Threadless

I am a big fan of this website. The concept is great: regular people submit designs (and get paid for them if they’re chosen) and regular people can buy them. Each design has a certain amount that are printed (like an artists print) which makes them relatively unique. If a design you like is out of stock you can vote to have it reprinted. You can also vote for designs that you would like to see be made into shirts. This makes Threadless a really great little artists community and a haven for graphic tee enthusiasts who are sick of having the same t-shirts that everyone else has.

I ordered a few tees from them for myself as well as my sister. I should warn you that their sizing is a little strange. Obviously finding a perfect fit is challenging when you’re buying online but they try and simplify it by having sizing charts that ask you to measure one of your best fitting tees and match it to their sizes. The only problem with this is that I suspect their sizes are standard American and Canadian sizing may be a little different (read: smaller). Even their extra small is too big in some cases which disappoints me, and in other cases the smallest size offered is a small.

It took a while to receive my order regular mail (which is to be expected) about 3 weeks. However I had to exchange one of my shirts due to sizing issues and they returned the new one within two weeks and without any hassle which I was very impressed with. They are located in Chicago and you can actually go and shop in their warehouse if you live near there or are in the area.

Other than the sizing issue I think this is a great website – it’s a really fun idea and allows consumers a break from the same old offered in many stores. It is a tad pricy (tees are generally 15-25 dollars, USD) but they do have amazing sales (they recently had all tees on sale for 9 bucks in honour of September 9th, 2009) and I think its worth it considering you’re essentially buying an original piece of art.

The jist of Threadless:
good idea: t-shirts are totally original designs
bad idea : you love the design but hate the tee colou? too bad so sad sista!
good idea: printed on american apperal.
bad idea : the XL is a joke. sizes are small
good idea: you can vote for designs you want to be made
bad idea : once the tee is sold out you either have to cry in a corner or vote to get it re-printed