There’s nothing like waking up on a sunny April morning and finding a package waiting for you from another part of the world. It actually happens to me quite a lot. But it’s not very often that I get a package with three tees in it. So expect to see quite a lot of PJE Los Angeles over the next few days. Unfortunately, despite dropping a few pounds this year none of them fit me (one of my friends says everyone in LA is thin, so I guess that’s just listening to your market), so it was a pretty good day for my brother.

Clearly, the most notable aspect about this tee is the use of Swarovski rhinestones. The danger with these rhinestones is that they could be used as a gimmick, but I don’t think that’s what is happening here, they suit the design, they’re a bit of fun, and whilst some people might say that they make you look a bit flashy, well, sometimes I don’t mind a bit of attention.

Their current line is called ‘American Exceptionalism’, and because I wouldn’t claim to be an expert on American culture, I’m going to let PJEs blurb explain what that name is all about:

“More American than a motel room meth lab, the debut “American Exceptionalism” collection from PJE Los Angeles presents a laidback survey of street-level Americana that’s both casually sophisticated and knowingly irreverent.

From obnoxious hedge fund managers to strippers “working their way through college,” the collection casts a gimlet eye on the rarely applauded–but uniquely American–people and values that keep our nation humming.

With an unbeatable trifecta of boldly austere imagery, superior, loomed-in-LA fabrics and distinctive Swarovski rhinestone detailing, “American Exceptionalism” steps beyond the familiar, big-issue debates with a vision of an untainted “America” where we’re all on the same page.”

So basically, PJE is a clothing line that puts the essence of America onto cotton, right?

The tee itself.feels like high-quality fabric, incredibly soft, I think they’re using some kind of custom garment rather than a widely available blank tee. They run small, quite fitted, although quite stretchy too, so if you like your tees quite loose then order a size up, and if you want to show off your well-sculpted guns then order your regular size. The print is really soft too, as if it has already been washed in a few times.

As you would expect, having 12 Swarovski rhinestones on your tee pushes the price up a bit, the standard ‘Mas Duro‘ shirt without the rhinestones comes in at $36, whereas the special edition is $52, which I don’t think is too much of a jump, you’d pay a lot more this kind of thing on the UK high street.

Costiness=$52 URL

You know the drill on extra pics by now.
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Yep, I’m taking the easy way out this week, I’m picking a reprint, a reprint that even has the all-important Zach Braff endorsement (the tee can be seen in Scrubs at some point). In my defense, You Sank My Battleship pretty much blows all the other releases out of the water this week (I do love a good pun!), and it really suits the track jacket style. It probably would have been better if the print were much bigger, because it wouldn’t have been that hard for them to print it across the zipper, right?

Costiness=Tee $15/$17 Track Jacket $40 URL

(Congratulations to Josh from Go Ape on having a submission printed)

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I’m thinking of dropping in some short morning posts, less of me yabbering on, more awesome clothes, everyone wins right?

I know I’ve used this blurb before, but it’s just such a great example of clothes industry balls that I had to use it again (that and I’m into Heroes, the show, at the moment):

“Every generation has its heroes. With their spring collection, Morphine Generation draws out the inherent Heros and Heroines that nobly reside in all of us.”

Costiness=$136 (Free shipping) URL

http://www.revolveclothing.com/productpages/MORP-WO38.jsp

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It’s really hard to pin down the style of a label like Imperfect Articles. In general, I’d say that they have simple, hand drawn art t-shirts, but because they have a variety of artists, there is also a variety of spirit and emotion within the design lineup. They also have an unbelievable range, with more than 50 designs in their store, most of which I would be very happy to be found wearing. On IA’s ‘About Us‘ page they talk about how they’re taking the experimental approach of acting more like curators in a site-less gallery rather than the traditional clothing brand to artist relationship, and the more I learn about them the more I understand and agree with that approach. And, if the end result is cool tees like the ones they’re putting out, I think its an approach that is really working for them.

Just like it’s hard to pin down Imperfect Articles as a brand, it’s also pretty hard to pin down this design. I like it. I just have no idea what’s going on, is that a pirate hat?, some kind of a face made of diamonds? plants? several different kinds of berries? (or perhaps eyes?) And I don’t even know how to describe whatever that is on the bottom right! But still, I do like it, and I don’t really pretend to be someone that understands art… hey, isn’t there a popular saying that expresses that thought in a far more succinct way?

In terms of quality, IA are right up there. They print onto American Apparel blanks, so you know what you’re getting in that respect. The print quality is very nice too, I’m going to have to learn about printing one of these days so that I can explain it better, but it feels really light and soft, yet still inked into the cotton fairly deep, so my guess is that it will last pretty well. They also do this cool thing where there’s a sticker on the tee itself (pictured after the jump) which gives you the name of the original designer and those all-important washing instructions.

Costiness=$30 URL

Read the whole article to see a load more pictures.
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