Thursday, February 13, 2025

10 Vintage T-Shirt Design Ideas

Graphic Design10 Vintage T-Shirt Design Ideas


Are you a fan of the oldies yet stylish merch? Or are you more of a new and on-trend product kind of person?

There’s no denying it: those old fashion designs are one trend from the past that people love to follow up until now. We can’t blame them, right? Despite the style and comfort of a fresh tee, there’s nothing quite satisfying as vintage shirts.

From the faded colors, eye-catching cracked screen-printed graphics, and the unparalleled softness that vintage shirts bring, it’s no surprise how vintage t-shirt designs have the potential to enhance your market reach! Join us as we look at 12 vintage t-shirt design ideas.

10 Vintage T-Shirt Design Ideas

Have you noticed that in recent years, vintage t-shirt designs have become a fashion staple for all ages? They’ve become so popular that thousands worldwide rock this old but goody style!

If you’re one of them, you probably heard your mom complain at least once: why would you wear worn-out clothes? 

When you think of vintage clothing, words that come to mind are soft, well-worn feel with a massive and cool faded print. From Rock N’ Roll designs to killer car logos, vintage t-shirts are a style that’s here to stay.

Calling all old-schools, check out the 12 vintage T-shirt design ideas we curated for your inspiration! 

Bleeding Letters Design

Have you ever worn a shirt that caught people’s attention? The one that made them look twice and planted a hard-to-read expression on their face. If not, this type of vintage shirt design would undoubtedly do the trick!

Using this eye-catching design is perfect if you want a word or a phrase that is disfigured or “bleeding.” It often comes in the color red, which gives the feeling of blood.

While there’s no use of typical retro elements in this design, the look of it just screams ‘designed from a bygone era.’ Check out our curated collection below.

Font T-shirt Design by duskpro79

Font T-shirt Design by Luniere Designs

Bold, Black T-shirt Design by OR-PIXEL studios

Bold, Meditation It Company T-shirt Design by duskpro79

Bold, Meditation It Company T-shirt Design by Zainny Azuar

Cartoon-Themed

As kids, nothing beats waking up early to catch up on your favorite cartoon show. Wear your childhood cartoon and invite that feeling of positive nostalgia into your life. 

The cartoon t-shirt design is one of the most popular ones people seem to love. It could be one of your favorite characters from the show, or you can put them all together and make one giant, powerful collage! Here are some of our cartoon-themed shirt designs:

Bold, Font T-shirt Design by Lia.hps

Serious, World Gun T-shirt Design by ally designs

Cartoon T-shirt Design by Suprakash 3

Zombie T-shirt Design by David Harston

Playful, Cartoon T-shirt Design by Aurelio Creatives

Eagle Themed T-Shirt Design

Eagle-themed design has words like ‘Eagles’ or anything associated with it. Maybe a team or just the plain old eagle itself; an eagle is a superb visual choice.

At first glance, people will direct all their attention to the eagle drawing. But if you look closer, you notice some typical retro design elements like a soft color palette, the American flag, and maybe even an eagle drawing.

Take note that the eagle symbolizes strength, power, and domination in the art world. Try this design out if you want to exude confidence for yourself and your customers. Check out our collection of eagle-themed designs below:

Eagle T-shirt Design by SATHIRA

Bold, Eagle It Company T-shirt Design by at-as

Elegant, Eagle T-shirt Design by Gohsantosa

Playful, Cool Church T-shirt Design by lucky13

Masculine, Eagle College T-shirt Design by lisa

Guitar-Themed T-Shirt Design

We can’t talk about vintage shirts without thinking about a guitar-themed design! If you play the guitar or have a strong passion for it, add this to the top of your list t-shirt design list.

You can use guitar kinds and maybe even speakers as the belle of your design. Then incorporate some rays in thick lines to create a retro effect, and voila! You have a type of musician’s merchandise you can sell in your shop.

Also, the typography for this design ranges from a retro feel to a metal rock one, it really depends on your choice. Catch a glimpse of some of our guitar-themed designs below:

Masculine, American T-shirt Design by bacujkov

Conservative, Small T-shirt Design by FigliaPerduta

Masculine, American T-shirt Design by Ena

Conservative, Small T-shirt Design by 1Concept

Masculine, American T-shirt Design by Andi Yan

Motorcycle-Themed T-Shirt Design

Are you a fan of motorcycles? If so, this design may be for you and your business.  The lettering may be in a transitional font type or a nostalgic sans serif.

