championship gear NOT from fanatics/MDen/Dicks
Most of the championship gear I’ve been seeing on the big sites is cheap screenprinted crap. does anyone have a source for better gear - ie, clothes closer in look and feel to the team-issued gear (better materials, embroidered logos, etc).
My cheap stuff from 1997 disintegrated in 5 years but the good stuff is still in good enough shape to wear to games today - would love something like that for this season. Everything on Fanatics is crap and it looks like they’ve basically monopolized the market.
February 5th, 2024 at 1:29 PM ^
I got a Michigan Beat Everybody shirt from BreakingT that I really like. Underground Printing is always great -- Rishi and Ryan have been our biggest supporters...
I'm not a fan of the Michigan collection from Homefield Apparel, but a lot of people like it.
https://breakingt.com/collections/michigan-wolverines?utm_campaign=Top-…
February 5th, 2024 at 1:31 PM ^
The quality on the BreakingT stuff was good? I'd heard mixed things unfortunately which stopped me from pulling the trigger.
February 5th, 2024 at 1:33 PM ^
I like the one I have, but it's only one shirt. It's definitely better than the screen printed stuff.
February 5th, 2024 at 8:20 PM ^
Usually for t-shirts, it being screen printed is a sign of quality.
Is there a chance you're thinking about DTG (direct to garment) shirts. Those are the prints that break apart in the wash. When you see scam tshirt websites with 1000 different designs, those are DTG.
Screen printing ink last way, way long than DTG. I used to run DTG machines so I have seen first hand the deterioration happen over extended periods of time.
Sorry for being a screen printing evangelist, haha. I love tshirts and have worked in the industry a very long time.
I only buy screen printed shirts, if I can help it.
My favorite options right now for Michigan stuff that is screen printed is 47 brand and The Mitten State.
February 5th, 2024 at 8:26 PM ^
I second Mitten State
February 6th, 2024 at 5:10 PM ^
Does the mitten state stuff run small?
I went to their site and was looking at some stuff and saw they mention that their t's/sweatshirts tend to be "slimmer cuts" than what most people are used to?
February 5th, 2024 at 3:20 PM ^
I ordered a BET shirt, a 3 peat over OSU shirt, and a Michigan Beat Everybody hoody from BreakingT and I love them. Very soft, feels like nice quality. There's a really cool design that I've seen on sketchy websites that I would love, can't believe it isn't anywhere else. It is a natty logo but the Ann Arbor skyline spelled out with the players' names:
https://horusteez.com/product/official-michigan-wolverines-2023-cfp-national-champions-city-skyline-players-name-unisex-t-shirt/
Anyone have any advice on ordering that design?
February 5th, 2024 at 5:03 PM ^
Quality seems better than all the paper thin crap out there, but their sizes do run a bit small so order up a size if you are close. I ordered the one where JJ and Corum are pointing to their ring fingers.
February 5th, 2024 at 5:53 PM ^
I love the Breaking T shirts - fit, feel and quality - as far as sizing, I ordered several sizes to cover the family and then returned the ones that didn't fit. The return process at Breaking T was very smooth.
February 5th, 2024 at 1:35 PM ^
I thought I was the only one really underwhelmed by the UM stuff from Homefield. I had high hopes, but none of it really hits for me.
February 5th, 2024 at 1:38 PM ^
I love the look but the Homefield quality is crap. Shirts are thinner than clingwrap.
February 5th, 2024 at 1:47 PM ^
Agreed. I made one Homefield purchase and it sucked. Never again!
February 5th, 2024 at 1:52 PM ^
I think they pay all the Michigan twitter sports media personalities and others to go nuts every time they release something new. It doesn't seem organic.
February 5th, 2024 at 1:56 PM ^
I ordered a couple of things from them before the Natty. They're pretty nice quality. Unfortunately, their customer services is dreadful and it was an issue on two of the three orders I've made. For a brand charging premium prices, I would expect better.
Given my experience and their underwhelming drop, I opted to skip an order from them for the Natty.
February 5th, 2024 at 2:43 PM ^
I like a lot of their stuff and many of the fabrics seem a notch above what others use. But I had an issue with pilling & nearly immediate fading of the logo on the 1/4 zip I bought from them and they were basically like "the pilling is not an issue that we'd issue a replacement for, but here's a 20% off coupon." wasn't ideal. it's made me slightly less interested in buying their stuff.
