Here are a few Facts and Questions (FAQ's) that many people find helpful. Please feel free to let us know if you have other questions that would be helpful to others too! email How long will this design be available? We make our copyrighted shirt designs in small batches. So if there is a shirt you love, that you have seen on a friend, relative, or coworker, order it soon. This also ensures that we still make the design, and that the color shirt itself is still available, and not discontinued. As a heads up, we are shortly going to start making our shirts in limited edition runs so that we can move onto all the other cool designs that our customers have been waiting for. We have some really cool designs, that are all set to go, that we are excited about putting through production. We feel that putting our releases into limited editions, will ensure that we can keep moving forward with new and different designs which is the fun of it for us. So if you really love it, order it now, and avoid real disappointment so that you're not kicking yourself later--which we often hear! Don’t wait for someone else to buy it for you, it may be gone by the time they get to it. Our customers come back year after year because they love how unique and totally different our shirts are, and their great quality! How many varieties of shirt styles do you offer? We offer several styles for various body types or personal preferences. They are each described in a little more detail below. Most designs come in each variety. Because we make them ourselves, we are able to do more styles and more colors. We offer the Unisex shirt, and Ladies Fitted (we call the ballet shirt), and the Ladies Regular fit shirt. We also offer children's shirts. Both the Unisex shirt, and the Ladies fitted also come in a long sleeve. Keep in mind that the variety of styles don't always come in the same colors. We are always adding to our website as time permits, and the t-shirt pages themselves should be a helpful guide as to what is available. Our boutique may have more colors that we are either experimenting with, or are offering on a very limited basis because of availability. What size ranges do you offer? We offer from a children's size to an adult 3X (or a size that is comparable to fit a 3x, depending on how the mfgr. labels it.) We offer both Men and Women's as well as children's. How does the Unisex shirt fit? Our particular pigment dyed unisex shirt fits one full size up from most shirts. The fit is loose and comfortable. So, I guess you could say they run big. Whatever your “normal” size is with most other shirts, order one size smaller. It’s as easy as that. If you are a typical size large, you may want to order a size medium. (Unless you want it be "roomy".) Or your an XL, a size large would be more what you are used to. Keep in mind that each manufacturer for various styles of shirts size differently of the different shirts in your closet. So people's "sizes" are really not set in stone. (So don't worry, it's not that your body is changing, it's that manufacturer's can't make up their minds to a uniform standard!) It is not uncommon that sizes from one manufacturer are totally different from another manufacturer. That's what we sort out for our customers. We want to take the angst away from sizing your shirts. So that when you order on line, you know what your getting. We have many, many repeat customers--because we really care that you are happy! We design the designs of the shirts, and we silkscreen the designs onto the shirts, but we don't sew the actual shirts. As you've probably experienced in any kind of shopping, shirt manufacturers everywhere are all over the board in their sizing. That is why when you go to a store one size may fit you great and then the same size from a different manufacturer won't fit at all, even within the same store. It's sort of ridiculous when you think about it. That is why we find it really important to spend as much time here as you need- explaining the sizes of our shirts, so that they fit perfectly when you get them in the mail! So when you see “Unisex" pimgment dyed shirts, remember to order one size smaller than you are used to buying in a regular t-shirt. By ordering a size down, it will fit you just the way you love it. However, if you have any question, feel free to email us at at-the-beach@adelphia.net, or call us at 207-226-7446 or 800-416-8344. What style is the Unisex Shirt? The classic beach t-shirt....the great ones, from a bygone era. The ones that lasted forever. You know, the kind that lifeguards wore, the classic beach volleyball competition shirt---the favorites of your older brother, or your husband’s---and when we were teenagers, our old surfer shirts. If you didn't surf, the one your boyfriend let you have. Almost as many girls buy it as the guys. The one that would never see a bald spot from a few spins in the dryer, even if you wore it every week--for years! That highest of quality that looks as great on women as it does on men. Roomy, comfy. Softer as you go. Pigment dyes don’t fully saturate fabric, so they lend a very relaxed, lived in look. Really nice deep colors with designs that hold up. Very retro, very sophisticated, hip as they are cool. That t-shirt that still has that upscale elegance. When customers come back to buy new designs, or old favorites for their friends that we've remade, it's great to hear that our at-the-beach t-shirts are their favorite and longest lasting! What are the Care and Specs of the Unisex shirt? 