Tee Time
Dallas fashionista favorite Dolly Python gets into rag trade with collectible T-shirts
As a must-stop on any stylish world traveler’s Dallas “to do” list, Dolly Python has drawn the likes of Jean Paul Gaultier, Kacey Musgraves, Jeremy Scott and Erin Wasson to its charmingly cluttered environs. Now fans of this one-of-a-kind shop can take home a very special souvenir from Python’s own line of unique limited-edition tees.
“I’m obsessed with T-shirts and have been since my teens,” explains owner Gretchen Bell. “That’s what I collect, and it’s always been my passion and love, so I decided maybe it’s time we start our own.”
The 9-year-old shop partnered with Austin’s Alchemy Print Design to create the T-shirts, which retail for $45 a pop. A signature style featuring a Victorian pin-up was designed by Barcelona-based artist Ramon Maiden, and graphic designer (and Python co-manager) Leigh Kvetko contributed four new “Vices” styles to the mix.
Inspired by everything from a 1920s cigarette box to a ’60s stash box, the designs draw from the same irreverent sense of humor found in the store’s other giftables, including greeting cards by the Tom and Judy Show and saucy cross-stitch samplers by Analprobehearts.
Bell says she’ll keep her “Vices” around for about a year, but she will add two to four new designs in 2015. The next source of inspiration? Tejano Bible covers she spotted on a recent visit to New York’s Museum of Sex.
“They’re all very smutty and very tasteful,” she laughs. “I’m gonna have Leigh design those, and they’ll have an element of trash and smut.”
You can join Dolly Python for the grand unveiling of the T-shirt collection on December 6, 4-8 pm, with tunes spun by DJ Ariella Villa and DJ ADD (aka Chandra North).