yt-shirt

As a designer i did't have any hesitation of how to make my logo, what to look like or to feel. Part of my believes are, that when something comes so easily (name and logo) it is sure that it's correct and right, and most importantly meant to be. 

I really wanted to name to be smart and nice and light, but at the same time, simple, straightforward and a statement by itself. Although it sound like a cliché and nearly impossible to have such a name - something around white t-shirt. With free *.com domain. A friend of mine had a "sheer white tee" (great inspiration to this day) which was pretty close to my wish but a bit too sexy and also too close to just name the label white tee. 

The white t-shirt co. is taken and it is the most strait forward approach. So what else. And in just a few minutes, less then 30, my partner came with the name

yt-shirt

Cut the unnecessary, he said. There you have it, elegant and simple. Amazing and com-free

yt-shirt.com was born. 

Although they don’t represent the same idea that I have, they are pretty close in some ways: https://www.thewhitetshirt.com/

Here are some more t-shirt inspiration:

Some whole sale: 

Bella + Canvas

Continental Clothig

American Apparel

Hanes

Sols

Some prints: 

Cottonbureau

Dribble

RedBubble 

---

Gkero - crazy prints 

ShirtSeek

50 Best t-shirt 

500godz

Teelibrary

ATF 

Asos

Vintage.it

Soulland

StanleyStella

Zanerobe

Sloaneandtate

Unconventionaltshirt 

Flicr Vintage 

Kaft

ASOS

Toa

Madwell

Woolpack

Tee_library | Tredkess

500godz | Human

Kaft

...So returning was somehow refreshing for me. And some more on the track and peaceful inside. I started to look for a job, and as moving in a new place, I was restarting my life and continuing the Plan. Again to save some money, to gain some experience and start the label.  

And as every plan dedicated to something easy and at the same time hard to achieve i had no idea where and how to start on.

I needed a transportation so I both a car, which got stolen a month later. Weather a sign or not the insurance money, I was sure, were about to go for the label.

A bit frustrated and anxious all the friend support that I could get was important. It turns out that when it comes to friends there are very few that will stay when you face a hard times, and even fewer when your times are better then theirs. Some of them did't took the idea at all, some where willing to help on paper but turned out not to be so supporting in real time. All of the above can be seen in a course of time since at the moment i felt really fragile and used every possible stone to relay on it. 

Some months later in 2014 I met again a friend of mine. We bumped in to each other as if by accident but then not so few times to ignore it. Till the friendship grew more then itself. 

Supima® is the name of one of the finest cottons in the world. The name comes from Pima ( a Long Staple cotton) + Super (stands for Extra Long Staple) and is used only for the long staple quality cotton gown in America and licensed by Supima® (the organisation that guards and licenses the quality of the Supima® Cotton). The production of Supima® cotton is less than 1% of the world’s cotton production but it holds 40% of the luxury used cottons along with Egyptian and Indian Suvin

STRENGTH

Every textile no matter if it is a woven or a knitted fabric  is composed by yarns that are made from spuned fibres (staples). Because of the fineness of Supima® cotton, more fibres can be spun into a yarn of a given count, which will enhance the feel and softness, drape-ability and brilliance of colour of a fabric. So the better the fibre the better the yarn. Then the better the factory* that produces the textile the better the quality of the textile itself.

Supima® is also twice stronger than regular cotton, which makes for extraordinarily resilient products. The longer fibre resists pulling, breaking and tearing.

SUPIMA® and regular cotton are in fact two different and distinct breeds of cotton. The Supima® fiber is 1.4 inch long and the regular is up to 1 inch long. Longer fibers contribute to the strength and softness of apparel ensuring it is more comfortable, retains colour longer and resists pilling. Shorter fibres produce yarns that are rougher and subject to pilling on the surface of the product over time.

SOFTNESS

Supima’s fibers themselves are much finer than their conventional counterpart varieties. Fibre fineness, combined with length and strength, result in a silky feel, luxurious luster, less pilling and the ability to achieve greater colour shade depth.