100 % Cotton, 6 oz preshrunk. Pigment-dyed in special pigments (yes, the real thing!) and washed for a very gentle fade. A great quality shirt that is next to impossible to shrink. Our hand silk-screened t-shirts have a generous cut for a comfy fit with double needle stitching throughout. Seemless rib at the neck. Shoulder to shoulder seam. Best in vintage style. The orange shirt, the navy shirt, and the retro blue shirt is a very similar shirt (only slightly different because we preferred the colors of this type) The specs on this shirt are just about the same with a 6.1oz ring spun jersey shirt, a very soft washed and garment dyed fabric (the black shirt is a jet black, rich and crisp) also pre shrunk with the same stitching specs. Shirts that get softer in time, durable, long wearing, very upscale with those fabulous almost impossible-to-find colors! As said above, when you wash them they don’t shrink - if it does, it's infinitesimal, less than 3% . Really nice deep retro colors with an upscale elegance, cool colors and sophistication. We recommend washing in cold water and for optimum results, wash inside out as our shirts are hand-silk screened.the regular dryer is fine for the unisex shirt (inside out), as they are preshrunk. Try not to put it on the hottest setting just because it’s not necessary, and you can help save the planet at the same time! We hear from our customers that the colors on the web are not as rich and cool as they are in real life! Could you please describe the Long Sleeve Women’s Shirt? This is a great shirt with a super fit, very elegant, with a great ring-spun, 5.8 oz combed cotton. A lovely, Italian style, stretchy fabric. This particular shirt could fit just about anyone. We would say it’s pretty true to size plus it’s got some good give to it. No matter what size you are, it’s very forgiving. It's that kind of shirt that you could buy one size up or one size down, and it would still fit you . Sort of like a headband, it has that give-and-take that moves with your body. It’s also great for larger sizes, even the 2x will fit you comfortably as a 3x. The 2x looks smaller than a typical 2x, but it could just as easily fit an XL, up to a smaller waisted 3x, and still look fabulous. Guys that like the more fitted version of the long sleeve shirts (than that of the looser fitting long sleeve unisex) often buy the women's version. If you go to our photo section you can see a few examples of various shirts that we have just begun to put up. (There are many that are not up yet, but we're starting!) You can also see an example of a photo of the same shirt on both a guy and a girl on our photo pages (our very popular "Soulmate" shirt, the long sleeved, in navy blue, with the paw print (dog lover's Soulmate) shirt which is shown is shown in Japanese/Chinese Kanji with orange writing on Navy blue . The long sleeve feminine shirts (new this past fall) sell out very quickly in each batch we make. Unbelievably comfortable, this material is deliciously wonderful whether you're really tiny, or fabulously full-figured— it will look terrific! When people discover them, they often come back and say I want every design you make in this shirt--I'm living in it! These are very addictive shirts and your biggest issue will be to force yourself out of them, they are that comfortable! What are the Care and Specs for the Women’s Long-Sleeve? This Ladies long sleeved is a dream shirt. It is 100% combed, ring-spun cotton. It is not a heavy cotton, nor is it super light, it’s that perfect space between the two. It features a 1x1 baby rib knit fabric. Very elegant neck with a 3/8” neck seam. Coverstitched 3/4” bottom small hem and small sleeve hem. Side seamed with custom contoured fit (but will fit looser if you buy a larger size). Super soft and has a wonderful ability to stretch in an ultimate comfortable way. Like all of our hand done shirts, we recommend to wash in cold water (in your regular mild detergent), inside out, and either tumble dry or line dry. Personally, I don't put mine in the dryer. But we have plenty of customers that do on a tumble cycle and it's perfectly fine. Does the Women’s long sleeve fit the same as the ballet shirt or the unisex shirt? Not really because there is stretch to the women's long sleeve. This is a great shirt with a super fit with a great ring-spun, 5.8 oz combed cotton. It’s a different fabric than all the others. A lovely stretchy fabric. We offer designs on this shirt in a long sleeved navy and a long sleeved black. This shirt could fit just about anyone. We would say it’s pretty true to size plus it’s got some good give to it in either direction - almost like a headband. No matter what size you are, it’s very forgiving. It’s also great for larger sizes, even the size 5 will fit you