Cotton Blog
t-shirts, fashion, stuff...
Archive for March 2010
FizzyT, March 21st, 2010
I love the concept of upcycling, it’s such a lovely positive thing. Wikipedia, the font of all of my knowledge, describes it thus “Upcycling is the opposite of downcycling, which is the other half of the recycling process.” Does that make sense? For a font, Wiki can be a bit obscure sometimes (which may help to explain why my knowledge is so limited and rather vague!) Anyway, upcycling is a wonderful term for when you take something unwanted and jazz it up into something new. It’s a bit like Blue Peter and the washing up bottle thing. By reusing things like tyres, ring pulls and pallet boxes to make garden furniture, jewellery and other useful stuff, you save on waste and cut down on the need to find new resources for things. What a fab plan. I am at it already. In fact, unbeknownst to myself, I may have been doing it for years, by using a heap of old books as a coffee table and making an enormous desk tidy out of cardboard tubes. Hurrah! I am cutting edge and eco-tastic!
Hot Seat!
I love this though, office furniture made out of old Vespas. I am of a mind to revamp the t-shirt studio chairs using egg boxes. Although they may get a bit squished when people sit on them. Still, onwards and upwards!
Tags: recycling, Retro, vintage
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FizzyT, March 19th, 2010
I must confess, there is always a slight snicker at the back of my throat, a bit like the start of a cold, when I see celebrities dolled up to the nines and looking truly hideous. All the more so because there must surely have acres of style minions at their fingertips to
Madonna and child!
ensure that they look fabulous every lucrative minute of the day! It’s when the stylists have the day off that the paps come out and do their worstest. And here is today’s pick. The original Lady Gaga, otherwise known as Madonna. Does anybody else think it e’er so slightly freaky that she’s Madonna and he’s Jesus, and she’s, like, old enough to be his mother? Isn’t that all a bit biblical? Well, maybe that’s just me. Anyway, there’s no doubting that Madonna usually looks amazing. All that kaballah-ing must be good for the complexion. However, I think this is what we in the trade call ‘an off day’ The Dennis the Menace print might not hit the American’s radar, but over here is’s a little infra dig especially after your first decade in all seriousness and your second when you can still get away with being cutesome. I love the long t-shirt as mini dress idea, and if it wasn’t with those boots it would still be kinda ok. But it isn’t. Honestly!
Tags: Celebrity, Fashion, printed t-shirts, T-Shirts
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FizzyT, March 17th, 2010
Pouting t-shirt
I love this t-shirt. It is such throwback to the 80′s poster era, and reminds me of the days of the sadly departed Athena. The print takes over the whole of the front section of the t-shirt, which gives it that sort of art canvas look, and the wide neck and length give it a real day to evening versatility. The most wonderful and fabbest touch is the metallic mouth, which takes it to another level of t-shirt greatness. It looks to me as if it could be one of those t-shirts that cost mega bucks from net-a-porter, but is actually only 20 quid from ASOS. I am most impressed.
Tags: Celebrity, Fashion, T-Shirts
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FizzyT, March 16th, 2010
Classic Pink!
It’s one of those pairings that go so well together, a bit like chips and curry sauce or Jennifer Aniston and rom coms; Doc Marten’s, music t-shirts and all out rebellion are a happy combination. And all the nicer that the DM brand is about to turn 50. Imagine that! The footwear of punks, teenagers and rebels everywhere is just one decade away from getting its bus pass.
DM’s have long been the fashion staple of the young. Literally stamping their footprint on fashion, they show no signs of hanging up their laces and being confined to the punk era. Along with printed t-shirts and denim, they have stood the test of time as an integral part of coming of age attitude. I remember it as a badge that your parents couldn’t tell you what to do any more. And if they tried then you could blithely inform them that the Pope wears DMs, so there. Oh, I’m coming over all nostalgic now. Time to dig out my old skinhead wombles t-shirt (I know, it was cruel) and my red DM’s and go stomping!
Tags: Fashion, Personalised, Retro, T-Shirts, vintage
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FizzyT, March 15th, 2010
Don't mess with the T!
I just couldn’t help but laugh when I saw this story in the Telegraph the other day. Family man Lloyd Berks was at Gatwick Airport when he was told to turn his t-shirt inside out by security staff. Apparently, the slogan on his t-shirt which read “Freedom or Die” was in the high risk category, which prompted it to be deemed “a bit threatening”. A rottweiler yes, I can see that would be a bit threatening, as would a sharp knife or a hand grenade, but a t-shirt? Really? Could you go into a bank wearing a t-shirt saying “Give me all your money or this t-shirt will get you!” and expect the terrified cashier to hand over all the money? I thought not. Gatwick have since apologised for their over zealous staff. Thank goodness for that. I wonder if the next thing will be someone refused entry because their socks don’t match?
