The Master Guide to Australian Vintage T-Shirt Tags

December 10, 2020

When I first began collecting vintage, I didn’t know or understand what the importance of a tag was, let alone the variations. While collecting and curating tees for a drop of solely Australian vintage t-shirts I managed to come across pieces that not only piqued my curiosity but broadened my understanding and knowledge. Had I known it would lead me down such a deep rabbit hole I don't know that I would've completed this rough reference guide for you to view due to the pure volume of tags that have revealed themselves to me in the process of creating this guide. Now that it is somewhat expansive, not only am I relieved but I am excited for this information to grow and for the Aussie vintage community (and vintage collectors around the world) to continue to learn and document more of our homegrown Australian vintage. I may continue to add information to this thread and update it so keep an eye out for future updates. (Current as @09.12.2020)

The infographics created for this article are based on my findings and I want to share them with you. I don’t know that one of these has existed before so please use this is a reference and rough guide only as it is in no way an exhaustive list. My intent was to create a helpful resource that anyone who has or loves an Australian vintage t-shirt may find more info about it. Knowledge is power and I hope this is able to help you out.

Phone numbers, material of shirt blends and tag textures

First things first, here are a few key ideas which may be helpful in dating and knowing WHEN your t-shirt is from. The following figure is from the wikipedia page regarding former Australian dialling codes.

The telephone number featured on a vintage tag may prove extremely helpful given the transition of Australian dialling codes in the mid to late 1990s. An area code followed by a seven digit phone number is very likely to be prior to 1996. If there is an area code followed by an EIGHT digit phone number it is post-1996.

The material of a vintage t-shirt can also be very indicative of its origin. In Australia, a poly cotton blend of 65/35 or 50/50 is very common for shirts from the 80s. The number of 100% cotton shirts increased in frequency from the late 80s onwards. Although not completely non-existent, the frequency of shirts made with a poly blend decreased into the late 90s. A big tell tale sign of a shirt that is older, is the shrinkage over time. Nowadays, 80s shirts which are sized L or XL are much harder to find as the majority may be a tagged L or XL size but have actually shrunk over time resembling a shirt that is closer to a medium or small. This is more common with the poly blend shirts and can also be seen in cotton shirts over time.

Moving on, re: texture of the shirt tags themselves Prior to 89' the frequency of silk tags is higher and then in my findings I noticed a large amount of late 80s and early 90s tags being paper tags. Following into 92-93, the tag texture changed from the paper to more of a standard tag across the board.

THE ACME TAGS

Please see below the shirts collected to create these infographics in order from 1989 to 2002/2003 with ACME tags from each year. The timeline infographic also includes some tags from prior to 1989.

An important thing to note is that "MADE IN CHINA" with ACME started as early as 1993/1994, first appearing around the same time that the 'Heart Shaped Box Nirvana t-shirt' was created. For a long time it was thought that shirts were being made in China much later in the 90s however based on my findings with multiple shirts, ACME had overseas manufacturing completed in the early 90s and were also printing them locally. The single stitch/double stitch quality is varied with shirts even into the late 90s featuring single stitch, and some early 90s shirts featuring double stitch. Dating ACME shirts should be done on a case by case basis, NOT purely off the stitching.

