Adventures in T-Shirt Land: The Amazing World of Andy Loves You

Why not wear your heart on your hand-printed sleeve this summer?

Feature by Melissa Thomson | 15 Jun 2006

Inspired by the '80s bratpack film 'Pretty in Pink', new indie Glasgow-based clothing company Andy Loves You embodies many traits of Howard Deutch's film, from being music obsessed, eccentric, passionate and gentle; like the main character, to being sweetly sentimental and funny; like the plot of the film.

Ana Cruzalegui and Cody Cochrane, the masterminds behind this new brand conceive their clothing as functional, wearable art: their T-shirts are fun, adorned with lovingly-sketched images of different pop culture icons from Allen Ginsberg to Andy Warhol, Debbie Harry to Siouxsie Sioux.

Aside from the wicked choice of characters on the T-shirts, you should know that, unlike most clothes you'll buy, all the designs come in a limited edition of 200. The popular Debbie Harry design, for example, is now reaching the end of its life. Furthering this couture-touch, when you order online, Ana explains, they work out which image you like and what colour T-shirt they have in your size, then whiz to have it hand-made in thier studio, especially for you.

The colours have delicious names like "Sangria", "Kelly Green" and "Heather Grey" and each of the high-quality American Apparel T-shirts are silk screen printed, leaving an inimitable raw texture to the print, as the girls hate "mass-made clothes that look way too perfect". All a snip at just £30.

The girls met when Canadian Cody, 23, visited Glasgow on holiday and instantly fell in love with it, while Peru-born and US-educated Ana offered her a room in her flat. Love of textiles, being anti "wank fashion styling" and an interest in the local music scene led them to set up the business together. As Cody quietly draws and prints, Ana takes care of the logistics and chatter needed to get your name known in fashion.

Bringing the aforementioned textiles, styling and music together, the girls are now working on many exciting future projects. They are producing T-shirts for bands like The Hazy Janes, and styling videos for Glasgow's poppy, punky (and recently signed) Flying Matchstick Men.

With good online sales and stockists looming, who's going to be the next character for their popular T-shirts? "We've a make-up and styling company called Dirt Dirt too", reveals the bubbly Ana "and on its website Cody totally sneaked into my online biography that Jarvis Cocker is my secret crush. I'd love Cody to draw Jarvis, but then there's Brett Anderson, Alex James and… " she excitedly trails off into a list of her personal icons for potential T-shirts.

If one of these T-shirt characters excites you too, why not get along to Andy Loves You and wear your heart on your hand-printed sleeve this summer?

http://www.andylovesyou.com, www.dirtdirt.co.uk