comfortably--even if you are a 3x, because it is able to stretch, and still look fabulous. It’s the kind of material that whether you are really tiny, or fabulously full-figured, it will look terrific! So the 5 in the long sleeved feminine shirt could fit a normal size large all the way up to a 2/3x. The long sleeve feminine shirts sell out very quickly in each batch we make. They are totally addictive as they look so chic and are so incredibly comfortable. The size conversion is as follows: If you are a small in regular ladies long sleeve order a 1 or 2. If you are a medium a 1 or 2 or 3 will fit you. If you are a large, a 2 or 3 or 4. If you are an XL order a 3, 4 or a 5. If you are a 2x a 4 or 5 will fit you. If you are a 3x, and are able to wear something fitted, than a 5 will fit you fine. The ballet shirt fits smaller to this shirt. The Unisex is similar, but doesn’t have the stretch so it’s not as forgiving. So you need to be closer to your given size in the short sleeve unisex, ladies and ballet -which you probably already know given the suggestions here. In the women's long sleeve, you have more wiggle room because it is so forgiving. Ladies (Regular) Shirt, how is that different from the unisex and the Ladies-fitted (ballet) in the short sleeved shirt? This is like a “normal” fit in the way of sizing of what you may be used to for a women's shirt. Just like a unisex shirt, though with a more feminine twist to it and not as roomy as the unisex shirt. It has a ladies scoop neck and a ladies slightly shorter sleeve than the unisex shirt. (The unisex shirt-that many women also buy- also runs "roomier" than the "ladies" shirt but still roomier than the ladies "ballet" shirt.) The "ladies-regular" shirt is a great, comfy, soft cotton shirt that is not as "fitted" as the ballet shirt. The "ladies" shirt fabric, however, is similar to the unisex shirt in weight, and heavier than the "ballet" shirt, which is a thinner, lighter material, but durable and super popular as well. Also, these are usually offered in different colors. If there is a particular design, we don’t offer it in the same color in both the ballet and the ladies. They both have superb quality and wear ability, but the color choices offered to us are totally different. We base the choice on the color for our design. They will both fit you, but because they are cut differently your size number you take in either shirt will be likely different. You may take a size medium in one but a large in the other, and so on. Just remember the Unisex runs the largest, the ladies cut runs close to normal universal sizing (what you may be wearing now) and the ladies-fitted (ballet) shirt runs the most fitted, so it runs the smallest. Could you please best describe the fabric of the ladies-fitted (Ballet) shirt? First, we should say that it's not an actual ballet shirt, the way we think of Danskin. It's not like a stretchy fabric the way we think of a ballet shirt. We call it the ballet shirt because it is so fitted and it happens that a lot of dance people love to wear it. It's a super soft cotton. It’s that thinner ultra chic fabric, super, super, super comfortable, with a very nice weave, and extraordinarily soft---very thin, form fitting. We call them our ballet shirt because many of the city ballet wear this shirt.....this shirt is very flattering and very form fitting. Imagine the softest cotton night shirt you’ve ever worn. The softness of baby clothes. But for adults. (And apparently kids love them too as they keep swiping their parents shirts!) Seriously, a lot of people put there children in this shirt. (See below under what we recommend for Children.) We go into the fit more below. And the "sizing" section on this shirt is very important as well, so please check that out. But it truly is a very flattering fit in every way. A most popular shirt, it’s not uncommon for fans of this wonderfully feeling shirt to come back and get one in each color in multiple designs - it's that comfortable and in great colors! Could you please explain the sizing with Short sleeve Ballet Shirt? The manufacturer had this sized very small (1-2 sizes smaller than standard sizes) so we've changed the sizing to make more sense to our customers for the sizes that they are used to. For instance, their size small, was so very petite, it would be too small for even a typical small. This new sizing has been very helpful to people so we are going to keep it in place. If you bought our shirts in 2007 (when this manufacturer was introduced) then the new sizing is below. If you are buying these ballet shirts for the first time, then buy your sizes as you normally would. The numbers indicated below is for a normal fit, not too tight and not too loose. If you are a lot bustier than normal, go up 1 size from what is listed below. These are the conversions for a “normal” fit, in the Ballet shirt and this should help you size accordingly: The Ladies-fitted (Ballet) fit: XXS-XS. Worn by very petite adults, very petite daughters, and normally built children (boys and girls) 4 yrs and up to very petite adults. ***These shirts are more of a “fitted” shirt. Yes, you can go up