Here's Where To Get Your Saint Paddy's Day Gear

Racked is no longer publishing. Thank you to everyone who read our work over the years. The archives will remain available here; for new stories, head over to Vox.com, where our staff is covering consumer culture for The Goods by Vox. You can also see what we’re up to by signing up here.

Grid View

Expand

• Photos: Courtesy of Strange Cargo

Strange Cargo may the only clothing store in Chicago that gets as much business as the bars around St. Patrick's Day. The Wrigleyville shop, which specializes in custom t-shirts, has lines out the door on the Irish holiday—and this tradition stretches back quite a ways.

"About fifteen years ago, when Strange Cargo was still strictly a vintage store, we would sell out of everything green," says owner Sheldon Schwartz. "So, we decided to start making our own Chicago-themed St. Patrick's Day t-shirts."

When bars start slinging green beer, "the spike in our business is big," Schwartz says. "We usually sell 1,000 to 1,500 t-shirts per month. In March, we average between 6000 and 8000 t-shirts."

The store stocks ready-made t-shirts, which cost $20 to $24 on average; staffers can also whip up custom designs in 10 minutes or less. Take a peek at some of this year's styles, below. And if you want to snag one of these for the weekend, get to Strange Cargo stat: you don't want to dull your beer buzz by standing on line.

· Strange Cargo [Official Site]
· All Strange Cargo coverage [Racked Chicago]