CHANCES are, if the gift you receive for your birthday or for Christmas is wrapped but not placed in a box, it will be a T-shirt.
And if you have relatives in Manila, then like me, you must have at one time received one bought in Baclaran. It has been many years now that I received one purchased from that bargain center, but the T-shirt craze has far from waned. Not even the ukay-ukay phenomenon has deterred the creation of eye-catching designs.
The tees though have gone the direction of niche marketing. And this direction only inspired local T-shirt makers. Many boutiques have opened catering to locally produced brands. Among the more popular ones are Nick Automatic, Think Positive, and Skills and Bones. These brands have their exclusive outlets.
One boutique though that has gone rather inclusive is AST Tee in Sampaguita Suites in Mango Avenue. The store’s brands, though millennial leaning, catch every shirt lover’s eyes with their anime-cum-gothic inspired designs. The boutique has tees by Doodletoons, Swashbuckler Ink (SBI), Waves and Arrows, Revolt Cycle, Jones Avenue Wearables, Revolt Cycle, Kush, Set Sail, Rise of Brutality, Black Veil Apparel, BLVK (Black) and, the store’s own AST Coolectees. The only foreign brand it has is Macbeth.
If you are short on gift ideas, you could visit AST Tee and all the other local shirt selling boutiques. Here are some designs that you will see there.
Models: Camille Brown (MAC) and Khristine Baguio (MAC)