While this design is usually in blue and printed on a white shirt, it could also not contain words but just a picture of an excellent vintage motorcycle. Take a look at our motorcycle-themed collection:

T-shirt Design by aizat

T-shirt Design by GEK (agentfortysix)

Elegant, Gray Motocross T-shirt Design by FigliaPerduta

Bold, Clever T-shirt Design by O_O DyNiC O_O

Personable, Unique Motorcycle Part T-shirt Design by Taho Design

Punk Rock Themed T-Shirt Design

Punk’s not dead! With the popularity of bands from the past and upcoming ones today, wearing their t-shirt merchandise feels exhilarating.

Create one for yourself and maybe learn from famous band logos along the way as well. You can always try incorporating retrogressive elements like a simple wordmark into a detailed pictorial design, it’s all up to you, rocker. Check out our punk rock shirt designs below:

Bold, Early T-shirt Design by SangBlater

Bold, Fine T-shirt Design by Kero

Wall T-shirt Design by Lia.hps

Bold, Back T-shirt Design by el_shekoo7

Bold, Black It Company T-shirt Design by a.o.d

Retro Vintage T-Shirt Design

Compared to the other categories on the list, retro vintage design is a blend of everything on the list. Anything nostalgic from a prominent person from the past or a symbol like the peace sign is a great representation of this design.

Can you think of ways to make the shirt an attractive design piece? Putting up an extensive, decorated circle in the middle can do the trick! Take a peek at some of our retro vintage collections below:

Elegant, Retro Cannabis T-shirt Design by k1m

Female T-shirt Design by Gentle Man

Playful, Motel T-shirt Design by MNM

Playful, Printing Just for Fun T-shirt Design by Ena

Elegant, Pineapple Urban Street wear T-shirt Design by SAI DESIGNS

Runner-Themed T-Shirt Design

Share your love for running by wearing a runner-themed vintage shirt! Be it for everyday activities or doing your morning jog, this shirt screams how much you love to run!

It usually depicts a person in a running form. You can add phrases or words if you want to show off your brand. Make sure you use a distinct color combination, typography, and image related to your brand. Take a look at some of our runner-themed shirt designs:

Elegant, Running T-shirt Design by GLDesigns

Bold, Aqua Event T-shirt Design by Ena

Animal Graphic Design T-shirt Design by GEK (agentfortysix)

Bold, Bank Events T-shirt Design by db1404

Bold, Fitness T-shirt Design by 777SKY

Skull-Themed T-Shirt Design

Do you want a grunge look for your t-shirt merchandise? Here’s your sign. This design contains all the typical elements relating to death or the undead such as skull logo designs, wings, crowns, crosses, or other elements from nature. 

Top all that off with ominous or classy-looking typography and you’ll grab the attention of the market you choose. Here are some of our skull-themed shirt designs:

Conservative, Cool T-shirt Design by delegacydesign

Bold, Ancient T-shirt Design by DeeHarrison

Playful, T-Shirt Games T-shirt Design by Lia.hps

Elegant, Design T-shirt Design by SAI DESIGNS

Traditional, Running T-shirt Design by ally designs

Space Themed T-Shirt Design

This shirt design comes from the time when America was preparing for a race to reach the moon first. If you’re looking to create a space-themed design shirt, make sure to incorporate all elements related to space, such as the mythical crescent moon, stars, planets, or even rocket logo designs.

You’ll attract not only the science geeks but even your other personality types with this shirt design. Check out some of our space-themed shirt collections below:

Candy T-shirt Design by Lia.hps

Elegant, Cool Small Batch Bakery T-shirt Design by Jagerstraum

Traditional, Cool Fashion T-shirt Design by Gohsantosa

Bold, Moon Building T-shirt Design by Kero

Modern, Space Clothing Brand T-shirt Design by Malik 11

Create Your Vintage T-Shirt Design Today!

That sums up our famous vintage t-shirt design ideas! Whether you have encountered these designs on the street, or you may own one or two of them, one thing’s for sure: Vintage is never out of style.

We hope you got inspired by the designs above. If you’re interested in creating one for your brand, check out our logo designs and unleash your creativity!

Allow us to help you. All you need to do is fill out your business name in our logo maker, and then tada, you’re free to browse through our logo templates, Instagram post templates, business card templates, and more!

Read more on Vintage Logos here:

Written by DesignCrowd on Thursday, August 25, 2022

DesignCrowd is an online marketplace providing logo, website, print and graphic design services by providing access to freelance graphic designers and design studios around the world.

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