February 5th, 2024 at 2:20 PM ^
I’ve always been underwhelmed by Homefield’s Michigan offerings. I suspect it’s because we lack a history of kitschy, cartoonish logos from the past, which is really where all of their best designs come from when it comes to other schools. We really just have the Wolverbear in that regard, and I’ve never been a huge fan of that.
When Homefield first started getting known (I want to say this was around 2019ish, when the Fullcast crew starting promoting them), their stuff was awesome. Designs, fit, materials, all great. I have a few tees from that era and I still wear them all the time. I thought that when they started Big New Saturdays a few years ago, they must’ve needed to scale up a lot to meet the new demand, and their quality dipped big time. Got my last couple of tees from them during that period and while I still have them, they weren’t as good as the ones before.
That all being said, I had to get one of their Michigan national champs sweatshirts and I have to say it’s tremendous. Very happy with it.
February 5th, 2024 at 2:36 PM ^
My only Homefield purchase was the NC Hoodie and I have been very satisfied with the quality and feel of it. Just ordered a crew neck for the wife because she was stealing it. I guess stay away from the shirts but the sweatshirts are good?
February 5th, 2024 at 1:39 PM ^
They got some cool stuff on there … looks like I’ll have to spend even more money
February 5th, 2024 at 1:48 PM ^
I picked up a hoodie from Homefield (not championship themed) not too long ago. It is the softest hoodie I've ever owned.
February 5th, 2024 at 1:56 PM ^
I have three home field sweatshirts. All fit and feel a little different, but all are great. My Vermont Catamounts (have family from there) sweatshirt is the most typical type (a little heavier material, not quite as soft), my Michigan (not championship) is lighter and super soft, and my Michigan 2023 NC sweatshirt is somewhere in the middle.
February 5th, 2024 at 2:15 PM ^
The Homefield quality used to be incredibly good. Have a pair of Michigan joggers and a couple shirts and hoodies that are amazing. About a year ago, I think they switched suppliers- had to go up a size (had a few friends commenting the same, so wasn't just me) and the material wasn't as soft or comfortable...and the shirts are definitely thinner than they used to be.
February 5th, 2024 at 1:35 PM ^
The Champion gear from MDen looks clean. The Antigua polos and quarter zips are nice. The rest is way too busy.
February 5th, 2024 at 1:42 PM ^
Just wanted to echo on the Antigua quarter zips. FANTASTIC.
February 5th, 2024 at 2:16 PM ^
Thanks. I've been debating pulling the trigger on one of those as I prefer a better quality fit with a minimalist look but didn't own any Antigua before.
February 5th, 2024 at 1:36 PM ^
If you're willing to spend:
https://www.petermillar.com/c/game-day/mens-collegiate/big-ten/michigan
February 5th, 2024 at 1:49 PM ^
I have some Peter Millar golf apparel. The quality has always been very good.
I wish some offerings had the CFP "Seal" on one side - and a block M on the other - or "M National Chanpions". I thought the post game gear the players wore after both the Rose Bowl and the NC game during pressers was very sharp.
February 5th, 2024 at 9:05 PM ^
You just cost me $320 and I thank you.
February 5th, 2024 at 1:36 PM ^
Peter Millar has a lot of stuff if you're into $300 vests and things of that nature.
February 5th, 2024 at 4:11 PM ^
Translation: if you want high quality, you have to pay for high quality.
Same as it ever was.
February 5th, 2024 at 1:40 PM ^
MDen has embroidered Champions hoodies & crew necks.
Using this space to vent my frustration against Nike and by extension MDen: they’ve really been dropping the ball in terms of fan gear IMO. I paid $175 for an “authentic” Lions Hutch jersey but apparently starting this year they don’t stitch the numbers or name on their “authentic” NFL jerseys anymore. Which is probably related to why they haven’t provided MDen stock of authentic jerseys in like 2 years (been wanting to get a Corum one) so you have to go pay $120 for a screenprinted one but even those are rarely ever in stock at MDen. I’m pretty sure this is all a Nike issue and not an MDen one but if it’s an MDen issue then U-M needs to give someone else licensing to make authentic jerseys instead of MDen having exclusivity. I just want them to sell the Rose Bowl jerseys like they used to, is that so much to ask for? They’re essentially forcing people to buy knockoff jerseys and you can see players’ parents & families all wearing knockoff jerseys at the games since they’re in the same predicament as us. Kind of an embarrassing look for Nike & U-M.
