A tee for all seasons!
July 2, 2004 | 12:00am
God bless the tee-shirt! Like the ever-reliable pair of blue jeans, the tee-shirt is a staple in every person’s closet. Launching fashion statements the world over (think hottie James Dean sporting the classic white tee in Rebel Without a Cause) to delivering all sorts of messages ("Don’t Worry Be Happy" and "Stick it to the Man", to name a few) a simple tee-shirt can be seen as a hip fashion piece or a walking billboard. It can go from sporty, to casual, to chic depending on what you pair it with and it’s always, always comfortable.
My closet is overflowing with tee-shirts. Along with my Lululemon pants they’re my most favorite pieces of clothing. Some of my favorites include a vintage Mickey Mouse tee I stole from my mom, an aquamarine tiger face tee from Guess, a black Rolling Stones shirt, and a French Lord of the Rings shirt I bought in Paris. I think everyone has at least one tee-shirt in their drawers that they’re absolutely in love with, and if they don’t they should! As Claire Betita-Samson wrote in an article in Preview Magazine awhile back, "The tee-shirt is a fashion basic and wardrobe staple that is here to stay!"
Mika Bautista, Migs Naguiat, and Paolo Lim, three young entrepreneurs, agree with this philosophy and love their tees as much as the next person, so much so that they decided to start their own tee-shirt brand for men. "We love wearing tee-shirts," Migs relates. "The problem was we used to have a difficult time finding nice fitting affordable shirts that had good designs. There were plenty for women but the ones for men seemed either too plain or too outrageous."
"We wanted tee-shirts that not only fit well but were affordable and expressed what we were all about," Paolo agrees. "Basically, a shirt that was for the modern bohemian man. A man’s who’s into media, art, culture, music, the beach. A very 20th century laidback kind of guy."
So from this philosophy Analogsoul was born. "Analogsoul is our brainchild," Mika explains. "It’s based on the philosophy of amplified living. We produce tee-shirts for men that are affordable, versatile, fit well, and fashionable. Not to mention proudly Philippine-made."
Analogsoul released their first line of tee-shirts last December 2003 and has since then been swamped with orders. "Originally, we just sold to friends and then before we knew it their friends wanted to buy and then friends of friends," Migs says. "We basically just functioned on word of mouth but we’re really happy with the response we’ve been getting."
And it’s not hard to see why Analogsoul enjoyed such a good reception from the male market. The shirts are comfy and designed to fit well (not too big, not too small) and come in a wide array of colors and designs all designed by Paolo Lim. With an Asian-inspired look the shirts display pictures of musical instruments, beaches, boats, and everything that screams modern man. They’re sturdy, versatile, and can go from the club to the beach in an instant!
"We just wanted to provide the male market with a new option in terms of tee-shirts," Mika relates. "Not just the usual plain tee. Something that looks hip without being overboard. Interesting but simple – like what most men like. Also affordable as well, all our shirts sell for P495 and are made entirely here in the Philippines."
Analogsoul is a fresh new alternative for the hip and trendy man of the 20th century. Their funky and cool designs even attract women and because of that, the three young tee-shirt entrepreneurs are releasing their female line this September which promises to be as stylish and chic as the Analogsoul we’ve come to know and love.
Chalk up another fun and original inventive disciple to the altar of the everlasting tee-shirt. One thing’s for sure, these babies are never going out of style!
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