reach in, press the button, and your shirt will capture the evidence before you.”
And here are the specs for this tech heavy tee:
Stylish retro spy theme T-Shirt has a tiny color digital camera hidden in the chest
Use the pocket based remote to shoot color digital photos
Vibration feedback shutter lets you know when you’ve taken a new shot
Holds over 150 color digital photos, 640 x 480 resolution
Electronics are completely removable for washing
Plug in with USB to download photos
Works with any OS including Mac, Linux and Windows
Requires 3x AAA batteries (not included)
The best part is the ThinkGeek disclaimer for this special T-Shirt:
“The Electronic Spy Camera Shirt is for novelty purposes only. Please respect the privacy of other carbon based life forms… robots and aliens are fair game. Best results are achieved by shooting during the day. Night shots are only feasible if you can stand amazingly still and your subjects are not moving.”
How many pervs do you think are just itching for their order to arrive in the mail? Hmmm….
Sean Mort is the artist behind one of my favorite Threadless tees ever -- The Gaming Revolution. In fact, I’ve worn it out so much that I think it’s time for me to request a reprint. Needless to say, I’ve been waiting for Threadless to release another Sean Mort designed tee. I’ve been waiting for some time now.
Luckily for me, the wait is over. Mort’s latest design, Evil Comes In All Sizes does in fact come in a bunch of different sizes (Small, Medium, Large and Extra Large to be exact). It might not be a Threadless print but it’s still hot nonetheless. The shirt references some of the most famous big screen monsters of all time, from the infant sized terror named Chucky to the mysterious Clover monster from Cloverfield. And of course, they are all aligned in a police type lineup from shortest to tallest. By the way, I had no idea that Godzilla was so huge.
“Evil Comes In All Sizes is a size chart of famous movie baddies and comes with an informative key on the lower back of the shirt. Featured bad guys are Chucky, the Wicked Witch of the West, a T-Rex, King Kong, Rancor, Megatron, the 50ft Woman, Mr Stay Puft, Tripod, Godzilla and Clover.”
The design is printed on a heather gray Gildan Softstyle ringspun tee. Evil Comes In All Sizes is available now at Sean Mort’s online shop for a reasonable £12 (~$19 US). Grab one now or pay for it later!
And speaking of Godzilla, check out this montage featuring over 50 years of Godzilla in film:
