Vendor sells shirts with a soul

Every item sold at the 8onRepeat show at the Ferguson Center Plaza last week was previously worn and made before 1989, but some students were willing to shell out a lot of money for a vintage T-shirt.

Popular bands, brands and old advertising logos decorated the worn shirts that lined the 13 clothing racks out on display to catch the eyes of students running late for class Thursday and Friday.

Wearing vintage clothing allows people to dress uniquely, 8onRepeat owner and former UA student Brandon Gardner said.

"They're one-of-a kind, so you don't have to worry about what your friends are wearing," he said.

Gardner said he often wonders who wore his T-shirt before, and it's interesting to think about the past of each shirt.

"[Vintage clothing] has a soul," he said.

At age 33, Gardner said has always been interested in vintage clothing, but did not just wake up one morning and decide, "I'm going to sell dirt-old T-shirts."

He has worked in the past as a river guide on the Ocoee River in Copperhill, Tenn., a ski lift operator in Vail, Colo., and a driver of a Tom's Potato Chip truck for his father.

Gardner began chasing his vintage dream about seven years ago, when he sold his thrift store finds out of the bedroom in his Birmingham home.

"I find and sell all the T-shirts your mom got rid of," he said. "That's my job."

With two levels of racks of T-shirts crowding his bedroom, there was only room for his bed and computer.

"There was just this rainbow of T-shirts," he said. "It got pretty cramped."

The average price of the shirts he sells is $20, but more valuable pieces can cost up to $300.

One of the most valuable shirts he has for sale is a Ramones Rockets to Russia tour shirt from 1977. He said he thinks his oldest shirts date back to the 1950s, but it would be hard to prove.

Gardner said it is difficult to give up some shirts he has grown attached to. He even admitted he is sometimes tempted to raise the price of shirts because it is hard for him to give them up. He pointed to a nearby Sunkist shirt as an example.

Some of Gardner's favorite T-shirts include an AC/DC shirt and an old English soccer shirt.

"Whenever I wear my soccer shirt, I always seem to have a fantastic day," he said.

Gardner even wore the T-shirt to his engagement party. He said his wife Jacklyn, who works at a retirement home, is very supportive of his business.

She learned to cope with the fact that, whenever they go on vacation together, he needs an extra day and a rental car to browse local thrift shops to add to his collection.

"I've got to get my thrift on," he said.

He has been to thrift shops all around the country. He would not reveal the name of his favorite thrift shop in Birmingham.

"I don't want to jinx it," he said.

He said there are a lot of good opportunities to "thrift" in his hometown, though the selection in Tuscaloosa is not as great.

His parents are supportive too, he said. They are in a similar line of business - the antique business - so they understand the appreciation of aged aesthetics.

Another allure of T-shirts is their significance to American culture, he said. Marlin Brando and James Dean made the casually cool American staple famous in Brando's "A Streetcar Named Desire" in 1951 and "The Wild One" in 1953, and Dean's "A Rebel Without a Cause" in 1955.

"It was like a form of rebellion," Gardner said.

Gardner referred to vintage T-shirts as a "part of Americana," but said there is a risk of losing the treasured "accessible form of art" as an American staple because T-shirts are now often made in foreign countries.

"We're losing part of that culture," he said.

T-shirts were first distributed in bulk to the military for World War II, he said, but colleges were some of the first to start printing logos on the shirts with stencils and car paint to show school spirit.

Gardner's collection includes a local interest to UA fans. He has several "disco shirts" that were designed by Joe Namath's clothing label, which have cheesy scenic images from forests and the mountains printed on them.

Matt Copland, a customer who does not attend the University, said he will not spend too much on shirts, but prefers them to be vintage.

"It pushes them up in coolness," he said.

Those interested in expanding their vintage wardrobe can learn about Gardner's business at his myspace page at www.myspace.com/8onrepeat. The next show will be held on Saturday at the Rojo restaurant in Birmingham.