American Apparel Finds Retro Gold with Thermochromatic Tops

Back in the heyday of slap bracelets, sideways ponytails, and neon, there was the king of cool, Hyper Color tees. They were on every kid’s wishlist, but unfortunately, expensive, and some of us could only dream, while others thought they were a myth entirely.
Now, with the rise of Neon to the forefront of mainstream fashion, come reminders for those of us from the time of the Hypercolor Tee. The designers at American Apparel were so ready for this. If you’re ready too, check out non Gamstop casinos for some retro fun!

If you aren’t sure what Hypercolor or Thermochromatic is, it’s basically a top that has temperature activated pigment. When you put your hands on it, it changes color, between two colors, or sometimes just to white. Often they would use a cold and heat activated pigment so ice or cold water would change the tee’s color as well. In the late 80s, this was one of the coolest things you could buy. Read more…

American Apparel calls theirs the Thermochromatic top, which is probably a better name than “Hyper Color,” anyway. The old Hypercolor tees used to stop working after a few improper washes, and can never be exposed to the high heat of a dryer. When I would find them as a kid, they would be at a thrift store, and with good reason, they had all the right labels, but none of the hypercolor magic left. The big problem then was improper care rather than manufacturing. People never took the time to separate the shirts and wash them in cold water, and the dryer is murder on a Hyper Color tee. Because of the heat-activated color change, drying the tee on high is too hot for the sensitive chemistry in its fibers.

American Apparel has a few styles of Thermochromatic tops so far, a unisex tank top, a unisex tee, a unisex grid top, a graphic tee featuring “Gay Beach” DJ, and a kids & youth tee. All styles have up to 4 color choices, all neon pastels, just like Hypercolor tees always were. Like a worn out beach top, they will be just as classic, especially if you take good care of them.