How to photograph band shirts, look after them, read their tags, stitching and tour prints, and tell what you're holding. Plain answers, with the sources we used.
Soft daylight, no flash, the phone held flat over the item, a plain background, and close-ups of the tag, the stitching and every flaw. What museum photography guides advise, and how it applies to a shirt on your floor.
Updated 13 October 2026
The dates, cities and small print on the back of a tour shirt say which tour its design was made for, not that every show on it happened or when the shirt was printed. How to read them, and where to check.
Updated 13 October 2026
Wash inside out, cold and gently, keep vintage shirts out of the dryer, fold them rather than hang them, and keep them out of the light. What museum and university textile guidance says, and why.
Updated 13 October 2026
One row of stitching on a T-shirt's sleeves and hem, or two. How to tell them apart, why the hem changed, and why single stitch suggests an older shirt without proving one.
Updated 13 October 2026
What the tag inside a vintage band shirt can and can't tell you about when it was made, from the maker's name to the care label and the stitching.
Updated 12 October 2026
Signs that a band shirt may be unofficial: print quality, tags, tour dates, copyright and licensed-by lines, and known reprint signs. Signs, not proof.
Updated 12 October 2026
MerchVice is where people show off the band merch they own, trade it and sell it. Your items, your bands, your people.
