The 2021 concert season is finally starting to look bright as more shows are announced. If you’re like me, you probably spent 2020 thinking about all of the concert outfits you didn’t get to wear. Now that I’m fully vaccinated, I’m ready to get back out there in full force. I plan on dressing to the nines in metal merch and I can’t wait for it! If you’re looking for some one of a kind pieces to rock this concert season and beyond, these small businesses have you covered. They each specialize in reconstructed women’s band tees, all of which is made from officially licensed merch.
Why Officially Licensed Band Tees Are So Important
When a band shirt is officially licensed, a portion of what you paid is actually going to the band. So if you want to actually support the band that you’re repping, officially licensed is the way to go. It’s no secret that a good portion of revenue for metal bands comes from touring. This is especially when it comes to merch sales. After a year of not being able to do so due to Covid, officially licensed merch couldn’t be more important. I would hate to live in a world where the bands I love could no longer afford to keep creating. Making sure that the merch you’re picking up is officially licensed is one way we can avoid that from happening.
If you want to delve more into the topic, BBC wrote this fantastic article about why band merch is so vital. According to BBC, “The number of streams needed to generate the same revenue as a T-Shirt sale varies between different services (Spotify: 6,549 streams, Apple Music: 2,554 streams, YouTube video: 27,027 plays, according to Digital Music News in 2017), but trying to figure out how much profit of a stream or CD sale makes it back to the artist is often a “how long is a piece of string?” argument; and there are so many factors – royalty rates and manufacturing costs among them.”
Small Businesses Creating Reconstructed Women’s Band Tees With Official Merch
I’ll never forget my first introduction to reconstructed women’s band tees. I just bought my tickets for Slayer’s final tour, and I was on the hunt for cool merch to wear. Particularly a super sexy, form fitted Slayer tank top. At the time, I thought this would be something relatively easy to find. But as my search went on, I learned otherwise.
Eventually, I ended up on Etsy and found this shop called Vagabond Kreations, which you’ll hear more about below. The item listed was for a women’s Slayer tank top that was reconstructed from an officially licensed band tee. It was exactly what I was looking for. This first discovery opened up a whole new world for my wardrobe. In high school, I was the girl who lived in band tees paired with jeans or sweats. I’m still that girl. But now, I can continue to express myself and my love of metal with more dressed up band merch too.
Being from a small, rural area, the things I like have always been much harder to come by. That was a big reason for me starting this blog. While social media and the internet has helped with making these things more accessible, you still need to know they’re out there to find them. And even if you do, there are still times where I have issues finding shops on Etsy’s search. Plus, thanks to social media algorithms, following a brand online doesn’t necessarily mean you will always see their posts.
Because of this, I wanted to highlight the small businesses that take officially licensed band merch and turn it into something completely unique. Each of these women owned brands create reconstructed women’s band tees, as well as body suits, dresses, and more!
Cosmic Kristens Creations
Cosmic Kristen specializes in art and apparel. Her shop is perfect for metal girls of all shapes and sizes, carrying a variety of officially licensed merch reconstructed into dresses, tops, and two piece sets. She also has original designs featuring her own art available in leggings, sports bras, and t-shirts. And if you’re looking for lifestyle items like painted glassware and fine art prints, Cosmic Kristen has got you covered there too!
Ronchie Gear
Not only does Ronchie Gear create one of a kind pieces from officially licensed merch, but she also takes custom requests! In her shop, you can find everything from jackets, vests, tops, and dresses, in addition to fur sets and accessories. Ronchie Gear also offers aprons and tie dye apparel.
Aggressive Rags
Aggressive Rags uses officially licensed band merch for her one of a kind body suits, dresses, skirts, tops, and tanks. All styles are handmade in California and feature a wide variety of different bands. Aggressive rags also accepts customer orders.
Inferna Regalia
Inferna Regalia puts a metal spin on athleisure by using officially licensed merch in her designs. That’s not to say that this shop is only limited to athleisure though, because she offers a PLETHORA of different items. Inferna Regalia has reconstructed band merch for every season ranging from hoodies, dresses, tops, pants, and more! This shop offers custom orders, as well as ready to wear items.
Creeping Death Designs
Creeping Death Designs reconstructs official band merch for women in the form of skirts, dresses, tops, t-shirts, and two piece sets. Her handmade heavy metal designs are available in a wide variety of sizes, including plus sizes. Metal guys will also be happy to know that Creeping Death Designs has t-shirts they can rock too.
Vagabond Kreations
As I mentioned above, Vagabond Kreations was the first shop to introduce me to reconstructed women’s band tees made with official merch. Nowadays, her focus is on original design pieces. However, band tops are listed on occasion.
LOOKING FOR OUTFIT IDEAS WITH COOL BAND MERCH?
Check out the looks I’ve been creating with band merch here.
And don’t forget to follow me on Instagram as well for your daily dose of heavy music in my stories!
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