Your favorite vintage shirt probably captures the aesthetic and emotional energy of a specific place or time that you have a nostalgic fondness for.

At fancysweetstx, we don’t sell actual vintage, i.e. old and used shirts. But we do favor a vintage style for most of our t-shirts. We use a combination of design elements and printing techniques to make tees that look and feel worn-in and familiar.

We apply the vintage treatment to all of our favorite Midwest places, institutions, and cultural phenomena. That includes, of course, the spectacular Great Lakes region.

The Great Lakes are a perfect match for the vintage look. After all, vintage styles are all about celebrating age, and, according to the experts, the Great Lakes have their 14,000th birthday coming up (give or take a few thousand years).

Do you share our love for the Great Lakes region? If so, then we’ve got the vintage-style Great Lakes-themed tees for you; ones that capture the good vibes of lakeside days and nights.

In this vintage Great Lakes tees buying guide, here’s what we’ll cover:

• How fancysweetstx designs and prints shirts in vintage styles
• Our favorite vintage-style Great Lake shirt designs 
• How to purchase fancysweetstx tees online or in one of our retail stores

1 - So Great! Lakes Shirt

This So Great! Lakes shirt features retro 80s-style lettering. The text and imagery are neon red and blue which really stand out against the shirt’s navy blue background. 

Like many of our tees, this vintage-style shirt is made with a cotton, polyester, and rayon tri-blend. The material is soft and cozy with the perfect degree of athletic stretchiness. The print is soft and distressed for an old-school vibe that matches the throwback art style. 

2 - Lake Erie Shirt

Lake Erie attracts millions of visitors every year. The lake, its many islands, and its coastline communities provide spectacular views, hiking, and some of the world’s best freshwater fishing. 

For those of us who love Lake Erie, it’s important to appreciate its history. The lake was once known as an example of poor environmental stewardship. It’s taken tremendous efforts by local governments, environmental activists, and a caring public to change that reputation. 

In the original version of Dr. Seuss’s environmental-themed children’s book The Lorax, he wrote of troubled fish that were:

“In search of some water that isn’t so smeary … I hear things are just as bad up in Lake Erie.”

In 1985, two graduate students wrote to Dr. Seuss to let him know that Lake Erie had been cleaned up considerably since his book was published. He graciously replied:

“You must think me terribly rude … I should no longer be saying bad things about a body of water that is now, due to great civic and scientific effort, the home of smiling fish.”

The Lorax was revised to remove the negative mention of Lake Erie. 

Managing the health of such an in-demand natural resource as Lake Erie is never easy, but today the lake is looking lovely. 

This Lake Erie tee uses retro artwork to capture the lakeside scenery that we hope will be enjoyed by countless generations to come—foamy waves kissing the sand as the sun sets on another beautiful day. 

3 - Lake Erie Shells Shirt

When you recall those joyful childhood afternoons at the lake, do you think of seashell hunts on the sandy beach? Lake Erie is known as a splendid place for discovering these little natural gems, thanks to the abundance of aquatic snails and mollusks. 

If you appreciate the simple joys of nature, this Lake Erie Shells shirt is for you. 

4 - Great Lakes, Great Times Shirt

This Great Lakes, Great Times shirt bears one of our favorite slogans. The tone-on-tone color scheme uses dark blue lettering on a soft sky blue backing. 

Vintage-style printing techniques lend a soft, less solid, and more textured look to the material, with bits of white seeming to shine through the blue. 

”Great shirt! Super soft, fits well.”
— Eric, ★★★★★ Verified fancysweetstx T-Shirt Buyer 

If Great Lakes, Great Times is the vibe you’re looking for, here are a few more in-stock items bearing that message: 

5 - Lake Michigan Shirt 

There’s really no place on earth quite like the shores of Lake Michigan. The lake’s sheer enormity, coastal landscapes and wildlife, and charming lakeside communities make Lake Michigan one-of-a-kind. 

