I’ve talked in the past about my quest to find the perfect ‘90s T-shirt before. Well, I can finally soak my calloused fingertips, having stumbled upon the de-fabulous DEFUNKD store.

Through the wonders of Twitter, the guys saw my status about hooking up an OG Bell Biv Devoe tee, and pointed me in the direction of their site. There I found pages and pages of mouth-watering, jaw-dropping funky fresh tees, most that I had never seen before. How could this be?! Not only aficionados in radilicious rap, the website boasts endless information on every genre of vintage tees not to mention ways to find the perfect vintage wear.

No short intro could possibly do them justice. I had to go straight to the horse’s mouth scoring an exclusive interview with the CEO of DEFUNKD Mr Jimmy James.

Mafia: Give us the lowdown on how DEFUNKD started and why you felt it necessary to launch the store?

Jimmy: I am super nostalgic and have always paid the bills doing things I love. In the early ‘00s I noticed the vintage T-shirt market was starting to erupt so it seemed like a perfect fit.

Mafia: No-one wants to give away where they source such t-shirt gold from, but how hard is the hunt these days?

Jimmy: Sourcing this stuff has always been the biggest obstacle with my biz. I’ve always maintained a strict policy of dealing only in original vintage, coining the motto “say NO to repro”. By doing so I also severely limited my inventory because I can’t pick up the phone, call a supplier and order 100 vintage RUN DMC T-shirts.

To maintain flow I’ve had to use a combination of sources: picking at the elusive rag-houses, a strict weekly thrift store routine, making contacts with retired concert merchandise managers and I have also done my fair share of buying online.

Mafia: What is it about vintage tees that have given them such a massive resell value? How do you calculate the prices?

Jimmy: It’s basically three buyers that drive the market. Nostalgic fans, fashionistas and collectors. Some people buy a shirt because it brings back memories, others because it’s somewhat trendy - a vintage T-shirt and jeans will never go out of style. And finally there’s the hardcore collectors who own hundreds and cherish each and every one.

My prices are determined by how rare the particular shirt is and then adjusted depending on what condition it’s in. I know some of my prices are flat out ridiculous but that’s because of one of two things: you’ll probably never find the shirt again and/or I really don’t want to part with it.

Mafia: How has it been having the store completely driven by eBay? What was the decision to go into business this way?

Jimmy: eBay is the place to be in terms of sought after collectibles.

Mafia: How has it grown since its inception?

Jimmy: I started in 2004 with a small series of auctions. That eventually turned to the first store on eBay specifically devoted to music related vintage T-shirts. At one point I had an inventory of over 400 shirts. In 2007 I won an award from eBay for my entrepreneurial efforts. I wanted to keep innovating so I actually reduced my stock and carried a more exclusive selection. Then I had more time focus my attention on “The Vintage Aficionado” the world’s only vintage T-shirt blog. Due to its popularity I just launched “The Vintage Aphrodite” a sister blog for the ladies.

Mafia: What has been the flyest t-shirt you have had in your store?

Jimmy: “Fly” you say? Then I would have to say a promo shirt from 1977 that featured a disco band called “Heatwave”. They did an anthem called “Boogie Nights,” which is pretty much the definition of fly if you ask me. Take a look at the video for the song and you’ll understand what I’m talking about.
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQnOi2bV7Ts

Mafia: Rock tee or Rap – what sells better?

Jimmy: Definitely a higher turn over with rock because it been around for decades longer, has a broader audience and as a result a larger vintage inventory floating around. However, some of the most expensive shirts can be of the hip hop genre because they weren’t as mass produced and are now in greater demand. That industry tends to put a higher premium on fashion and shows more respect to the old school pioneers.

Mafia: Black Tee or White?

Jimmy: I don’t see black or white, I just see T-shirts.

Mafia: Top five vintage tees of all time?

Jimmy: I’ve always favored the rare tee over the popular band one. I bid on a DJ Fast Eddie T-Shirt and lost, and have regretted it ever since. The Kurtis Blow T-shirt in my store is one of my favorites. I also just sold a Tony Toni Tony T-shirt to DJ AM, and it definitely didn’t “feel good” to part with it. And of course the Beat Street T-shirt in my store brings back plenty of elementary school break dancing memories. I sold an amazing all over print Prodigy T-shirt a couple of years back thinking I would find it again and I never have. I’m going to their concert in a few days so I even approached the customer to buy it back and she politely explained that it wasn’t leaving the frame it was in.

Defunkd Blog – Mens
Defunkd Blog – Womens
Defunkd eBay store