Stab Recommends: Summer’s Best Graphic Tees

When you think of summer, what comes to mind? Scorching temps, ice-cold lemonade, and The Sandlot? 

What about graphic tees? Having attended a school in which we were forced to wear navy, khaki, and maroon uniforms for much of my childhood, the liberation that came with shedding the polos and Merrels and throwing on ratty skate tees is one steeped in youthful nostalgia. 

The collection of prints below is made up of some of our favorite surf brands as well as a few choice offerings from Mr. Porter’s new ‘Tee Store’, where they’ve tapped an eclectic mix of industry titans and cult print shops for an entirely exclusively collection. 

Your W.F.H wardrobe has likely seen better days given the length of its necessary rotation. With office attire still out of the picture for the foreseeable future, do yourself a solid and cop one of our picks below, your co-worker’s reactions next time you sign into Zoom will be worth it alone.

Octopus Juggernaut Tee

Octopus made a name for themselves with their highly coveted murdered out luggage and premium traction. That being said, don’t sleep on their soft-goods. This graphic induces nightmarish ideas of a post apocalyptic capitalist psychosphere, a jovial addition to your summer rotation!

Endless Joy ‘Woman’

Endless Joy isn’t your every day graphic tee biz. Seeing the brand as an “extension of their artistic practice in the form of an ongoing collection original artworks presented on garments,” Alexandra and Stevie Anderson have seamlessly transferred their fine art practice into a brand with some of the most unique prints on the market. This full frontal graphic tee is a great way to start your own journey into endless joy. 

Billabong ‘Red Fish’ Tee

You have to be a psychopath to dislike Dr. Suess. Billabong does well to revive the nostalgic graphics from the 1960 classic One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish—who knew we needed a clash of core surf and timeless childhood poetry until it was here?

Roark ‘Suspended’ Tee

The Hills Have Eyes meets Indiana Jones: Temple of Doom in this print from Roark Revival. While we’d relish in a Roark x H. Ford collab, the inspo for this tee was drawn from Central Java’s Selopamioro Suspension Bridge.

Globe C.O.F. Tee

Globe’s about to completely re-vamp their product mix with sustainable sourced year-round designs (the decision of which played a big part in Taj’s signing with them). With that being said, their C.O.F tee’s are sensational and directly support some of the best surfing content we’ve seen over the past few years. Who knows how much longer these will be available, so we recommend you get your mitts on one ASAP.

Come Tees ‘Part The Weeds’

As a part of their exclusive tee capsule, Mr. Porter tapped LA’s Come Tees for a reworked colorway of their ‘Part The Weeds’ Graphic. While many of their clothes emanate tongue in cheek innuendos and/or no-holds-barred political messaging, you can whimsically channel your acid-washed rave days with this 100% made in LA exclusive.

Carhartt WIP Graphic Tee

Carhartt is yet another brand with a firmly rooted cult following that’s dishing graphics for Mr. Porter’s new line. While known more for their outerwear and headgear than their tees, the elephant is clearly having a hard time balancing on their iconic C logo as a result of the band-aid on his derriere.

Acne x Daniel Silver

In celebration of their new Stockholm HQ, the Swedish collective links up with with British artist Daniel Silver to create a run of prints out of the brand’s archival fabrics. Having notably dabbled in surf in the past, vintage Acne graphics are on many a list of grails, this commemorative print’s sure to age nicely.

Vans Vault ‘Off The Wall’ Tee

With Mr. Porter tapping all of the cool kids for the Gone Surfing capsule, we knew it was only a matter of time before Vans joined the party. With an exclusive Off the Wall print from their step above normal Vans Vault line, buy this and feel confident you won’t get caught in line at the local coffee joint just to find the guy behind you’s rocking the same Vans gear. Embarrassing!

Banks ‘Mermaid’ Tee

Bank’s blanks are some of the softest at their pice point. Mermaid sightings are always cause for celebration, why not roll the dice and see if any of their mystic aura rubs off on you?

Volcom ‘Hunter Gatherer’ Tee

The idea that core surf brands only produce splashy logo tees has come and gone. Many of the major players in surf have begun the (albeit slow) transition from producing clothes with a focus on Marketing ROI to making stuff their consumers actually want to wear. We applaud Volcom for their execution of this Hunter-Gatherer tee and keeping the branding to a minimum.