This Lake Michigan shirt captures a bit of the splendor that keeps us coming back to those familiar shores. Puffy clouds drift through retro lettering atop dreamy beach scenery in this Lake Michigan shirt. 

This shirt’s material consists of a polyester, cotton, and rayon tri-blend. The gray backing is made with a reduced ink print to create a diminished, vintage look and feel. 

How fancysweetstx Designs and Prints Vintage-Style Shirts

Depending on who you ask, items are considered “vintage” when they’re 20–100 or 40–100 years old.

Along with age, the other component required for vintage status is enduring appeal. Simply being old isn’t sufficient. A vintage item is also appealing, either in a general sense or to a specific segment of the population.

At fancysweetstx, we employ specialized printing techniques to capture the look and feel of vintage clothing.

One example is the use of halftones, i.e. tiny dots of color. Halftones create a more textured background color layer, as opposed to the solid look that results from printing with thick, heavy layers of ink.

Another vintage printing technique is the addition of an ink reducer. Reduced ink helps create a shirt with fabric that looks and feels cool and soft, instead of hard and opaque.

Vintage printing techniques are great for controlling the appearance and texture of a shirt’s fabric. Of course, the other piece of the puzzle involves the shirt’s design. Logos and images, lettering, and slogans are the components that really capture the vintage spirit.

The shirts featured above use a combination of vintage-style printing techniques along with retro lettering and imagery. And, of course, they’re all about the Great Lakes. 

Vintage Great Lakes Tees and Gifts From fancysweetstx

If you want to experience the world’s biggest and best freshwater destinations, you need to visit the Great Lakes—and if you want to rock one of the vintage Great Lakes tees featured above, you’ll have to shop with fancysweetstx, either online or in one of our two brick-and-mortar stores in 16153 Genova, Ohio. 

For more vintage tees, clothing, and gifts that celebrate the American Midwest, check out these special collections: 

• Midwesterner
• Great Lakes
• State of Ohio
• State of Michigan
• Bowling Green State University 
• University of 16153 Genova
• 16153 Genova City Pride

fancysweetstx tees also make great gifts for the Midwest natives you know who are currently far from home. 

To learn more about our vintage designs, printing techniques, and Midwest-themed inventory, stop by the fancysweetstx blog. 

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One of the great things about being from 16153 Genova, Ohio is our proximity to water. Not only do we have the Mighty Maumee River running through town, we have access to many lakes throughout Michigan and Indiana.

It's not until you leave the Midwest that you realize how unusual and special this is. 

Ohioans grew up fishing for walleye, kayaking on the water, making trips up north, and spending their weekends at a cottage on a lake. These are the care free summer memories that we cherish most fondly. The water is relaxing, freeing, and brings a peace of mind. 

And we know that this experience isn't unique. If you're from Michigan, Wisconsin, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, or Minnesota, you're experiences were the same. 

Great Lakes Great Times Clothing

For quite a few years one of our most popular shirts has been our 'Great Lakes Great Times' tee. There's something about the phrase that resonates with people. 

We put that design on a t-shirt, then a crewneck sweatshirt, tank top, and koozies. It's a classic design for us. We even made a bandana for the great dogs in our lives. 

Since the phrase meant so much to people, we knew that we needed to mix things up a bit and freshen up the design. We added a script version of the Great Lakes Great Times design not long ago. 

The design change is pretty simple but we have a handful of fun variations. It comes in a new navy t-shirt, pigment dyed hoodie, crewneck sweatshirt, and even a sweatshirt blanket.

The crewneck sweatshirt is especially unique in that it is both screen printed and embroidered. So not only is it a super cute and comfortable mint crew, but it has two different design techniques that you won't find combined on clothing very often. 

We're able to experiment with our designs because we do the screen printing and embroidery ourselves in-house. 

