rare thrift finds

featuring one of my favorite vintage tees and nostalgia for the 90s

one of my favorite pastimes to date is visiting local thrift shops and scouring the aisles for hours. as a teenager, i would often request a trip to Goodwill, Last Chance Thrift, or Value Village whenever it was time to buy “new” clothes — the latter was my personal favorite to shop at. there are a few Value Village stores in the Metro Atlanta area, but the one in my neighborhood during high school always took the cake (if you know, you know). so many of the late 20th century throwback garments that i cherish today are from this time in my life.

i was probably in high school or new to college when i came across this grail of a 1990s tee, a single-stitch Ren & Stimpy shirt from 1992. to be quite honest, the animated Nickelodeon show (which aired from 1991-1996) was likely one of those programs that my mom would not have allowed us to watch — i’m finding that this was a common occurrence in many American households since the show was often way too adultified for its targeted preteen audience — but i’ve seen enough of it to understand the premise, if there even was one. i also could never forget “Happy Happy Joy Joy” no matter how hard i tried.

the show was wacky, slightly deranged, and comical — all important attributes that this tee exemplifies well. as i’ve mentioned before, i’m a huge fan of all-over graphics and what i love about this one is how the design wraps around the tee for you to see the full narrative play out. one design element that really stands out to me is the quintessentially 90s starburst motifs.

i’m also super grateful that it’s a black tee because it’s avoided all the pitfalls that come with collecting vintage white tees — i’m really delicate about the care of my graphic tees (air-dry pls!) so the enamel stays in place and i hope to keep this tee in good condition for years to come.

i’ll never forget when i worked in resale and a frequent customer inquired if he could purchase the tee as he had owned one in the past. while i love that thrifting and resale allows items to travel amongst different owners and live new lives, i did have to decline making an offer — finders keepers, buddy! i’ve seen that the shirt resells for upwards of $150 and i’m just not interested (especially considering that homeboy who asked was probably gonna flip it). i personally love the joy that this shirt inspires in other people (and myself) when i wear it.

according to an announcement from August 2020, Ren & Stimpy is poised for a reboot on Comedy Central, but apparently this already happened in 2003 and it was short-lived then. is 2021 the year that the hijinks of Ren & Stimpy will make sense on television? after 2020, i think just about anything goes so we’ll see if it’s successful!

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throughout this journey, i’ll definitely be highlighting more vintage tees and potentially making it into a series all its own. other collected items you can expect to hear more about? my ongoing Stüssy obsession and a continued spotlight on concert merch. but for now, i’ll leave you with this tune from an album i really love that’s celebrating its 10 year anniversary today.