The 100% Cotton Nightmare

download (1)Cotton is comfortable, breathable, natural….and it shrinks. We all know the horror of buying the perfect cotton tee only to have it fit like a child’s shirt after the first wash. Here’s how to avoid the nightmare that is 100% cotton:

1. Avoid heat and warm water.
Heat is the main cause of shrinking in cotton. Most people use hot water to knock-out stains or odor but we must not let the entire garment suffer for one spot. Instead, use soap and cold water. This should get most of it out as long as its not too far gone. If you’ve used warm water to wash the gament even once, it might be too late.

2. Use a slow and delicate cycle.
A gentle cycle will prevent the cotton fibers from breaking, therefore; ensuring that the garment lasts as long as possible in its current state.

3. Avoid the dryer.
A hot dryer will shrink any cotton shirt that is not already pre-shrunk. Lying the garment on a clean, flat surface will allow it to dry on its own. For fast drying, place a fan next to a hanging garment and allow the cool air to blow it dry.

The ultimate question is: Can you reverse your already shrunken shirt? And I hate to tell you the answer is no. It is important to look at labels when you are shopping for clothes because finding a preshrunk shirt can save you a lot of time and heartache.

The only alternative we have to keeping your stuff looking fresh and prevent the shrinking other than the topics above is dry-cleaning. That and never washing your clothes!

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Vans Shoes Fit Guide – Finding the Perfect Size

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Vans has been in the business of making sweet shoes for years. If you are looking to invest in your first pair of vans shoes, this helpful guide will aim to help find the perfect fit pair of Vans for you.

BrannockDevice__56388_zoomVans shoes claim to run “true to size.” What does this mean? Vans are sized according to the US standard which is determined on a Brannock device. This means that the shoes don’t fit smaller or larger than a standard shoe. So the best way to choose your vans shoe would be either get your shoe size measured or alternatively if you usually buy size 9 in most shoe brands, then a Vans 9 would fit the same.

In addition, all Vans Classic shoes come in men’s sizing and women’s sizing (regardless if the style seems to be women’s style with a bunch of sparkles and pink ribbons on it). Basically, the company does not gender bias its customers. If you are a dude and enjoy plenty of glitter and ribbons on your shoe– that is your business. And if you are the chica that wants to roll with the chunkiest skate shoe in the industry. Well, have a blast! This is why on our site you will see all vans shoes listed with the mens size and the women’s size equivalent.

 

Sizes displayed on our site depicting both the mens and womens sizing equivalents.

Sizes displayed on our site depicting both the mens and womens sizing equivalents.

 

In some cases it is also important to know the conversion between US, UK, and Mexico and European sizes. Here is a nifty size conversion chart direct from vans that may be helpful for our friends outside the USA. The first column displays the US Size.

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Other Useful Information:

Some Vans styles can waver a bit from true-to-size. For instance, Slip-ons fit tighter at first but will loosen out with wear. In addition, high performance skate shoes tend to fit snugly. It could also help to know that all Vans shoes are manufactured in medium width so if width has been an issue in the past, it could benefit you to order a half size up to make up for the difference.

Sometimes we find our feet falling between two sizes. One of the easiest ways to fix this issue is with a pair of insoles. Say you go to try on a pair of Van’s slip-ons but it turns out that an 8.5 is too small and a 9 is too big. Instead of throwing in the towel and settling for a less awesome pair of shoes, buy the 9s and an inexpensive pair of superfeet deluxe insoles to make up for the space.

Happy shopping!

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Converse Size Conversion Guide – From UK, EUR, CM, USA

This article hopes to help you convert your Converse shoe size between the many different measurements used for shoes. Hopefully this short guide will help you choose the right size for your upcoming converse shoe purchase.

converse2First off, I pulled one pair of shoes from our massive warehouse so you can take a look at the sizing guide written on the outside of the shoe box. You will notice that the shoe size and conversion is actually indicated on the shoe box. Directly below the USA size the UK, EUR, and CM measurements are indicated.

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In addition, if you look at the inside tongue of the shoe, the same size conversion will also be indicated. In case you already own a pair and need to simply purchase a new pair– simply reference the markings on your existing pair to make your purchase seamless.

For those of you that do not already own a pair please refer to the sizing chart shown below. Please note that this size chart only applies to the classic chuck taylor style which is any of the converse shoes that follows this silhouette for the low top version and this silhouette for the high top version. The size chart does NOT apply to any other version of the shoe including: jack purcell, slip-on, skate line, etc…  For the best fit we also recommend that you try on a pair at your local store. However if this is not an option, this chart provides the same information indicated on all of the shoe boxes.

 Converse size conversion chart between US, UK, EUR, CM,

US Men’s Size UK Size US Women’s Size European Size Centimeter
3 3 5 35 22
3.5 3.5 5.5 36 22.5
4 4 6 36.5 23
4.5 4.5 6.5 37 23.5
5 5 7 37.5 24
5.5 5.5 7.5 38 24.5
6 6 8 39 25
6.5 6.5 8.5 39.5 25.5
7 7 9 40 26
7.5 7.5 9.5 41 26.5
8 8 10 41.5 27
8.5 8.5 10.5 42 27.5
9 9 11 42.5 28
9.5 9.5 11.5 43 28.5
10 10 12 44 29
10.5 10.5 12.5 44.5 29.5
11 11 13 45 30
11.5 11.5 13.5 46 31.5
12 12 14 46.5 32
13 13 15 47.5 33
14 14 16 48.5 34
15 15 17 49.5 35
16 16 18 50.5 36

One thing you may notice is that the US and the UK version of the sizes are the same.  For all US Shoe buyers we recommend that you read our blog post on Getting the Right Size. This article provides additional vital information for US converse buyers.

Back to Basics for Imaginary Foundation

The past two years have been blasted with a lot of color for some of the older fans of Imaginary Foundation. Imaginary’s focus has been on their sublimation tees for the majority of 2013 and 2014. The prints were mind blowing and saturated in color. They provided Nick Philip with a bit more freedom for his art on tees.

However, in the past season or two we have seen a transition back to the basics of Imaginary foundation’s original focus, printed artwork on the traditional cotton tee. For some of the older fans of the brand this is a positive transition back to the original fit and color balance. Although the sublimation tees were fun, there was a struggle for me to pull off the crazy color schemes. Not to mention pulling focus off anything other than your t-shirt. I am glad to see this new seasons releases with some more simplistic designs. Below are a few good ones from the recent drop.

 

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Mens Horizon T-Shirt

 

 

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Mens Cosmological T-Shirt

 

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Mens Space X T-Shirt

I am celebrating the ‘bringing back’ of the traditional cotton tee back to the line. Even so, the sublimation tees are still in production. So if you liked the newer stuff there is still more to come. However the volume has been slightly turned down. Enjoy the old skool vibe back in the Imaginary kingdom.