Tags: custom printing, Fashion, funny, personalised t-shirt, slogan, T-Shirts
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FizzyT, March 14th, 2010
One of the great things about writing a t-shirt blog, and dallying over the airwaves with the likes of Lady Gaga, Cheryl Cole and Katie Priceless, is that you get to spend an inordinate amount of time searching for totally trivial things on the internet. And what’s more, this is without your boss leaning over your shoulder and reminding you that you’re supposed to be at work, not the virtual equivalent of a doctor’s surgery. However, some days it’s not so much web surfing as web ploughing, all in the name of finding a t-shirt or a slogan for you to use on a t-shirt, hoodie, mug or whatever. Aren’t I just a saint?
Gordon preparing the lamb tartar!
Sometimes though, the weirdest ideas come to mind. An interview with Gordan Ramsay in the Guardian wearing a white t-shirt and cleverly lit used to minimise chin damage made me wonder if there is such a thing as a Gordan Ramsay t-shirt. Enough things are said about him, so there should be something funny. However, a quick check through the options shows that poor old Gordon has hardly a t-shirt to his name. Time to make, bake and create methinks.So, in time honoured tradition, here’s one I made earlier. Gordon using the freshest possible ingredients for his restaurants. Lovely!
Tags: Celebrity, custom t-shirts, customised, fair-trade, Fashion, funny, humour, personalised t-shirts
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FizzyT, March 13th, 2010
Is that a conveniently placed vodaphone in your pocket or are you just pleased to see me?
Time to put t-shirt printing aside for one moment in order to wade into the latest Gaga debate. Lady Gaga, nuts female performer with a wardrobe composed entirely of Jim Henson props, has made a mini film to go with her new song Telephone. Actually, this is how old I am getting; I don’t even know if it’s still called a single any more. Eek! Anyway, going for the most shocking images possible is Gaga’s modus operandi and this piece appears to be a montage of everything she could think of all at once. It feels like a big brain storming exercise. Naked, check. Lesbians, check. Murder, check. Corrupting Beyonce, check….and so on. All put together to one of the least memorable songs in a long time. But I wonder whether the song is really all that important. It’s another piece of art from the Haus of Gaga team, which ensures she is constantly in our faces, a bit like the unsubtle diet coke and vodaphone placements throughout. I do like Gaga, I think she is endearingly bonkers, but for me this has try-hard written all over it. It’s has the same effect on me as does Rihanna when she tries to cover up her songs by uncovering herself or Madonna circa the pointy bra years, or the Sugababes, writhing around like they’ve fallen in a patch of nettles. Shock shock shock yawn.
Tags: Celebrity, music
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FizzyT, March 12th, 2010
Investment Brief!
In an uncertain economic climate, it’s interesting to see how people chose to allocate their disposable income. Should we hold back on spending? Is it better to just buy cheap things or go for long lasting quality items that will keep us going through the lean times?
One company who is holding fast in the downturn is Mulberry, the luxury leather brand. Sales of their bags are reported to be up a whopping 100%; an incredible amount, especially considering that their items retail for hundreds of pounds and are beyond the means of most folk.
Investment Bag!
However, by choosing to dedicate a bag to uber trend setter Alexa Chung, and making it an up to the minute yet classic fashion essential a whole new market has opened up. Alexa is well known for mixing high street brands with designer pieces as part of her individually quirky look. This she often teams with vintage t-shirts thus epitomising the resourceful yet fashion concious breed of consumer. By varying the t-shirt, and the denim mini or skinny jeans, the look is constantly being updated without actually changing all that much.
It seems that a Mulberry bag or briefcase is still high on the list of must haves, even if you can’t afford any of the important stuff like food. And if you buy one big enough, you can always move into it after you’ve had to sell off everything else!
Tags: Celebrity, Fashion, Retro, T-Shirts, vintage
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FizzyT, March 12th, 2010
The Jack Wills
If there’s one brand who have cornered the market in teen fashion, it’s Jack Wills. Hugely expensive and hitting its target age group with all the skill and subtlety of an exocet missile, the ‘fabulously British’ brand have redefined the amount of pocket money needed to dress in a sartorially acceptable manner. By deliberately aiming at the uber-privileged youth market, and pricing accordingly, they are well beyond the means of most teens, which makes them exclusive, something to aspire to, and up for someone to do a whole lot cheaper.
The Johnnie B
Step in fashionista for the middle classes and old Etonian Johnnie Boden. Johnnie has drawn on his public school background to provide an alternative yet just as authentically preppy fashion range for the Boden teen. Remarkably similar in ethos to Jack Wills, with the emphasis on stripes, hoodies, retro printed t-shirts, polo shirts and rugby shirts. Lovely clothing, one and all, and a fair amount cheaper than it’s rival in posh kids wear, but aren’t said kids going to notice the difference? Isn’t the label where it’s all at? Well, to be honest I’m the type of nipcheese who would train a carrier pigeon to post letters if I thought I could save on a stamp, so I’m afraid I might have to pass on the both of them and make my own (and crumple it a bit, obviously!)
The T-Shirt Studio
Tags: Fashion, Hoodies, Personalised, polo shirts, T-Shirts
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