Clearly Social-T are trying to help me impress the ladies in my life (free t-shirts=love, right?), seeing as they’ve sent over this girlie sized version of their April ‘issue’. Since I covered their subscription model fairly extensively in my last review of Social-T it seems a little silly to go over the entire process again just a week later, so if you missed the first review then check out this post and you’ll find out what sets Social-T apart from other t-shirt companies.

Most of Social-Ts shirts have a social message or issue attached to them, and that is the case with this design. This one takes a look at over-development and pollution in coastal areas, and how that is threatening surf spots. I know, there are bigger things to worry about than where people can go surfing (of course, I don’t surf, so I would say that), but I’m sure that if I lived in a place where the water was rather more inviting then I’d be all over this like a rash, a rash that I would have presumably got from pollution in the water whilst surfing. The 20 spots are listed on the back of the tee in a highly, highly, stylised font, so it doesn’t look like a bands tour t-shirt, which is always a danger when you’re putting a list on the back of a tee.

The quality level, as you’d expect if you read the last review, is pretty damned good. The stock tee is once again provided by American Apparel, I don’t have much experience of wearing girls tees, as you’d imagine, so I can’t really tell you much about the cut, but it feels just as soft as the guys ones and that’s good enough for me. The print feels a little bit thicker than the other Social-Ts that I’ve reviewed, but that might just be because this tee has the largest coverage of print of the three I’ve seen. It isn’t a big issue though, the printing is still of a high-quality. As with their other tees, there is info printed on the inside neck of the tee instead of a hang tag, so there’s not even a chance of tag-showing embarrassment.

Costiness=$32 a month (discounts available for 6 & 12 month subscriptions) Link

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Tags » blue • review • Reviews • social T • Subscription • t-shrits • waves

HYAs latest advertiser, Social T, sent a couple of tees over recently, which is great because it gave me a chance to make sure that I was still advertising a quality product, because I want you guys to trust the people that I let advertise on this site. I think it says a lot about Social T that even though they’ve already sent me a sample in the past that they wanted me to check out more of their limited edition tees.

For those of you that are unaware, Social T is a company that runs on the subscription model that is increasing in popularity. Basically, you can pay each month, or a prepaid plan (2, 3, 6, or 12 months) and a new tee will arrive on your doorstep around the 15th of each month. Social T will only print as many tees as they have subscribers for that month, so these tees are pretty limited edition, if you’re into that kind of thing. Of course, you do have to make a leap of faith with services like these since you don’t know what will be inside the envelope each month. I quite like being surprised when I receive a tee (I make a point of never picking a certain design when offered a sample), but I guess its different when you’re actually paying for the clothing. Luckily, Social T do have a style that they don’t deviate from too dramatically, so you can judge from their back catalogue of ‘issues‘ whether your style fits with theirs, and hopefully you won’t be disappointed at what you pull out of the package each month.

I know I said that the house style at Social T doesn’t deviate very much, but that doesn’t mean that they’re sticking to a certain type of design, I just think that if you like one of their tees, its fairly likely that you’re going to like most of them. Social T aren’t just making tees that look good (hey, they’re called ‘Social’ for a reason), they’re also meant to help spread the message about social issues and spark up a conversation, and they manage to do it in a way that isn’t preachy. For example, today’s shirt (Issue 15, January 2008) is a bit on the lighter side and has “I resolve to be a better human being” written on it, a lot, obviously as a reference to people making New Year’s resolutions, which isn’t exactly a hard hitting social issue, and as such doesn’t serve as a very good example for what I was trying to say, but I would imagine it could have been a pretty decent pick-me-up if I’d got this in the mail in mid-January just as I was starting to lose track of my resolutions and think that “one doughnut isn’t going to matter.”
Quality is impressive (shocking, I know). The stock tee is provided by American Apparel, so the vast majority of readers know what you’re getting there (soft cotton, sweatshop-free, made in Los Angeles, slim fit, hipster friendly), and the printing is good too. You can feel the print, but it certainly is not rough. I can also attest to the print on Social T’s goods being long-lasting too, since issue 13 is still looking good in my wardrobe with a distinct lack of fading. Instead of a custom tag or the standard AA tag, Social T have printed a tag inside the shirt which has all the expected details on it, plus a mysterious ‘rn#103255′, which I guess might be some kind of print number, so that you know its limited edition, but I could easily be wrong, it has happened before… once.Costiness=$32 per month (some prepaid deals are cheaper per month) Link

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Tags » green • Mens • message • olive • review • Reviews • social • social T • Subscription • T-shirts • Womens

Custom T-shirt Talk has a good roundup of the myriad of t-shirt subscription services. Y’know, the ones where you pay every month (or annually) and a t-shirt you’ve never seen before ends up at your door every month, sounds pretty crazy when you say it like that, but these services are pretty popular and can be great if you want to expand your style horizons somewhat by getting a random tee every month.

T-Shirt Subscriptions - Review of Top Monthly T-shirt Services

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Tags » Lists • Subscription • t-shirt

Social T is one of the handful of t-shirt subscription services that seem to have gained in prevalence, popularity and press attention over the past year. Since this tee is from their November ‘issue’ and this review is being posted in early December I’m afraid you can’t get this tee, but I’m sure next month’s issue will be cool too!

Similar to the excellent Swedish tee subscription service T-Post (review here), Social T’s designs are topical, and as you might imagine, deal with social issues. This tee deals with the subject of the ‘Dia he los Muertas’, which even I can managed to translate as ‘Day of the Dead’, which rather confusingly is actually two days over which Mexican people honour their deceased through various rituals and customs depending upon the local region. November 1st (All Saints Day) is when they remember deceased children and infants, often referred to as ‘angelitos‘ (little angels), and November 2nd (All Souls Day) is for adults. Now, I’m sure that you assumed that I just used the-more-reliable-than-its-given-credit-for Wikipedia for that info. But alas, we all know what happens when you assume something… your usually right, but in this case you’re wrong, all that info (and a bit more) was actually printed in a box that sits on your right side. It’s a great idea, admittedly a little impractical for actual learning, but novel nonetheless. I really like the way that they’ve managed to have three printed areas on the shirt and avoid traditional placement with all of them, I don’t know why, but it feels like it gives a lot more respect to the subject matter than going with a traditional middle of the chest print.

In terms of quality, Social T are using socially-aware American Apparel tees, which is probably exactly what you’d expect from them. The print is soft to the touch as well, impressive stuff. The AA tag has been cut out and replaced by a printed tag with the usual info. Since this is a subscription service I guess that time and money are more of an issue than usual. Each monthly ‘issue’ costs $32 with shipping ($40 for international subscribers), and you aren’t locked in for a year like with some other services, you pay by the month and can stop any time, although if you go for 6/12 month prepaid packages you do get a reduced rate. Tees should arrive on your doorstep around the 15th of the month, giving you plenty of time to show off your new purchase in the appropriate month. Overall, Social T is a good idea well executed, and a good option amongst the subscription services (not that any of them have disappointed me so far).

Costiness=$32 per month (2 and 3 options available @ $32 per month, 6 months for $162, and 1 year for $300) Link

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