a size further if you want your fitted shirt to be a little looser. But, if you want your shirt very roomy, like wearing your brother’s or dad baseball (not the material, but the fit) then go with the unisex shirt, or the “ladies” shirt in the same material*** Do men where the Ladies-Fitted Ballet shirt? Yes, in some cases the guys buy the ballet shirt. Men and young men that are lean and that like a tight fit. It is not recommended that they go with a size smaller than the XL, unless it is for a child. This is a popular shirt for men that prefer a European fit and also skateboarders, surfers, dancers and guys that like a thinner fabric and tighter fit. It’s primarily bought by women, but plenty of guys wear it, and kids too! (By the way, the guys described above that do like a tighter fit, often will still just go with the Unisex shirt, but in smaller sizes to give them a similar tighter fit that they are seeking.) But this is a popular alternative. However, for the classic, conservative fit for your dad that is into Sailing, or your stock broker dad, -the everyday dad or boyfriend, or husband, the regular size and fit description of the Unisex shirt above applies, only for the guys that want a tight fit we would recommend this (based on customer purchases) or with the unisex shirt, in smaller sizes for a guy that is looking for the "tight fit". What are the Care and Specs for the Ballet shirt? This very flattering shirt is 100% fine cotton. A very, very soft cotton. "Garment washed for softness and low shrinkage". That's from the manufacturer, so we think that "low shrinkage" could mean some shrinkage, so we don't want to take a chance. We recommend washing in cold water and because our shirts are hand-silk screened, the old-fashioned way, it’s best to turn your shirt inside out when washing. Tumble Dry on a gentle cycle, or hang dry. To play it extra safe, you could do that 5 or 10 minute wrinkle release in your dryer (though hang drying should be wrinkless, but a little tumble in the dryer just to get some moisture out) and then hang dry it the rest of the time if you want. Though, a lot of people just tumble it until dry on low, and it's perfectly fine. But they are built like sticks, so any shrinkage wouldn't matter anyway, so the choice is yours. We feel as long as there is a possibility that these "could" shrink and so you would want to wash in cold water and a gentle tumble dry or hang dry. On this particular cut, I'd play it safe. On your nicer clothes, I like to recommend washing with a mild detergent such as woolite. Which shirts do you recommend for children? Kids wear 2 types of shirts that we have. The pigment dyed shirts (pre-shrunk 100% cotton) that come in kids sizes. If they are not yet on the web when you see this, then they will be soon. You can also press the "contact" and get directly to us. The other shirt the kids (both boys and girls) wear is the woman’s ballet shirt in a size xs-small. The ballet shirt is a thinner cotton (and great for summer’s and year around warm climates), with a neckline and a sleeve you can get away with. (We would not recommend buying the “ladies” (see above) shirt for a little boy....but the ballet is popular for both boys and girls. It is not a scoop neck on kids at all. The ballet shirt also comes in a variety of very cool colors that are not available in the children’s shirt. The children’s shirt does come in a wonderful array of colors, it’s that the two styles of shirts are offered in different colors. Our choices are driven by color of the shirt, paired with our designs.Do you do Onesies? Soon, but with different designs. We don't want to lose all our male customers. (When was the last time your husband/boyfirend looked at you while pointing to a snazzily dressed baby in a baby stroller and exclaimed, "I just HAVE to find that in my size! Honey, you have to track that shirt down for me!!" ....you're right, unlikely). So that is why we won't be doing your big guys shirt in a onesie. We will, however, in the future be offering a few really cute designs in a onesie. In the meantime, we still go pretty small. Small enough that small kids can wear them. At this time, our smallest shirt (for children) fits about a 1 or 2 year old, depending on it’s size (which most likely will also come in mom and dad's size too.) We just don't do the little itty-bitty diaper size in the adult size). In the future, when we do, it will be in a different design. Also, aside from the kids sizes we already have, the ladies-fitted (ballet) shirt small could fit a 4 or 5 year old in the xs and the small - depending on the size of the child you are buying for. The Ballet shirts have real jewel tone colors, and people love the colors with the designs so much that even if it’s a little big, the kids quickly grow into it!In general, how are the shirts to be washed? We have several types of shirts, but we recommend they all get washed the same way. Preferably inside out (as they are hand-silkscreened) in the washing machine in cold water. Any bleach free detergent with which you are comfortable. Tumble dry. The pigment dyed shirts (the unisex) are pre- shrunk so they