the bluecotton blog

Our founder and CEO, Mike Coffey, will be participating in a golf-a-thon fundraiser on June 20th. The event will be raising money for the tornado victims in Alabama. This is a “pledge” fundraiser, so Mike will play as many holes as possible. He wants to play at least 72 holes of golf and perhaps even 90! In one day! That’s a lot of golf.

If we could get a 1000 people to pledge $1 per hole – we could raise a ton of money for the victims of the Alabama tornadoes.

BlueCotton.com is serious about this fundraiser and will be matching customer contributions from now until June 17th on our website.

To learn more about this, go to bluecottongivesback.com.

What i’ve done is put together a high performance wardrobe for Mike that will also reduce sun exposure. Being out in the sun all day is fatiguing and hopefully if we can reduce some sun exposure – we can reduce some of the fatigue and let Mike play as many holes as daylight allows.

Let’s start from the top:

Hat. A must have to keep the sun from beating down on you and to shield your eyes. I’ve selected one of our most popular.
The VC300 is a six-panel, unstructured, low profile, bio-washed chino twill hat.

The Buff. This is something you typically do not see on the golf course, but I am predicting you will in the near future. I was first introduced to the Buff on fly-fishing trips to the Florida Keys. All the fishing guides were wearing these tubular pieces of fabric around their necks. The sun is ferocious in the Keys and the buff protects your neck and face from the elements.

The UV Angler Buff®s are made with Coolmax Extreme® fabric, which allows the UV Angler BUFF® to evaporate your perspiration quickly. A special 4 channel fiber forms a transport system that pulls moisture away from your skin to the outer layer of the fabric. It then dries that moisture faster than any other fabric and thermoregulates your bodies temperature. I doubt Mike will wear one of these, but if I were playing golf for 15 hours straight- I would want something to keep the sun off my neck.

I’m recommending the Adidas A01 in True Blue for Mike’s shirt. This is a 100% polyester, moisture wicking, mesh polo with UPF 15+ protection and has an anti-microbial finish.

During the peak of the day, Mike should wear the Nike Solar Sleeves, in white of course. These are easy to take on and off and are a great way to keep the sun off your arms.

Shorts. Nike’s Flat Front Tech shorts in Khaki will be ideal for this all day golf-a-thon. These shorts are made with Dri-FIT fabric that helps keep you comfortable and dry by moving moisture from your skin to the outside for rapid evaporation.

Socks. Mike should have as many pairs of socks as rounds of golf he intends to play. Imagine how refreshing it will be to have new pair of socks to start your round. These Kentwool low profile socks with a proprietary blend of natural and high-tech fibers have superior moisture management and wicking, as well as odor control. A must!

Shoes. As far as shoes go, Mike should take along at least two pairs of shoes. I think it would be a good idea to have one of those pair be a very comfortable pair of running shoes. Golf shoes should be worn in the morning. Wet grass can saturate your shoes and leave your feet damp all day. Golf shoes are typically waterproof and will keep your feet dry. Go with something like the Ecco golf shoe.

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Summertime is here, and the music festival season has officially begun. In our last post, Leann described her experience at last summer’s Bonaroo music festival and shared some tour shirts for the 2011 Bonaroo lineup. Anyone that calls them self a music fan has at least one t-shirt featuring a favorite musical artist. The kind of music you listen to can say a lot about who you are as an individual–emotionally, spiritually, politically, etc.–and the t-shirt is a great way to proclaim your musical taste as well as your general personality.

Below is a humorous infographic created by Shane Snow for MTV.com entitled, “What Your Band T-Shirt Says About You.” Check it out and see what your favorite band t-shirt might be communicating to the rest of the world.

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Last summer, in the year two-thousand-and-ten, BlueCotton’s Creative Director, Angie Norrod and I embarked on a summer extravaganza to Bonnaroo Arts and Music Festival in Manchester, Tennessee. Spending four days with the top names in music sounded like a fantastic way to blow a few of our hard earned vacation days. AND- I had actually WON tickets. That’s right. Yours truly actually won a contest. It was hard to believe. Five hundred bucks of Bonnaroo ticket goodness was mine, all mine.

Let me tell you, folks – I did my research. I went to inforoo.com and faithfully read all the threads on planning and preparing for Bonnaroo, but nothing actually prepared me for the true nature of the ordeal. A four-day music festival is not a vacation in the traditional sense. Vacations are indicative of relaxation, pampering, indulgence and pure enjoyment. Bonnaroo is more like a marathon…yes, an endurance test. There’s the long hikes from the campground to the stages. There’s the typical Tennessee summer weather, which is simply hot and humid. Did I mention the music goes nearly 24 hours a day? They should send Seal Team 6 to Bonnaroo for advanced training in heat exhaustion and sleep deprivation. It is a hardcore challenge, but worth the effort in the end, friends. Where else can you see Weezer, Stevie Wonder, Mumford & Sons, Tori Amos, Kid Cudi and The Gossip all in the same weekend? (Except maybe Coachella, Wakarusa, or Lollapalooza). We had a great time despite the rigors and challenges inherent in primitive camping with 90,000 people.

Below you will find acts performing at Bonnaroo’s 10th Anniversary during the 2011 concert season and their tour t-shirts.

Who are you going to see this summer?

Arcade Fire

The Black Keys

My Morning Jacket

The Strokes

[...]

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Last night on the season finale of Parks and Recreation, Leslie Knope and the Parks team held a memorial service for their dear friend Li’l Sebastian. Li’l Sebastian was a vital part of Pawnee, everyone loved the little horse and it is only fitting they threw him a great party. The lead singer from Mouse Rat, Andy Dwyer, was commisioned to write and perform a tribute song. Andy delivered and had the crowd holding up lighters while singing along. Here are some t-shirt designs to keep the memory of Li’l Sebastian alive and show your love for Mouse Rat.

Here is a detail of the back of the shirt:

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On Monday, the space shuttle Endeavor made its historic launch into space for one final mission. In honor of the event, why not have a “launch” of your own? A launch of t-shirts! Introducing the DIY T-Shirt Cannon–the ultimate t-shirt delivery mechanism for your next event. In the video below, Kipkay shows you how to construct your very own high-powered t-shirt cannon out of parts commonly found at any hardware store.

This video only gives a general overview of the parts and process for the project, so when you’re ready to start building your own, be sure to check out this PDF for the full list of components and detailed instructions.

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Our wonderful customers have spoken and we listened. Our customers asked for more American Apparel offerings and in response to that feedback, we’ve added an additional five of their most popular t-shirts to our website. If you love the 2001 like we do, then check out these other options from American Apparel.

One of our favorites is the TR401. This is a tri-blend t-shirt. It is made of 50% cotton, 25% polyester, and 25% rayon. This shirt has a super soft “hand” (t-shirt lingo describing how a shirt feels) and will remind you of your old p.e. shirt.

The BB401 is our second most favorite American Apparel t-shirt. The BB401 is made from 50% cotton and 50% polyester. This T has a soft hand and a slightly slimmer fit than the 2001.

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V-necks are HUGE this year. And no one does V-necks better than American Apparel. Check out the 2456.

If you looking for a place to put your pen, or some extra storage. Look at the 2406 Pocket Tee.

Ringer shirts are still very popular for sports teams. If your softball team is on the cutting edge of fashion, look at the 2410. This has a fashion forward fit that American Apparel customers love.

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