The National Merch Archive

Just wanted to drop a quick note and share that I changed this blog handle from thentlmercharchive to thenationalmercharchive

I think it was hard to find before. This small change should make it easy to find.

(I don't know if anyone still follows this page, but I didn't mean to go so long (almost a year) without posting anything. I got really sick last winter and lost momentum. )

Item: Hurricane Sandy benefit t-shirt

Year: Fall 2012

Designer: Unknown

Details: The shirt features a bold, blocky red-and-black typography design that spells out “The National” in a geometric layout on a gray t-shirt that was available in men’s and women’s cuts.

Item: The National Ghost Crew t-shirt

Year: April 15, 2020

Designer: Vardagen

Details: The design features a playful, eerie illustration of ghostly figures carrying instruments under stage lights, a nod to the unseen work of road crews that bring live shows to life.

Item: The National house t-shirt

Year: Summer 2009

Designer: Jay Ryan of The Bird Machine

Details: This limited edition t-shirt was part of a collaboration between Insound and Soundscreen Design, featuring artwork by Jay Ryan of The Bird Machine. The design incorporates a stylized row of houses forming "The National" in a blocky, architectural style and green rooftops with yellow and gray letters.

Note: Insound commissioned Soundscreen Design to design a series of t-shirts, hoodies and totes for nine indie rock acts. Jay Ryan, known for his screen prints and concert posters, has created artwork for artists like Wilco and Andrew Bird, making this shirt a crossover piece for collectors of indie music and design.

Item: Fake Empire t-shirt

Year: 2007

Designer: Unknown

Tour: Boxer (2007-2008)

Details: Gray American Apparel t-shirt with "Fake Empire" in an artistic, collage-style font with distressed textures, floral elements, silhouettes of two people, and an arrow motif.

Notes: According to the original poster of this shirt, it was sold during the Boxer tour in 2007. Boxer was released on May 22, 2007 and "Fake Empire" was the last single from the album, released on June 23, 2008. According to Setlist.fm, The National performed 198 shows on the Boxer tour between May 1, 2007 and December 4, 2008.

Item: Abstract collage t-shirt

Year: Unknown (likely 2010s)

Designer: Unknown

Details: Dark heather gray t-shirt featuring an abstract collage-style design. The t-shirt label appears to be by American Apparel.

Notes: n/a

Item: Kid's t-shirt

Year: Unknown (likely late 2000s, early 2010s)

Designer: Unknown

Details: Navy blue t-shirt with a white silhouette of a figure wearing a fur-lined hood, with jagged edges giving the hood a textured appearance. "THE NATIONAL" is printed in uppercase, blocky light blue letters.

Notes: Based on the design style, typography, and the band’s merch history, the shirt is most likely from the mid-2000s. The National used a lot of minimalist, abstract imagery in their early years, particularly around their 2003–2007 albums. The blocky, slightly distressed font and stark contrast in the design are reminiscent of indie rock and post-punk aesthetics from that time. Additionally, the shirt is from American Apparel’s Classic Girl line, which was popular for band merch in that era, especially among indie rock and alternative bands.

Item Title: "Da Nacional" T-Shirt

Year: Potentially released from 2004-2010, with a deadstock sale in 2024

Designer: Unknown

Details: Black t-shirt featuring a sunburst graphic emerging from behind clouds, with the words "Da Nacional" in a script font. One version is in a muted cream/black and another in a blue and pink gradient.

Notes: The design is inspired by a sign in Portugal that reads Da Nacional, photographed by Pirlouiiiit on July 6, 2004. The photographer sent the image to The National, who incorporated it into their merch.

The t-shirt may have been re-released around 2010, as the photographer posted the image on Flickr on April 16, 2010.

Another version of the shirt with a smaller graphic was printed on dark heather gray American Apparel 50/50 shirts, which were popular for band merch in the mid-to-late 2000s and early 2010s.

In 2024, The National sold a limited quantity of deadstock Aqua Da Nacional t-shirts exclusively to Cherry Tree members. It appears these were not a reissue, but were true vintage deadstock from an earlier production run, printed on Screen Stars blanks from the mid-1980s. Only large and extra-large sizes were available, further indicating they were leftover stock rather than a re-release.

During the Zen Diagram Tour in the fall of 2024, The National seemingly resurrected the design again on black tote bags for a merch pop up at Vavava Shop in Mexico City.

Welcome to "Merch by The National," a digital archive (trying to!) catalogue the complete merch history of The National.

This blog documents every piece of official merchandise the band has released, from Cherry Tree exclusives to venue-specific tour items, promotional materials, and limited editions.

When possible, each post will include release dates, original pricing, historical context, and appropriate tags so you can easily browse by era, type of merchandise, or tour (this will also depend on available details.)

Why did you start this archive? Services like Setlist.fm allow fans to track setlists. Anyone with a phone and internet access can post concert photos and videos for others fans to enjoy. The band has even approved of tapers at some of their shows. But one of the missing pieces is a dedicated space to preserve the visual history of the band's merch. From their early days in small clubs to selling out venues worldwide, every t-shirt, poster, and piece of memorabilia tells part of their story, and none of it should get lost to time.

Can I contribute? This is a community effort! If you have old merch tucked away in drawers or even old photos of past merch, please share them! Click here to make a submission. If you have any insights or details on any of the merch posted here, especially for missing or incorrect info, please send a note here! (and include a link to the post, if possible)