TLDR: The Nike/Jordan gear looks great on the field but it’s been a huge disappointment in terms of fan apparel.
February 5th, 2024 at 1:42 PM ^
Johnnie-O is top notch and probably the most comfortable brand I wear these days (along with Peter Millar). They also have championship gear.
Overall, their stuff fits a lot more true to size, and the materials are great.
Also, thought it’s been said already by others, check out Peter Millar. Really good materials like Johnnie-O but maybe slightly more mature.
As a heads up, their stuff fits a bit large.
- Get Crown for a standard - albeit a somewhat loose - fit.
- Get Crown Crafted for a slightly more tailored fit.
- Get Crown Sport for a pretty loose fit.
Their stuff all fits a little big on most people, so order 2 sizes if you’re unsure and just send one back.
February 5th, 2024 at 5:37 PM ^
The natty logo is screen printed crap. Won’t last sadly
February 5th, 2024 at 1:43 PM ^
Homefield Apparel's stuff is along the 90s vintage style that's popular at the moment.
If you're looking for a t-shirt or hoodie, Mitten State has 70s and 80s style gear: https://themittenstate.com/collections/university-of-michigan?_=pf&pf_t_collection=National%20Champions
February 5th, 2024 at 1:26 PM ^
Here's what I came up with. https://mgoblogstore.com/collections/mgoblog. I'm wearing the one on the left right now.
Open to more ideas as long as they don't break CLC rules (can't say Michigan or the name of other teams or bowls, can't use copyrighted symbols, etc). I've been trying to think of another concept that has the NC drowning out everything else in my brain.
February 5th, 2024 at 2:00 PM ^
oh and this.
February 5th, 2024 at 2:02 PM ^
Wish y'all would put out the word for submissions. A lot of us have background in design and such and could turn out some great stuff.
February 5th, 2024 at 2:56 PM ^
Post it right here. You’ll get brutally honest instant feedback.
February 5th, 2024 at 2:56 PM ^
wish granted, he just did
February 5th, 2024 at 3:20 PM ^
my idea: 2023 Champions of the
north&
south&
east&
west
February 5th, 2024 at 3:38 PM ^
Seth, how about a t shirt that says 2023 college football national champions? Don't need to say Michigan, the colors make it pretty clear.
February 5th, 2024 at 4:38 PM ^
Is "those who stay" a copyrighted saying? I've been obsessed with the broader meanings of it since one of the podcasts.
Maybe a variation of that like "Those Who Stayed", but the internet tells me that's also the name of something else entirely.
Or "Those who stayed are champions"
February 5th, 2024 at 6:49 PM ^
“We’re in the ass-kicking business. And business is booming.”
February 5th, 2024 at 9:02 PM ^
I've got an idea, but I lack design skills. If someone thinks this idea has merit, and is able to profit from it, all I ask is for you to send me a link to buy, and maybe a b1g1 free coupon ;p
https://wordart.com/ooc7iiijqz9s/untitled
February 5th, 2024 at 9:20 PM ^
What about something like:
144EVER
(TEAM 144EVER would be even better but maybe the “Team Number” thing is copyrighted?)
February 5th, 2024 at 1:53 PM ^
I generally agree that what's out there isn't great, although I did find a long-sleeve t-shirt and a hat from Fanatics that I like. Not to step over the tracks or anything but my counterfeit game jersey with National Champions patch and selected name and # arrived from Thailand via New Jersey over the weekend and it's really nice...
February 5th, 2024 at 1:55 PM ^
A lot has been said in here. I like the Cutter and Buck stuff on fanatics you can get. The Antigua stuff fits me weird, but I have had good luck w/ Cutter and Buck. Takes a bit longer to ship, but they have tons of polos, 1/4 zips, jackets, etc. My National Championship 1/4 zip w/ an embroidered logo is a nice piece with quality feel. Bit pricier than than some, but cheaper than your Peter Millar/Johnnie O stuff.
February 5th, 2024 at 1:57 PM ^
Got a hat and at my local Costco (Telegraph Rd in Bloomfield Hills) the other day. Good quality baseball hat was $19 as compared to $40 at MDen.
February 5th, 2024 at 2:03 PM ^
Curious what that looks like. Costcos in Florida are shockingly not carrying that merch.
February 5th, 2024 at 2:41 PM ^
I always assumed Costcos in Florida only sold Meth anyway.
February 5th, 2024 at 3:01 PM ^
They also have 2 pound hot dogs for a dollar