Dress Up The Tired T-shirt

A little razzle-dazzle never fails to lift one's spirits. Especially in the dead of winter, when days are short, appetites peak and the urge to hibernate sets in.

Blinged-out T-shirts are but one way for a recessionista - or recessionisto - to add sparkle without breaking the bank - or sparking envy - with new bijoux. Here are just a few of the innovative designs now circulating in New Orleans.

With President-elect Barack Obama’s historic inauguration just days away, you’ll help feed the frenzy in these fabulous and inspired Ts from The Afro-American Book Stop. Underneath an iconic rhinestone-encrusted portrait of Obama, the 44th president of the United States, are the varying messages: “President,” “Hope” and “Victory.” The holographic Ts come in black, brown, baby pink, hot pink and navy blue. Small, medium, large and extra-large sizes are available.




The fitted, women’s T-shirts are 95 percent cotton and 5 percent spandex. Unisex Ts are 100 percent cotton. They sell at $20 each.




“People come in the store and fall in love with them,” said proprietress Michelle Lewis, who’d sold one-third of the two-week-old inventory by the end of December. “They like them because they’re different. I ordered these because I hadn’t seen them anywhere else.”

At Accessory Lady, on the other side of town, Patrick DeLatte designs many of his own statement-making bejeweled Ts. He’s been in the T-shirt business for 30 years.

“I expanded on it,” he says of his competitors’ oftentimes cheap and tourist-y shirts. “I wanted to create something that would be an eye-catcher.” All of DeLatte’s T-shirts are minted onto 100 percent high-grade cotton. This is one of two T-shirt shops he owns.

From his studio, DeLatte makes the shirts using a 400-degree heat machine. He presses just a few shirts at a time. Each shirt takes about one minute to create, using self-designed and stock transfers in rhinestone and sometimes studs.

The ever-popular studded fleur de lis and the nouveau kitty love are two current DeLatte designs featured in Accessory Lady of New Orleans. The shirts are priced $21.95 to $27.95 (long sleeves). Inventory is primarily black, but baby pink is also available.




“These [diamond-like sparklers] are not ever gonna come out. No matter how much you wash the shirt or how many years you’ve had it,” he says proudly. “These are quality shirts.”

Visit Accessory Lady of New Orleans at #1 Poydras St. inside the Riverwalk Mall, Level C; (504) 525-8797.

Shop The Afro-American Book Stop at 7056 Read Blvd. in New Orleans East; (504) 243-2436.

Article by Dion M. Harris