MFP Mad Max blue T-shirt shootout

[Karol]

It would be hard to believe they would discontinue their trademark raglan t-shirts. Here's an article on their Australian exit:

http://www.smh.com.au/business/pac-bran ... -8hei.html

The article mentions a Joe Ferreira who was a dyer. Maybe we can track some of these unemployed blokes down and ask them to dye us some light blue shirts to Bonds specs.

[N1ck284]

For whoever asked - I've seen some of their white raglans in stores and as Karol said, I doubt they'd discontinue their trademark shirt.

[Max Replica]

I'm not that worried about them discontinuing their shirt (though I guess anything is possible), I'm more worried about a possible drop in quality.
And if I'm going to pay for something to be shipped to the U.S. from Australia, I like the idea of it being Australian-made.

[Max Replica]

I can update this thread. As I feared, the new Bonds shirts made in China appear to be lower quality.
I recently purchased a new black Bonds raglan t-shirt from Australia (March 2010). I can confirm that the label now says "Designed in Australia. Made in China".
While it still says it's 100% cotton, the feel of this shirt is a bit rougher, maybe a looser weave than before. The Bonds shirt I bought just a year ago that was still made in Australia definitely feels softer.

On top of that, even the Bonds shirt I have from a year ago doesn't feel as soft as the vintage Bonds shirt I have (it is vintage but has not been washed. It guess it's a decade or two old).

Oh well. I guess like many brands, quality is less important to Bonds these days than profit.

[PursuitSpecial]

Great comparison. I picked up the darker blue Michaels shirt a few years ago because it's what I thought matched in my mind at the time. Great to see an actual comparison with some other versions. I like the idea of dying the batch of white shirts the same color blue. I'd be up for that.

[Max Replica]

As I just posted in a new thread, I managed to finally find an original Aussie blue shirt. So I have sort of lost my motivation to stay involved with trying to find a U.S. equivalent.
But this would certainly be a worthwhile project for someone else to undertake for the fans. Karol and I can't do it all! : )

[PursuitSpecial]

I don't have any way to compare it to an actual Bonds, but I saw a light blue Nordic Track brand T-Shirt in sears today that looked close. The price was 2 for $10, or $6.98 if you just buy one.

I pulled another light blue one out of my closet that I got a while back at Champs Sports. I also have the Target Merona brand shirt and the Michaels shirt. The Champs Sports shirt is darker than the Target shirt but lighter than the Michaels shirt.

Here's a pic that goes Target, Champs Sports, Michaels left to right. The Target shirt is brand new, so you can see the color difference from your pic to mine.

http://img202.imageshack.us/img202/1560/pict0004qp.jpg

Any chance someone with an actual blue bonds shirt could check out the Sears shirt and the Champs Sports shirt (buy, snap pics, and return) to see how close they are?

Pretty please....???

[Max Replica]

I don't know the next time I would be at either of those stores and by the time I am those particular shirts could be long gone. But I'll take a look if I happen to find myself there.
Hard to judge your pics vs. mine since the colors are so wildly different (different lighting conditions etc.) but if a shirt is darker than the Target Merona shirt and lighter than the Michaels one, it could definitely be in the ballpark. It would almost certainly look correct unless you were putting it right next to an actual Bonds.

By the way, even my Bond's shirt and Karol's are slightly different shades since his has been washed a few times and mine hasn't.

[A Quick Fella]

I've been using a light blue T-shirt that I got from Sports Authority. It is made by Russell. The color appears to be something in between the Bonds shirt and the Michaels shirt. A few washes has lightened the color up a bit.

Doug

[Mad_El Greco_Max]

I found the following on Marks & Spencers (Blue Harbour t-shirt line) for 10€.