From Brooklyn Vegan:
Nothing says punk like two-hundred-plus dollar luxury t-shirts, right? If you answered “yes,” you’ll be happy to learn that Barney’s is selling a Black Flag t-shirt for $265! It looks pretty much like all those other Black Flag shirts you see people wearing all the time, it just costs two hundred forty five more dollars! And that’s not all. You can also get that Joy Division shirt with the Unknown Pleasures artwork that definitely is hard to come by, for $225.
For a mere $175, there’s Black Sabbath, The Cure, Run DMC, Motorhead, The Grateful Dead (twice), The Rolling Stones, David Bowie, Guns N’ Roses (twice), Metallica, The Doors, AC/DC, and Pink Floyd. For the rare cheap price of $98, there’s Van Halen.
These of course are all a bargain though compared to the $560 “army-skull” Givenchy t-shirt that reminds us of many a metal band design, most notably S.O.D.
But even that is a bargain when you realize there is a Snoop Dogg t-shirt that will cost you over $900!
This is of course not the first time we’ve seen pricey stores selling pricey designer concert t-shirts, but it never ceases to amaze.
That model in the photo. Pays $175 for Cure shirt so now he can't afford pants without holes.
ReplyDeleteHaha! Those pants probably cost $300.
DeleteWell if those just by chance were Givenchy or Balmain they would cost $1700 or $995 respectively...see Robert was right the French do love The Cure
DeletePants with holes/ripped jeans? The hobo look is "in" these days. I have a pair of jeggings with fake holes printed all over them that would go great with this shirt. However, the only way I would fork over $175 is if RS himself had previously worn the shirt (in which case it would never be laundered)...lol.
DeleteI have several copies of that shirt from the 80's!
ReplyDeleteI hope Robert didn't approve this! (And if he didn't, I hope he sends them a cease and desist!)
ReplyDeleteDoes the cost include Robert Smith hand delivering it to you?
ReplyDeleteAll of these are hideous, except of course the one with Robert’s visage. A lot of metal bands are represented, wonder if Simon and his son will be shopping around on barneys.com. While some of these are (surprisingly enough) made in USA, a good number are imported. Since they’re exploiting cheap labor, I’m sure the markup on these shirts is insane. Likely for people with more $$ than sense. These prices would only be justifiable if going to charity, and even then 100% of proceeds would need to be funneled to charity.
ReplyDeleteSide note: I know RS is the “face” of the band, but curious to know why these (and also the “official” t-shirts) only feature RS and not the entire band?
Mostly all of the official merch I've seen so far this year have had the band photo, not just RS.
DeleteThat's interesting....I haven't come across any shirts with the entire band pictured on them. I will need to take a closer look next time someone posts a photo of the merch table.
DeleteForgot to mention earlier that this post really made my day...I was having an awful day, and reading Brooklyn Vegan's hilarious description of the shirts made me crack a smile for the first time the whole day. thank you.
Yeah most I've seen at the tables have band logo on front and band photo on back
DeleteThis is not true. Unless they added new ones in Australia, none of the shirts feature the band on them. Only shirt with a member of the band, is the one with Robert on front. The only band photo shirts I saw on the US tour, were the bootleg shirts being sold outside of the venues.
DeleteThe band are featured on the posters and postcards, though.
Because Robert Smith IS the Cure. Other members come and go but Robert IS the Cure.
DeleteNo. Don't be one of those types of fans. The Cure are a band, not a person.
DeleteRS is indeed the main driving force, so it's understandable he's the one pictured on most merch. I feel bad for the other band members, though. It seems they are often overlooked (not necessarily RS's fault).
DeleteMy mistake, i thought they had photo on the back. Oops
DeleteThat's so very true! They are so often overlooked. Going through my memorabilia I notice way more stuff with just Robert. Funny, its not really like that with any other band that I can think of.
DeleteI would totally let Barney's sell a shirt with my face on it for $175. I would want at least 50% of that, but if someone is buying that nonsense, I'd let them.
ReplyDeleteWell I'm sure the prince shirts are already being pressed
DeleteBarneys is awesome..don't hate if you can't afford it...or maybe it's because you can't afford it.
ReplyDeleteI Could Easily Afford It, That Being Said I Would (And Do) Donate To St. Jude's Children's Hospital Than Pay $175 To Barney's For A Damn $5 T-Shirt, Regardless If Robert Smith Is On It Or Not...
ReplyDeleteSo Yeah, Fuck Barney's...
Yes, I would rather give my money to some poor puppy in puppy jail so he or she does not get euthanized. Besides which my closet already contains plenty of distressed cure shirts along with joy division siouxsie black flag samhain and the Misfits. So Kim Kardashian and her ilk can keep Barney's afloat by trying to stay relevant with the tweeters and hash targets. I'll kick back and revel in humanities fading glow with my 27 year old disintegration shirt I simply can't part with. Cheers
ReplyDeleteRight wallet shamed by a fellow cure enthusiast. Oh well. Say Marc just so you know I found a pretty kick ass cure shirt at goodwill once for $2.00. Take that Barney's douchery
ReplyDeleteRight wallet shamed by a fellow cure enthusiast. Oh well. Say Marc just so you know I found a pretty kick ass cure shirt at goodwill once for $2.00. Take that Barney's douchery
ReplyDeleteIf this shirt had been part of the many charities that Robert and his wife support I would definitely buy one....but that doesn't seem to be the case.
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