EXAMPLE SHIRT MOST TEES USED IN THIS ARE TIMESTAMPED FOR LEGITIMACY (TS = Timestamp)	TAG TYPE	TAG QUALITIES	PHONE NUMBER ON TAG (how it appears on tag is important also)	“MADE IN” (order of appearance matters)	STITCHING ON SHIRT (for reference ONLY, not a definitive guide)
1989 Cure Disintegration Tour TS=1989	Satin / ACME T-Shirt Company	Single Tag,	(02) 5975111 - on front of tag	Australia	Single Stitch Hem and Sleeve
1990 ACDC Razors Edge Tour TS=1990	Satin / ACME T-Shirt Company	Single Tag	02 597-5111 - on front of tag	Australia	Single Stitch Hem and Sleeve
1991 Harry Connick JR BLight RLight Tour 1992 TS=1991	Paper / ACME Merchandising.	Single Tag “Thanks for Choosing ACME”	02 597 5111 - on front of tag	Australia	Single Stitch Hem and Sleeve
For both: 1992/1993 Paul Mccartney New World Tour TS= 1993	Standard Texture Tag -Red Australia / ACME Merchandising	Single Tag	(02) 597 5111 - on UNDERSIDE of tag	Australia	Single Stitch Hem and Sleeve
1993 Nirvana Heart Shaped Box TS = 1993 (TAG APPEARS IN OTHER YEARS ALSO)	Standard texture tag – BIG RED A	Single Tag	No phone number (some tags from this year may show phone number)	- Made in China - Printed in Australia	Double stitch - Double stitch becomes common after 1993 for ACME – with a few exceptions
1994 Live Straight Outta York TS= 1994	Standard texture tag - BIG RED A - Size is a small black undertag	Single Tag with additional 100% cotton side black box (black box appears on select 1993/1994 tees)	PH 587-5222 - on UNDERSIDE of tag	-Made in China -Printed in Australia -Made in China on Sidebox	Double stitch
1994 Star Trek Mr Spock TS=1994	Embroidered-in Black Rectangle - Size is a small black OVERtag above the black rectangle	Single Tag with additional 100% cotton side black box	No phone number	-Made in China shown on side black box	Double Stitch
1994 Superman DC Comics TS=1994	Embroidered-in Black Rectangle - Size is a small black OVERtag above the black rectangle	Single Tag with additional 100% cotton side black box	No phone number	-Made in Australia shown on side black box	*SINGLE STITCH*
BONUS SPECIAL 1994 Nailbomb BLUE GRAPE TS=1994	Standard blue grape tag + size is a small black UNDERtag. (ACME MERCH UNDERSIDE)	Single tag with additional 100% cotton side black box	61-2-587-5222	-Made in China (handled locally Sydney, ACME Merch)	Double Stitch
1995 Live TS=1995	Big RED A Double standard tag /”ACME”	Double standard tag -size shown on both tags	PH 587-5222	-Made in Australia shown on both tags	Double Stitch
1995 Kurt Cobain MTV Unplugged “i have a light” TS=1995	Double standard tag /”ACME”	Double standard size tag -size only shown on bottom tag	PH: 9587-5222	*DIFFERENT ORDER* SAME AS 1995 to 2000 TAG – COMMON TAG -Printed in Australia -Made in China	Double Stitch
1996 KISS ARMY TS =1996 “Please note whitetag also appears earlier on U2 zootopia merch and some 1991 Cold Chisel + MORE”	White Rectangle box + size is a black small sidetag	White rectangle + black sidetag + undertag shows 100% made in China - WHITE SIDE TAG CAN APPEAR ALSO	No phone number	-Made in China shown on white underbox	Double Stitch
1996 RARE Silverchair, the power of the llama RED Shirt TS=1996	Big Red A Single tag with small white undertag	Single tag with small white undertag	No phone number	-Made in Australia	*SINGLE STITCH*
1996/1997 Manic Street Preachers Australia NO TS	Big Red A, Double tagged, cotton PAPER undertag and small white size undertag	Three tags, Big Red A, Paper Undertag and Small undertag	PH: 9587-5222	-Made in Australia	*SINGLE STITCH*
1997 The Presidents Longsleeve TS=1997	Big Red A, Single tag / “ACME” (THIS TAG ALSO APPEARS IN OTHER YEARS)	Single tag only	No phone number	-Made in China -Printed in Australia	Double Stitch
1997 Matchbox 20 TS=1997 *THIS SHIRT ALONE HAS MULTIPLE VARIATIONS*	Big Red A, doubletagged standard paper undertag /”ACME”	Double tagged, with paper undertag, size on the undertag only	PH: 9587-5222	-Made in China	Double Stitch
1998 Hole Celebrity Skin TS=1998	Big Red A, Double tagged, with standard paper undertag / “ACME”	Double-tagged, size shown on bottom only	PH: 9587-5222	-Made in Australia	*SINGLE STITCH*
1999 Red Hot Chilli Peppers TS=1999	BIG RED A, Double standard tag /”ACME”	Double standard size tag -size only shown on bottom tag	PH: 9587-5222	SAME AS 1995 to 2000 TAG -Printed in Australia -Made in China	Double Stitch
2000 Limp Bizkit TS=2000	Single standard BIG RED A / “ACME”	Single tag, size shown on front only	PH 587-5222	-Made in Australia	Double Stitch
2000 ACDC Meltdown TS=2000	BIG RED A, Double standard tag /”ACME”	Double standard size tag -size only shown on bottom tag	PH: 9587-5222	SAME AS 1995 to 2000 TAG -Printed in Australia -Made in China	Double Stitch
BONUS SPECIAL 2000 Cradle of Filth Heavens Mutant Children BLUE GRAPE NO TS	Blue Grape, Double standard tag /”ACME” on the undertag, made by acme merchandising	Double standard size tag -size only shown on bottom tag	61-2-9587-5222 “ACME MERCHANDISING SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA”	SIMILAR 1995 to 2000 ACME TAGS -Printed in Australia -Made in China	Double Stitch
BONUS SPECIAL 2000 SYDNEY 2000 T-SHIRT	ACME TAG SYDNEY 2000 “ACME”	Single tag, details on underside “GARMENT CONSTRUCTED BONDS”	No phone number	-Made in Australia	Double Stitch
2002/2003 Deftones ‘07’ Shirt sold outside of BDO and their early 2003 Aus Shows	Black square ACME tag	Double tag, paper undertag	No number www.acmemerch.com.au “north wollongong”	-Made in China BUT CAN BE MADE IN HONDURAS ALSO	Double Stitch

