If you're shopping for graphic tees in Australia, start with the artwork and the measurements. A print you love can end up in the drawer if the tee is too long, too fitted or wider than you expected.
I'm Warwick, founder of Lonely Kids Club. I started LKC in 2011, and today we print tees to order in our Artarmon studio in Sydney. This guide uses our own graphic tees to help you choose a design and a fit you'll actually wear.
Start with a design that means something to you
A graphic tee can be a small piece of art, a very specific joke or an announcement that you really like bread. You don't need a complicated reason to like it. But knowing who drew it, and why it exists, can make choosing one more interesting.
Some LKC designs come from me, some from the artists we work with, and some start as ideas from our community. These examples show how different a graphic tee can feel even before you choose a colour or fit.
Bread Tee
The Bread Tee is my favourite. I drew the handwritten “How Good Is Bread” lettering, and its simplicity has connected with people in a way I never expected. It's still the most popular T-shirt I've personally designed. Sometimes the entire idea really is just that bread is good.
Get In The Van Tee
Claire Harrison designed the Get In The Van Tee in 2022. The giraffe and the line bring back a particular Australian school memory: Healthy Harold and the Life Education van. It makes sense to the people who remember it, which is a large part of the fun.
Attempted Murder Tee
The Attempted Murder Tee puts two crows beneath a very good bird pun. The concept came from Kristine in our LKCC community, with artwork by Claire Harrison. It's a nice example of a small idea becoming a design through someone else's drawing.
Clive The Cyclist Tee
Kayla Reay's Clive The Cyclist Tee features an Australian magpie in cycling gear. Kayla creates her bird artwork by hand with coloured pencils, giving each character its own personality. Clive brings together two interests that make the design a particularly good fit for a bird-loving cyclist.
If the joke is what you're looking for, browse our funny t-shirts. For more feathered characters, there's also our bird collection.
Badly Drawn Pet Tee
If the artwork you want is your own pet, the Badly Drawn Pet Tee starts with your photo. Our in-house illustrators turn one pet into a deliberately wonky, hand-drawn portrait, then we print it in Sydney. Upload one clear photo of one pet per item. We do not send an artwork preview before printing, and custom artwork needs extra production time. Compare the custom pet portrait range if you would prefer a hoodie, tote or another format.
Choose the fit before choosing the size
A size label doesn't tell you how a tee is cut. Start with the shape you want, then check the measurements for that fit.
- Regular: accommodates broader shoulders and narrower hips, with a longer body than Maple.
- Maple: accommodates narrower shoulders and wider busts and hips, with shorter sleeves and a shorter body.
- Oversized: has a wider, boxy body and dropped shoulders. Choose it for that shape, rather than assuming a larger regular tee will look the same.
Lay a tee you already like flat and measure its width across the body and its length from shoulder to hem. Compare those measurements with our tee sizing and fit guide, which also includes model photos.
Sizes, colours and fits vary by design, so check the options on the product page. If a boxier shape is your preference, you can go straight to our oversized graphic tees.
Check the fabric and where the tee is printed
Our regular tees use midweight, 180 GSM combed cotton, while the Classic Oversized tee uses heavier 220 GSM cotton. GSM is the fabric's weight per square metre. Marle colours can contain polyester, and other fits have their own specifications. Check the details for the colour and fit you select.
We use AS Colour blanks and print tees to order in our Sydney studio. The blank garment is manufactured separately before it reaches us. Printing after an order means we can put a design onto the chosen tee without preprinting every combination of artwork, colour and size.
If you're ordering for a birthday or another date, check the production and delivery estimates before buying. Printing time and time in the post are separate parts of the wait.
Make it part of your everyday wardrobe
You don't need a whole new outfit around a graphic tee. Try it with the jeans, shorts or trousers you already wear, then use the fit to decide whether you prefer it loose, tucked or under an open layer. Our guide to styling a graphic tee has a few easy places to start.
Choose artwork you enjoy seeing, check the measurements, and follow the garment's care instructions. When you're ready to have a look, browse the LKC graphic tee collection and open the product page for the available fits.