are pretty indestructible. But inside out will make it last a long time! With the woman’s ballet shirt, we would recommend washing your shirt on a gentle, tumble, cycle as it is 100% cotton. So wash it as you would anything else that is 100% cotton. If it makes you feel better, you may hang the shirt to dry. As our customers attest, our shirts last a very long time. We’ve had many for years and years before we made a business of it.Can I iron them? Because they are silk-screened, you wouldn’t want to iron them directly on the art itself. Your best bet is to turn the t-shirt inside out and put a towel or cloth napkin over a low setting when going over the back side of the image and shirt, or just iron it as you normally would and avoid ironing over the image. Most people find, however, that they don't need to iron their shirts. In addition to the other shirts, the unisex pigment dyed shirts should come out pretty much wrinkle free from the dryer as well, so it is likely that you won’t have to iron them. Never put a hot iron directly onto your silkscreened design from any designer or company.What is your return/exchange policy? As long as you have not worn the product, and in brand new condition, with it’s original tags and you have your receipt you may exchange for store (or web) credit only. You have 30 days from the purchase date to send back the item at your cost. Please contact us before sending an item back for an authorization code. You may either pick up the item in the store, or pay to have the new item shipped to you once the exchanged item is received back. This is for retail sales only.What items may I use my gift certificate? You may use your gift certificate toward anything in the store. If there is any change left over, it will be a logged credit for merchandise credit the next time you shop. You will have a receipt for any credit you have which is signed by the store manager. How long does it take my item to ship? If the item is in stock, your item will usually ship within the week. Otherwise, other than things we do not have control over (i.e. weather, or if your package was not signed for at the post office, etc.) you should have your item(s) within 2 weeks or sooner. We ship Priority Mail with a delivery confirmation tag. If the item is currently not in production (or waiting to be in production), there will not be an order button next to the item. If there is a button next to the item, there is an excellent chance it is available, or very quickly becoming available. If your size is out of stock and it’s just a matter of days that we are making more of them, then we will process your order. If it’s not a matter of days, then someone will contact you and you will have a choice of waiting (at which point you will not be charged until your order is processed for shipment) or, you may be given alternative colors, etc. to choose from for immediate shipment. We will not substitute anything without speaking to you first. This could mean that either we are out of stock, or we are low on certain colors. We have so many designs that we are trying to get the time to get the shirts up on the web so that at least people can see them. Just because a shirt does not have a button does not mean you can't order it. If this is the case, please send us an email or call us at 1-800-416-8344 and we can get you an order form. As we continue to build our own website ourselves, there is so much to do, and with everything else related to the business to do, we try to get these buttons up as fast as we can. As each shirt gets up on the web it will have a button very shortly, but in the meantime, if it doesn't have a button it doesn't necessarily mean that you can't order it. I see a certain color for a shirt on the web, but I remember more colors for the same design in your store- can I still get those? As artists and designers we are often experimenting with various colors that intrigue us. It is true we offer many colors in certain designs in our boutique (the beauty of making your own items, which would be cost prohibitive otherwise!) We have more of a selection in our store, that is true, just because there are so many colors we would not want to overwhelm the web page. If there is a specific color that you saw, or that you remembered, contact us and we'll do our best to help you. Even though we haven't yet brought a specific color on the web, the colors that are there are definitely ones that are also very popular. It's a good time to mention again that due to certain colors or availability, you may see colors changing on the particular designs you are looking at for a host of reasons relating to availability. So if you really like a particular color order it.Do you ever sell seconds? We don't sell seconds because we want everything that we sell to be the very best quality for you. It has our name on it, it's personal. Our standards may be over the top but we want our customers to only have the best. A designer t-shirt is much different than a mass produced shirt. Therefore, in addition to the highest standards and the best quality we expect from ourselves, we want you to know that each one of