In the growing market of slow and sustainable fashion, here I stand. With an idea that took me and it is taking me way to much time. You should know that the market of slow fashion is growing fast. I stumbled at the idea by the time I was having Yt-shirt already in my mind (6 years ago) I also was doing some design work for a nonprofit eco organisation and all I needed to do was to do was to connect the dots. Even if H&M and Zara were still on a “queue” to enter in Bulgaria, it was obvious that nobody (no matter how bad the break up, or bored or lack of self-esteem they had) needs so much clothes. So slow fashion was coming one way or another if not at least there will be busy enough people that would still want well made, not necessary so cheap clothes but made with respect for anything on the way. Form the earth and soil, to the people who produce the clothes, to themselves. Clothes that would stay it the mind and in the closets. 

Particular t-shirt. Well made and easy to wear. 

So here me now, producing, researching for 6 years and always aware how the things around me has been changing to the direction that I was heading but like “rabbit and turtle” I was fast enough to had the idea but the slow fashion was some how already before me. I am in a hurry to keep up with it but sill far behind. Sometimes when you don’t have the resources and you are not in the right country (though i think this might be also an advantage sometimes). 

So here this is what my research was heading me so far. Some of the labels has been inspiration to me. With their marketing approach or with their pure vision, or everything at all.

So i will start with all the brands which don’t produce only t-shirts: 

ACNE - they always menage to make the one unisex and androgynes tees.  

JilSander - silence and presence 

T by Alexander Wang - the ultimate with a pocket

Isabelle Marant - I really really like her chick T-shirts and the fabrics that she uses. The colours are always dreamy and rich (in a very sophisticated way) 

Givenchy - 

SaintLourant - with nice cotton the ultimate lux t-shirt with some unexpected print

American Vintage  and AllSaints  - are those soft and creamy cotton that suits and feels amazing to your skin.  

Marant | Acne | All Saints

American Vintage | Jil Sanders 

Givenchy

Saint Laurant

--- and then some more ---

white collection | wood wood | charlie may | La Maire | Erin wasson t-shirt | La garconne | the “OFF” t-shirt | aocms | Marina London | COS | Hiro Clark  | Brain Dead | Frame Denim | Need Supply Co. | BLK DNM | Everlane

Need Supply Co. | Wood Wood

Aocms | Brain Dead | Hiro Clark

Erin wasson

Charlie May | BLK Denim | Everlane

Marina London | La garconne | COS |  La Maire

the OFF t-shirts

THE PLAN? I had to go and study some fashion in Italy, where IED was giving scholarships. Since I was already a working graphic designer I then was able to return after an year there and work for bigger salary then before and save the money to start. Good plan. Not exactly as planed.  

Тhe BREAK UP - somewhere between my dream idea and going to IED I met a men (who partly gave me the idea to go an study fashion) but he then broke my ego not so much my heart. That left me desperate and discouraged. I knew that my goal was far more important then the 2 to 6 months ache of my heart (self-esteem). Still I was mostly crying and doing work for my admission exam. Crying and then some more working. Till the moment when I realised that one of the best things for me was to face Milano alone. 

Milan, well as I said in my previous post  “Fashion in my mind was something fast and strong and vivid, and in a way very overwhelming and scary.” 

But as my teachers were very demanding they were also inspirational and eyeopening. No one of them was taking the easy approach to teaching, or expecting us to be the same. They were motivational and discouraging at the same time. They were honest about how hard nearly impossible it is become a fashion designer let alone to have a label. 

Some of my classmates where younger then me and far more talented. They knew that they wanted to became a fashion designers far before me. They were persistent in their efforts about it. I was some how an outcast, and looking as if I was lost. And so I did, I lost my direction. I was so focused to study and keep up with them, that I somehow forgot my plan, my inspiration in a first place.

The time there that I could have used to research and really understand the field that I wanted to develop I just spend studying like everyone else... 

Then, there were also some fellow students sent by their parents so that they can inherit the family business. 