PLEASE NOTE: ACME credits may also appear on the underside of both Blue Grape and Brockum Tags of Australian made shirts. ACME had contracts with both companies to handle merchandising localised in Australia so check the underside of your tags.

More information on ACME itself as a brand can be found here. Here is a quote from the AFR article written by Neil Shoebridge in 1993

"In 1980, Blain arrived in Sydney with a suitcase and $3000. He bought a screen-printing machine and started to produce T-shirts in the bedroom of his flat in the inner Sydney suburb of Newtown. The retailer Chelsea Records agreed to buy some. Blain then cold-called Sydney music retailers. By 1985, Acme was selling its T-shirts nationally and operating from a 926-square-metre factory. It started making its own T-shirts in 1985, because no manufacturer could provide Blain with the small quantities of all-cotton T-shirts he wanted. Acme moved to its present, 4170-square-metre factory, which contains an art studio, three printers and warehousing facilities, in 1988.

Acme was given a big boost in 1987, when it became the Australasian licensee for Brockum, one of the biggest music merchandisers in the United States. The link to Brockum gave Acme access to acts that were signed with the US company on a worldwide basis, including Pink Floyd, The Cure, Phil Collins, Prince and Guns N' Roses. Acme pays Brockum a percentage of the sales it generates in Australia and New Zealand with Brockum's acts. Brockum has provided the Australian company with a steady stream of new properties. "We inherit anybody that Brockum signs," Blain says."

THE TOP HEAVY TAGS

MIXED TAGS
(non-chronological order of documented 80s and 90s Aussie tags)

Summary:
Please note as shown in this article that there is quite easily hundreds of tags, let alone variations of each tag from over the years. Important things to pay attention to on the tags, is the material info (cotton? poly? cotton/poly blend?), the texture of the tag itself, the phone number (if it has one) and then lastly and most importantly the t-shirt itself.

This guide is merely scratching the surface of some of the Australian tags however I hope this guide helps you to find out more about your vintage shirts. Please follow @castledoorselect on Instagram if this has in any way helped you and thank you for getting this far.

Last updated 10/12/2020 - Currently does not include TSP or East Coast tags.