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• April 17, 2008
• Object Lesson

Ragtime

A unisex new line of beautifully tattered T-shirts hit the soft spot. By Valery Joseph

The search for the perfectly worn-in T-shirt is much like the Holy Grail for fans of the everyday classic. That delicious-feeling, threadbare look doesn't come easy, but thankfully, the designers behind Los Angeles-based Solid Gold Rags are sparing us that search with a new line of beautifully tattered tees.

Emblazoned with whimsical screen-prints of pop-culture icons—French singers and muses Françoise Hardy and Serge Gainsbourg front two of the collection's pieces—the almost criminally soft shirts are a few leaps and bounds from the mass-branded statement T-shirts of the past decade. "We wanted to poke fun at the recent obsessions with designer tees, that fetish'ize a specific label or brand," says co-founder Perry Shimon, who with partner Oliver Kupper came upon T-shirt making "almost accidentally."

Instead, the pair seeks to create quietly personal, everyday pieces that celebrate the individuals they admire. "These images were not chosen at random," says Shimon. "Rather, they are representative of things we've been moved and influenced by."

Solid Gold Rags T-shirts, $105, are available in New York at Woodley & Bunny, 490 Driggs Avenue, Brooklyn, and in Los Angeles at Satine, 8117 West Third Street, and through their website, www.solidgoldrags.com

A unisex new line of beautifully tattered T-shirts hits the soft spot.