I have always loved fashion but had this humble feeling that I am not fashion enough in my mindset to explore what I imagined. I just accepted fashion as this highly theatrical art that has to be lived, experienced and explored at a full extend so that you can honestly say: “I am fashion designer”.

Fashion in my mind was something fast and strong and vivid, and in a way very overwhelming and scary. Contrary to that notion my feeling was a bit different. I had periods of obsession when I was trying different things but overall I was able to adore a certain cloth, a type of garment or cut and love it definitely and forever.

I would stare at my grandmother hand-weaved linen fabrics and not be able to decide what to do with them. They were so beautiful and full of amazing imperfections. The silk and wool most of the times would be in their natural colours. A wabi-sabi sort of a way.

Probably if then I had the option to buy new and colourful clothes I wouldn’t be able to explore and investigate all this craftsman and talent that my grandmother had. Later my mother continued to stress out how important was this or that cut. How amazing was the garment made from natural fabric.

That led me to the “never to be satisfied” enough with most of my clothes. And especially with the white tops and t-shirts that I was in such a need for.

-wabi sabi filled with silver - 

A six or seven years ago I took part in a contest which theme was: Re-do your t-shirt. And I did. I cut the back of a old white t-shirt that I had. I trimmed the edges, so that they don’t curl to the inside with completely unsuitable and edgy paper like fabric that was preventing that jersey to circinate. I put a buttoned straps to substitute the missing part of the back. Styled it with a vintage Eiffel tower brooch and a sloppy hat. A friend of mine made me some photos and I post them. I became second but for me it did’t matter since I was so satisfied and proud of myself. I have made a t-shirt that everybody liked, people started writing me and asking me when will I start making t-shirts, like making them. 

- my first redone t-shirt -

I was already famous among my friends with my white t-shirts and tops the decision to start my own label was just a matter of believe. And I really loved making it so much and I love wearing white tees so much that I really believed. 

yt-shirt was already my love. 

Among with my story, there are another exiting parts of developing my label, all sort of things that I am suppose to do as well. As figuring out the labels (later for that), dealing with bank, accounts etc. and designing my own site. Which I did a 6 months ago, actually I did two versions of the site and I decided to proceed with the safer one. My dev. they have done their job, but since the site has become a reality, I am doubting my choice. And because I was fearing my ability to make a good enough site, no, amazing site, I almost didn’t ask about anyones' opinion and kept this choice for myself. Taking criticism was always a big issue for me, but working as a graphic designer in an Ad agency and dealing with all sorts of clients I learned to cope with all sorts of corrections and potshots somehow I learned to take them as something a bit different form myself, not so personal in a way.  But now, all I had to do was to design the “perfect” site for my amazing dream and I made what every client would have done, took the safest approach. Not that the second version of the site is such a huge risk but is not so the obvious site for a online shop and since I am planning to start with a small, tiny amount of models it should have been more unexpected and suitable. A bit at least. 

So now when my ver_1 of the site is ready I send it (something I shoulda woulda coulda have done at the beginning) to a friend of mine web designer, very critical, honest and professional and she said: “It is nice. I like the second better” 

Now I am certain I know what: “It is nice” means from her. 

So after another mistake and shoulda woulda coulda, I am going forward. A thought of redoing the site has cross my mind... and another delay in my production will be the reason to do it. But I won’t, I shoulda woulda coulda thought for that before. I am going :)    

(the pictures are just examples and I don’t have their copyright)  Var_1

Var_2

I registered a web site almost a year ago. And every step I took since then is an real challenge and adventure and really really scary experience. For people born to be crazy, this won't be such a revelation, but for me an expected to be organised and predictable girl just born in such a strange mixture it is very persistent and thought through effort. There were time that even picking the phone to people I really admire or people I have to negotiate with is a struggle. What if they coincide? I am able to stare at the phone for hours.  So in my weird attempt to overcome my barriers, not myself (I refuse to believe that I am just a timid girl), I will share and write every obstacle I have on my way to start yt-shirt.com my dream.