Big Trouble in Little 80s Tees

Back in December, I was watching National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation with a pal who said, “Man, I would kill to have a set of those moose-shaped eggnog mugs.”

Last week, I was looking at the 80s Tees site and there they were, as if stolen from the Griswold’s own cupboard. It was a bit surreal to see that they exist in the real world, that I could have my own with one simple click.

Another example. 80 Tees has been sponsoring Unwinnable’s Geek Flea for as long as I can recall, providing us with free shirts for the event. Every time I go through the site picking the shirts, one in particular jumps out at me: a replica of Jack Burton’s tank top from Big Trouble in Little China.

Now, there are a couple more details you should know. The Jack Burton tank top is almost always in the first few pages of the site’s top sellers. It is also almost always either sold out or only available in odd sizes. This drives me nuts, because I know the crowd at Geek Flea would eat that shirt up. They love that movie as much as I do.

That’s testament to the quality of the 80 Tees merch. The tag line on the homepage is “Rad stuff made from awesome memories” and it couldn’t be more apt. The site taps a very specific, non-ironic nostalgia that I love. Even their current promotional gimmick, the Highlander Deals, takes its concept from a weird old movie that I love. The site celebrates everything I used to rent at the video store. That’s something special.

And while I am still waiting for that Jack Burton tank top, there are plenty of other t-shirts to keep me interested. Go on, check ’em out. I dare you to not find something awesome.

———

Follow 80s Tees on Twitter @80Tees. Last year, Chuck Moran wrote about how 80s Tees is kind of like a t-shirt store in the mall in the 80s and how that is a great thing. The year before, we dressed our friend Chris Mannix up in 80s Tees’ Tanooki sweatshirt and made him run around our backyard like a raccoon. We still love that photo shoot.