Community — TeeTracker

Community / Wiki

The Knowledge
Base

Guides, histories, and deep dives written by collectors, for collectors. How to spot fakes. How to date a tag. Why some eras matter more than others.

+ Write a Guide

Dating Hanes Tags: A Complete Visual Guide, 1960–2000

The Hanes tag changed more than a dozen times across four decades. Here's how to read exactly when your shirt was made — from the early double-stitch era through the Heavyweight years to the modern tag transition.

By Jorax 12 min read 47 helpful

Hanes
Tag
Guide

Guides

Screen Stars
History

Screen Stars by Fruit of the Loom — Tag Evolution 1970–1995

The Screen Stars label is one of the most important in vintage collecting. Here's the complete timeline of tag changes and what each era means for dating your piece.

By ArchivistMike·8 min read·31 helpful

Single
vs Double
Stitch

Single Stitch vs Double Stitch — What It Means and When the Shift Happened

Single stitch sleeves are the #1 indicator of pre-1994 American manufacturing. Here's how to identify them, why they matter, and the exact timeline of the industry shift.

By VintageDave·6 min read·88 helpful

Fake Spotting

Nirvana
Fake
Guide

How to Spot a Fake Nirvana In Utero Tee — 8 Red Flags

Nirvana tees are the most faked shirts in the vintage market. Here's exactly what to look for — tag construction, print quality, fabric weight, and the details that counterfeit operations always get wrong.

By RealOrRep·10 min read·124 helpful

Band Tee
Fakes
2024

The State of Band Tee Counterfeiting in 2024 — What's Getting Faked and How

The vintage band tee market has attracted serious counterfeit operations. This guide covers the most-faked artists, the most common tells, and how to protect yourself buying online.

By TeeTracker Community·15 min read·203 helpful

Era Deep Dives

Golden Age
Screen
Print

The Golden Age of American Screen Printing: 1985–1994

Why the late 80s and early 90s represent the peak of vintage tee culture — the blanks, the ink, the bootleg economy, and why NAFTA changed everything in 1994.

By Jorax·18 min read·67 helpful

Grateful
Dead
Merch

Artist Deep Dive

The Complete Grateful Dead Merch Universe — Official, Bootleg, and Everything In Between

The Dead had the most sophisticated unofficial merch ecosystem in music history. Here's how to navigate it — from lot tees to official tour shirts to the grey zone in between.

By DeadheadDave·22 min read·89 helpful

Know something about tag histories, fake spotting, or a specific era? Write a guide. The community gets better when collectors share what they know.

Write a Guide → Suggest an Edit →