Local Love: Introducing Soil Clothing

The t-shirt is the number one fashion staple of our generation. Even as urban style transitions away from 5X "Hood Life" tall tees towards snugger v-necks, your tee is still the center of your outfit. It speaks volumes about you whether you're a fan of vintage concert tees, ironic hipster joints or plain white v-necks.

For me my t-shirt game has always revolved around Oakland. In fact I would guess that I have about 30+ articles of clothing that feature Oakland, so I know my Town apparel. In recent years it seems that Oaklandish has had the Oakland clothing market cornered, but now Soil Clothing is entering the fray. They offer high-quality tees with a wide variety of designs, but clearly their local iconography is my Achilles heal.

I love the Life Is (Too $hort) and Hail to The Thief tees you see above (though I ordered them in 2005 sizes. smh). Both illustrate local legends that have had a world-wide impact. Mr Ty Shaw birthed the pimp-hop sound that has come to characterize much of rap over the years, and Rickey is a native son who will go down as the greatest lead-off hitter to ever play the game of baseball. The word "thief" and the bandit bandana concealing his face are reminders that he owns both the single season and career record for stolen bases–records that could stand forever.

The tees are nice and thick and the imagery is bold and iconic. So if you want some fresh threads for summer, head over to Soil Clothing's website.