Shag on the East Side, Baby!

Nestled in between Landmark Lanes and the Cutting Crew on Milwaukee’s East Side is Shag Custom Apparel and Gifts.

While Shag is a custom apparel shop inspired by other stores in cities like Chicago, New York and Las Vegas, the shop itself is a Milwaukee original, as well as, a first of its kind in the city.

Wouldn’t you think that since this make-it-yourself T-shirt shop is only two blocks from my apartment, I would have already checked it out? Not so much.

You see, I’d been making a huge effort to avoid entering Shag simply because I knew that once I’d step inside, I’d be hooked!

The problem is that I’m a T-shirt junkie and because I work in "Corporate America," I can’t wear shirts adorning 80s TV show characters or 90s grunge bands anymore, so I’ve been making an attempt not to buy any and to stick with pretty J.Crew blouses. But since Shag conveniently offers the opportunity to design and print your own shirts – I love making and wearing my own unique designs – I couldn’t avoid it any longer.

On my way to the bank the other day I was finally coaxed into entering the shop by the variety of hokey Brewers T-shirts on display in the window. Instead of scouring eBay for hours searching for perfectly fitting vintage Brewers gear, I thought, now would be a great opportunity to make my own one-of-a-kind Brewers shirt.

While figuring out if I wanted black lettering on a yellow shirt or white words on a blue tank was a minor challenge, the concept of clothing design at Shag is very simple. Shag lets you create your own, original clothing by bringing in your own art, photo, phrase, and so forth to be imprinted onto a shirt or polo (among other things), or you can simply choose one of the shop’s 3,000 designs in stock and just adjust the color to your liking.

To help you in finding the right design there are a series of thick binders filled with 2,000 picture transfers, over 1,000 phrases, 11 fonts and six letter colors that are carefully organized by category and conveniently placed on shelves around the store.

The "Say What?!" book is a mixture of fun phrases like "talk nerdy to me" and "mullets rule." Inside the "Pop" binder are classic pictures of 80s faves like Rainbow Brite, Transformers and Sesame Street characters. The "Rock" book features legends like Led Zeppelin, David Bowie and Ozzy Osbourne. "Vintage" options include classic cars and unicorns, while "Glam" offers cute skulls and star clusters. Lastly, the "Travel" book features symbols and recognizable images from various cities, states and countries like the Golden Gate Bridge and the Space Needle.

My first mission: to decide what I wanted on my T-shirt. After scanning several books, there it was! A hilarious tribute to heavy hitter Ryan Braun: a T-shirt inscribed with the phrase “The Hebrew Hammer” and the number eight, decorated with the Star of David.

Once I knew what I wanted, the next step was to pick my wearable canvas from the large assortment of American Apparel options. The girl at the desk directed me over to a rack filled with a colorful selection of plain garments varying in color, size and style. There are about six shirt styles, two underwear styles and one style each of shorts and pants for men, women and kids, plus baby gear such as onesies and bibs.

I selected a royal blue T-shirt in the appropriate size and brought it over to the counter. While the girl processed my order, I noticed a vast selection of irreverent gifts and cards. From the "Magic Eight Ball Jesus" to "White Trash" action figures, such kitschy items would make great gag gifts. Being that the store’s name is "Shag", I guess it’s pretty obvious that most of their merchandise is a little vulgar.

Shag garb prices are comparable to the American Apparel stores themselves – shirts cost $15 and the transfers are $10 each. Customers are also welcome to bring in their own clothing, but will then be charged a $10 pressing fee. I gladly paid the $25 and patiently waited for my new T-shirt.

The transfer pressing was completed in about five minutes, allowing me to walk out of the store with my new Brewers T in a matter of minutes. I loved the experience of picking out a transfer, choosing between colored text and apparel, and then watching the shirt materialize before my very eyes. Heck, I even liked the smell of the heat machine that adhered the images onto the fabric.

And now just like I thought, I’m hooked.

I’ll definitely go back to Shag for another custom shirt, maybe one with my own design next time, and I will certainly keep their selection in mind for birthday gift ideas, as well.

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Shag Custom Apparel & Gifts
2218 N. Farwell Ave.
Milwaukee, WI 53202
Hours: 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Thursday; 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday and Sunday; 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday; 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday
$25 per custom T-shirt

Comments

[wfbdoglover]

This sure does sound fun!

[Amanda]

This place is awesome! I've been in there a few times to buy gifts and the people working are always super friendly and very helpful!

[sam]

That's a great shirt! I might have to get one for myself.

[Melanie]

Sounds like you had an awesome experience. I keep meaning to stop in there and pick up a creative Brewer T-shirt. After seeing yours I am much more excited to go.