our designer t-shirts is given our special attention for you. It really is personal for us.I tried to e-mail you but it came back undeliverable? We just heard this by a couple of folks, who thankfully contacted us right away. We are with Adelphia which is now Roadrunner. Evidently, our new contact e-mail was not pointing to the new proper connection. Thanks to you, it was quickly rectified. Even though it was for a very short time, please let us know as soon as possible if you are not able to reach us through e-mail. If this ever happens, please let us know, by either e-mailing us directly at : at-the-beach@adelphia.net or calling us at 1-800-416 - 8344 or 207-226-7446. If we are not available, we will get back to you just as fast as we are able.If I email you, when can I expect a return email? Unless we are on the road, or at a show, you should be able to expect a response within 48 hours. (When we are in production, we are usually covered in paint of some sort!) Keep in mind that we are on the coast of Maine and in the winter time we can have inclement weather that can temporarily have our computers down. But the folks are quick up in these parts, but just to give you a heads up if you are not hearing from us right away. We will definitely get right back to you, just as soon as possible. Often, within hours or sooner. Is your store in Boothbay Harbor, Maine open in the winter? And if not, may I still order? Our store in Boothbay Harbor is open from June through October (Columbus Day). We may be open some weekends in May. During the winter months, if we are not at a show, we are usually in our studio getting ready for the next season and getting orders out to customers, since we can get overwhelmed in the summer time (which we are working on!). You may order through our web site during the off season any time. Our off season phone number is 207-226-7446 and this is our email.Though going through the web may be your best bet because it organizes your order for you and us both in a very delightful way! My shirt doesn't have a size in it, how come? Your shirt should come with our diver's tag with the size of your shirt attached to the outside of the shirt. (Unless we are temporarily out of them.) Since we are private label now (baby steps up!) and we used multiple colors on the inside label we designed of the beach cruiser bike, we do not have a size in it because it did not work with the design. Also, a lot of folks don't want having their size displayed within their shirt. Therefore, we put a separate removable size tag with your shirt's appropriate size attached to your shirt with our Swimming Diver's image. if we are out of them, and we're making more, and we don't want to hold your order up, we'll ship it out. Your shirts are all sized before printing, and after printing, and again before shipping. The size you order is the size you will receive. For the inside tag, we use a silk tag with the softness used for a baby's label (this is the beach cruiser bike), so that it is not itchy in any way. The hang tag, is the one that shows your size and is removable and shows 3 diver's diving off a diving board - which we do a shirt in from time to time.)Am I able to switch charities for the shirts that I buy? We have picked a series of charities that are either very personal to us or to our customers, in one way or another. We recognize there are so many terrific and worthy charities. We have tried to pick the design that might best help a certain charity. Being a small company, it would be logistically impossible to go through each customer’s choices to see which charity they picked to donate. We hope that you are excited by the charities we have chosen in our pretax 5% IT MAKES THE DIFFERENCE! campaign starting February 5, 2008. These charities will have a check sent to them at the end of each quarter. With our other designs coming up (and not yet on the web) we have other super charities that we plan on bringing into this campaign. If you have ideas on other great charities in need for future shirts, we would love to hear about them. If we all do even just a little, it all adds up! It DOES make a difference! And since there are so many charities we find worthy, we found ourselves really torn (and pulling the hair out of our heads!) in trying to decide which single one charity in which to do donate (as most companies do that donate), this is why we’re picking a separate charity for each separate shirt! So feel good that a portion of your sale is going to a very worthy charitable cause here in the United States, aside from supporting a small business owned by a woman that creates designs for you here in coastal Maine in the USA! My husband and I have really enjoyed the wonderful folks we have met from all over the world, in such a short time! We're all about Quality. UPDATES At popular request we will be launching many of our very coveted headbands within the next couple of days under the category of HEADBANDS (second week of March 2008) and we will be adding any FAQ's pertaining to those at that time. We will also be adding a NEWS section. |
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