My book “Vintage T-Shirts” was featured and I was quoted in a recent story in the Chicago Tribune’s Chicago Shopping section.

Here’s an excerpt, the full story can be found here.

Graphic tees: A brief history

By Leigh Hanlon Tribune Specialty ProductsAugust 16, 2013

Are you Stupid — or just with Stupid?Ensuring you’re not on the receiving end of that snarky little arrow or finger has worried millions ever since this most iconic of all graphic tees onto chests across America in the 1970s.Blame technology for helping make wearable insults and cute slogans possible.

“Screen-printing inks improved in the ’60s — making the ink more durable, which ushered in an era of ‘message’ tees,” says Alison A. Nieder, executive editor of California Apparel News and co-author of “Vintage T-Shirts” (Taschen, 2010).

“And when heat-transfer technology was developed in the ’70s, it allowed printers to put

photorealistic images on shirts.”

–Keep reading…