the bluecotton blog

Chuck Norris’ favorite t-shirt is the American Apparel TR401. This tri-blend shirt is made with 50% polyester, 25% cotton, and 25% rayon. The polyester helps retain the shape of the shirt while Chuck throws his deadly punches and roundhouse kicks. The cotton in the shirt lends to both cotton and durability (not that Chuck needs comfort, of durability). The rayon makes for a unique texture and drape against the body for a slimming look. Chuck is proud of his Total Gym body and this shirt helps him show it off a little.

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What can I say? With the exception of most reality television shows, I love pop culture–movies and television especially. Not only are they entertaining, but also a huge influence on our society. Things that are “hip” and “cool” are so often determined by what we are watching at any given time in history. Think about it. How many women in the mid-1990s went to their hair salon asking for “The Rachel?” A lot. Would the moustache have been as popular in the 1980s if Magnum P.I. didn’t exist? I doubt it.

The greatest thing about pop culture, though, has to be its social ability to create relationships. How many times have you connected with another person over a movie or television show you’ve both seen and enjoyed. I would venture to guess that many lasting friendships have been sparked by a memorable quote from a film. Heck, some films and television shows lead to conventions where thousands of fans gather to celebrate their passion and love for them.

This social aspect of pop culture is one of the reasons of love t-shirts based around television and movies so much. But I’m not talking about those shirts that just have the name/logo of a film plastered on the front. No, what I appreciate are the more subtle designs–the kind that only a true fan would understand. For example, look at the design to the upper right. Do you know to what film it is referencing? If you said, “The Princess Bride,” you are correct. And that’s what I’m talking about. If you’ve never seen that film, you’d never understand what that design truly means. It’s designs like that that allow passersby with common interests to share “a moment” as fans.

Below are ten more designs making subtle references to a sampling of films and televisions of which I am a fan. Can you guess to what they are referring? Leave your guesses in the comments section of this post.

Click here for the remaining 8 designs…

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This weeks BlueCotton lunch featured BLTs made with homegrown, heirloom tomatoes from Brad and Mike’s garden. The office smelled like bacon all day – which isn’t a bad thing. For all you “baconistas” out there, check out these t-shirts and designs that will express your “baconmania” and your love of the best meat ever.

Check out what Brad was preparing for lunch:

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“Once upon a time there was something more powerful than Twitter, MySpace and Facebook combined. It was a platform that brought people together and allowed a you a chance to paint on a blank canvas with music. This, ladies and gentleman was the mixtape. For over 25s the mixtape was the status update of the day. They could be a love letter, a sign of friendship or the grandstanding of musical knowledge. All recorded across two sides of a … cassette.” ~ Dan Slee

British newspaper The Sun published “The Death of the Casette Tape” in 2007. Some could argue this obituary was a bit late. By 2000, CD’s and mp3s had already come of age and enjoyed the lion’s share of the music market. Regardless, the cassette tape held it’s own for well over 40 years, and seems to be currently clawing it’s way out of a shallow grave and back into pop culture.

You can find a myriad of cassette tape memorabilia on the web, from Iphone cases to belt buckles, coin purses and necklaces. There are a few record companies now issuing special editions of new releases on cassette tape. Turns out cassette tapes are harder to bootleg than digital media. Just when we thought the cassette had died, and slipped into flea market and trash bin oblivion, the hipsters have revived it. Below you will find a smattering of the cassette tape t-shirts horde roaming the web.

The cassette tape makes a great icon on custom t-shirts – for 80s parties or birthday parties for a child of the 80s. Use our cassette tape clipart or upload your own – and get started on your very own mixtape t-shirt.

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Last week was the third annual BlueCotton Hot Rods outing. 75 members of the BlueCotton family were treated to a great night of America’s favorite past-time at our local Minor League ball park. Of course we had custom t-shirts made for the event. We chose our most popular shirt – the Gildan 2000 in Gold. The 2000 is a 6.1 ounce, 100% cotton, workhorse. It has a ton of color options, it’s taped from shoulder to shoulder, has a seamless collar and double-needle stitching throughout. Check us out.

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Would you like to wear your iPhone? No, I don’t mean storing it in one of those dorktastic belt-clip cases or wearing it as a lanyard. I literally mean wear it–embedded in your clothing! Well, a new prototype iPhone case/holder known simply as “The Move” could allow you to do just that.

“The Move” is a yet-to-be-released product that allows you to attach your iPhone 4 or iPod Touch anywhere on your clothing without the use of straps, clips, velcro, or magnets. It’s a concept difficult to describe using words alone, so check out this video from the inventors explaining how the product works and for some really cool examples of how it might be used.

As of now, the product is only a prototype and not available for immediate purchase. However, if this idea is something that intrigues you, check out The Move’s Kickstarter page. There you can get a detailed run-down of The Move’s features/uses and even pledge your own money to fund the project and help bring the product to the mass-market.

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