All Things Vintage: Deadstock & Dry Rot
In the third issue of "All Things Vintage," we're talking about unrecovered deadstock treasures, where to find them, and the fear of dry rot (and how to protect yourself from it)!
What is Deadstock?
"Deadstock" literally means "dead inventory" in English. It refers to old stock or remaining items that are unused or unsold – often found in old storerooms, dusty shops, or frequently in the furthest corner of a basement. In this context, "NOS" ("new old stock") is often used.
Deadstock is the royal class of vintage: After all, the items are in brand new condition, even if they have been lying around for 20 or 30 or sometimes a hundred years. Have you found a pair of Levi's jeans from the 1950s, ideally still with the tag attached? Or have you found an original sealed Nirvana shirt from 1992 at a flea market? Jackpot!
Where to find Deadstock (and what are the risks)?
The first rule for finding deadstock is therefore: Keep your eyes open. Does a store look like it might have been around for a while? Then treasures might be waiting for you. If you haven't found anything old in the store, the second rule is: Follow up! Ask if the store might have older merchandise that isn't currently displayed. Most likely, the question will initially surprise the other person, because in clothing stores, the general rule is: "Old = worthless."
The same applies to flea markets: The seller offers a perfectly preserved (but obviously old) item? It's better to ask where it comes from and if there's more of it. We've found some rarities this way!
But beware: precisely because old stock is often still in its original packaging or has never been worn, you should be aware of a few "dangers." With old items made of faux leather, the material can become brittle. With old sneakers with foam soles – for example, some Jordans – the sole becomes porous and disintegrates into a thousand pieces with a single step. If an item has been in a display window for a long time, the top side of the item is highly likely to be completely faded (and the rest of the item looks brand new, which looks really strange). With items made of animal fabrics, moths might have quietly settled in. And with T-shirts? There's one big fear in the scene: Dry rot! More on that in the point after next!
What is Dry Rot?
There is no direct translation for "dry rot" in German (which also shows how few people outside the vintage community know about it): You could translate dry rot as "Trockenfäule", but that term is more commonly used for plants when they become hardened or rotten.
But "rotten" is not a bad keyword: T-shirts that are dry rotted can be torn easily. And not like wrestlers theatrically tearing their shirts in the ring. If a shirt is "dry rotted", you can pull it with two fingers and RIP, it has a hole (and is unwearable).
How does this happen? Dry rot is the result of a chemical reaction – which, by the way, only occurs with black T-shirts! Until the early 2000s (and sometimes even after), black shirts were often dyed with sulfur-containing dyes. The problem is: If such a shirt is never washed, the sulfur content eventually becomes insoluble and "acidifies." The sulfur then attacks the cotton and makes the T-shirt so porous that it can be torn like a piece of paper.
What to do against Dry Rot?
The bad news first: There is absolutely nothing you can do against dry rot. "Soaking in milk" etc. – that's all internet humbug and definitely doesn't work. But now for the good news: You can check a shirt for dry rot with a simple trick before you even buy it.
The Rip Test
Turn the shirt inside out. On the inside of the shirt, hold a piece of fabric from the hem with your thumb and forefinger – as if you were plucking it. Fix another piece of fabric two centimeters further with the thumb and forefinger of your other hand. And now pull firmly in opposite directions at both points.
If the fabric tears at that spot, unfortunately, the case is clear: we're dealing with dry rot. If not, always play it safe: Now perform the test on both sleeve ends and, to be safe, also on other parts of the shirt. Why? The sleeves might have been made from a different piece of fabric than the body of the shirt – just because one part of the shirt isn't dry rot doesn't mean the sleeves aren't. To be absolutely sure, repeat the whole thing again after the T-shirt has been in the washing machine (and has, of course, already been purchased).
A quick explanation: By plucking at the hem of the inside, the shirt is not immediately destroyed in the case of dry rot. After all, you could still frame it – better than nothing. And especially if you ask private sellers (online) to do this test, they can't accuse you of having completely ruined the shirt.
Incidentally, there are other signs of dry rot: This can be a pungent, sour smell. A strong sheen on the black surface. Also, black color on your fingers if you brush over the shirt. Or, associated with this, small black crumbs that detach when you shake out the shirt. However, all of these can also occur for other reasons – 100% certainty is only provided by the rip test above.
And now we're crossing our fingers that you find lots of deadstock (and that it's not dry rotted)! We also buy: So if you don't know what to do with your finds, just write us or come to our store in Mannheim. If the items are interesting for us, we'll gladly take five or 100 pieces at once :)
PS: Our current Deadstock Drop naturally has no dry rot (because we carefully check every piece), but rare band shirts and more from the 90s to early 2000s!