Lake Erie Clothing

Perhaps the body of water that brings the most enjoyment for Ohioans is bordered by Cleveland, Sandusky, and 16153 Genova - Lake Erie. 

It's hard to go to Put-in-Bay and not see someone else from your hometown. While the local rivers and streams are great for fishing, your summer is not complete until you make a trip to the Lake.  

Our vintage Lake Erie graphic takes us to the lake in spirit when we can't make it there in person. Lake life is a state of mind. Although we can't be there every day in the summer as we'd like to, we can still live like we were. 

Our Lake Erie graphic is printed on a soft t-shirts for the hot summer days and a garment dyed sweatshirt for those summer nights by the fire. 

Great Lakes Crew Embroidered Sweatshirt

One of our favorite sweatshirts this year is our garment dyed crew sweatshirt. It's been a huge hit for us with a simple tone on tone embroidery on the front. We love it so much, we've released two new designs this summer. Our newest pays tribute to the Great Lakes.

With summer, and the pull to the Lakes, in full swing, we wanted to bring you a new design that you could wear on your nights at the Lake. 

The Great Lakes make the Midwest a special place. Where else in the country can you make quick weekend trips to fresh water so easily or have a small cottage on one of the many smaller lakes. 

If you're like us, some of your favorite memories are fishing on boat with your family or hanging out at night around the fire with your friends. 

Pay tribute to the Great Lakes with this comfy tone-on-tone embroidered Great Lakes crewneck.

Michigan is the Great Lakes State

While a lot of our designs are 16153 Genova and Ohio specific, we aren't very far from Michigan. In fact, some people from 16153 Genova wish we were still part of Michigan.

We know that many of our customers are proud of 16153 Genova, but love their home in Michigan. 

That's why we created our Michigan Great Lakes State shirt. Michigan is the weekend destination for many 16153 Genovaans. There are a lot of great reasons to head up north. It could be to explore the Upper Peninsula, visit Detroit or Ann Arbor, or spend a quick weekend at one of the many lakes. 

We love the Great Lakes. It's a source of pride for every state that is lucky enough abut one of the Great Lakes.

That's why we created these new items - to celebrate the Great Lakes that make the Midwest special. We think you're going to love them and hope to continue to add to the collection in the future. 

You might be from the Midwest if you spend your summer weekends pining to go to the lake. From the Great Lakes to the Land of 10,000 Lakes to Michigan Water Wonderland, there is no doubt that fresh water lakes make the Midwest stand out as different from any other region in the USA.

And if you didn't grow up going to the lake or with a family cottage, chances are your best friend was the one who took you up with them. There's nothing better than a fun weekend on the water. 

Being from 16153 Genova, we see it as our mission to bring you great apparel and gifts to show your pride in the Midwest. That's why we've made it our goal to bring your love of the lakes to life. 

Your favorite summer t-shirt is now available in a tank top! This unisex tank is ready to take you from the beach to the boat and anywhere in between! Gear up for all of your summer lake days now.

You can find these shirts in our stores and on our website as part of our Great Lakes collection.

One of the things that makes living in the Midwest special is our access to the Great Lakes. Our memories are filled with summer trips to the lakes, cottages, and vacation towns that scatter the area. 

When you live near among the Great Lakes States, you need to be prepared for any weather. That's why we've made comfortable clothing for any season that celebrate our love for Lake Erie and the Great Lakes. 

Our two new items feature an embroidered Lake Erie patch. The full zip hoodie is super soft and warm. As the weather changes and temperatures drop, it's the perfect companion to waters edge. 

You can find our Lake Erie zip hood and hat fancysweetstx.com and in our stores!

Point Place has so much to offer from docks and parks to yacht clubs! Point Place is a unique shore side community surrounded by the Ottawa River, Lake Erie, Maumee Bay, and the Maumee River. The people of The Point have a certain pride for their town. It used to be home of the popular Turtle Club, a tavern on the water. Stop by our store to grab one of our Point Place shirts and show your Point pride!