From the maker

Our “Logo Tee” is made from an 8oz cotton and is cut for a classic 50s boxy fit. The binder neck is designed to maintain the shape of the neckline over time and repeated washes. The Real McCoy’s Wing Mark logo is Rubber-printed by hand in our Kobe-based factory. This version, featuring a single-color outline logo is exclusive to therealmccoys.com.

The concept of a clothing manufacturer featuring their own logo as self-referential design is a product of the ‘logomania’ era of the 1990s, which has created a standalone product category, particular in streetwear fashion where the logo tee is an iconic statement but equally, a sort of contradiction-in-terms where the purpose of the design serves only to promote itself. The use of t-shirts as a promotional tool for brands has its origins in the 1970s, when it became home for corporate merchandise and political statements & campaigning - or in the form of the ‘band tee’, the most eminent of those being Rolling Stones ‘The Tongue’ logo, the success and ubiquity of which can be seen as the genesis for the proliferation of logo tees and their place in the zeitgeist of the late 20th century.

Before the logo became the product, the appeal of external branding came from an association with something aspirational, initial examples of which can be seen in the early 1900s, where wearers of garments made using Stifel brand fabric would often wear them inside out, making the screened Stifel ‘Boot Logo’ visible, or most famously, denim overall makers addition of graphic, external leather patches in the 1880s, distinguishing them from their competitors.