As I have talked about in previous posts – it is now chic to be geek – or at least to wear geek clothing. This “chic geek explosion” ultimately means that it is much easier these days to find clothing, accessories and trinkets to help you display your nerdy side with pride. That being said, it is also more common for some of us to have the same mass-produced duds. While there is no problem rocking out in your Tanooki Mario tee with your girlfriends, some of you may be looking for something a little more unique.

Whatever you are looking for – anime, comic, video game, cartoon, sci-fi or pure vintage threads – this post is for you. I have scoured the web and compiled a list for the best places to find nerdy gear.

First, some general tips for finding fun duds if you are turned off by Internet purchases or need some instant gratification:

• Check Local Retail Locations: Stores like Target and Wal-Mart are only now jumping on the geek bandwagon. This means that it is still somewhat difficult to find fun licensed gear in their stores. Difficult, but not impossible. While you can find Nintendo or Batman related goods in the men’s section, there is little for females yet. Something I always do is browse the little boy’s section. Most of the time you will find great comic, video game and even anime related shirts. While the t-shirts are not fitted, an extra large shirt fits me just fine.

• Visit Thrift Stores: Stores like Goodwill and The Salvation Army are the epitome of the saying “One persons trash is another persons treasure.” I have heard stories about discoveries of epic proportions in stores like these and finding fun original clothing is another one of the benefits. Visiting these stores is a crapshoot. You may find some gently used clothing from last years Harry Potter merchandise craze, you may find an original Pac-Man promo t-shirt, or you may find nothing. Another plus is that the money you spend in these stores often support job training and placement programs for people with disabilities and other disadvantages. If you shop at a regular thrift store that buys back old clothing – such as Ragstock – you will most likely find similar clothing but at a slightly higher price. Usually if these stores are sitting on a gem, they know it.

• Hoof It: Do the legwork yourself by shopping garage sales, checking craigslist, visiting “alternative” culture stores such as Hot Topic and keeping an eye out for new garb at larger department stores. I have seen licensed goods show up at JCPenny and even Macy’s. The downfall is that they are far and few between, usually coincide with large movie releases and are not very unique designs.

Now, if you are Internet savvy (I am going to go ahead and assume you are) you have many more options for finding your new wardrobe. Below are some of the great sites that exist to bring you high quality geek goods:

• Amazon.com / Ebay.com: Both Amazon and Ebay are great for getting gaming, comic, anime and vintage gear IF you know what you are looking for. While searching “Video Game T-Shirt” will get you results, you are much more likely to find items if you are specific about what you are looking for. If you search “Final Fantasy T-shirt” you will most likely find one in these two locations. Another plus here is that you will often find t-shirts you could never get in retail locations such as promo shirts or limited edition convention tees.

• J!NX.com: J!NX is a great online store where you can buy original geek inspired clothing. Their products range from video game, pen and paper game, robot and zombie designs. J!NX has a great variety of shirts to check out and they have a large selection of female sizes! I am personally eyeing down the “Cake is a Lie” shirt…

• Nerdyshirts.com: NerdyShirts has a great selection of shirts and accessories, mostly with video game, Internet and computer themes in mind. This site also has the majority of their designs available in female sizes. My personal favorite of the moment is “The Guitar Hero” although “Mii Love You Long Time” is laugh inducing as well.

• Hottopic.com: I don’t know what it is about Hot Topic but nerds either love it or hate it. We either see it as a cornucopia of geek goods or an entity that sells out in order to exploit our nostalgia for cash. Personally, I love Hot Topic. They have some great licensed gear, are reasonably priced and have plenty of women’s sizes. If you can’t wait to get your hands on some new threads go online and find a retail location. Otherwise, HotTopic.com has a much wider variety of items than any physical store will. Some of my favorites from the online store include the “Pac-man Maze Hoodie,” the “Guitar Hero 80’s Rock Tee,” and the “Pokemon Charmander Tee.”

• ThinkGeek.com: ThinkGeek has a wide variety of apparel for the well-rounded geek. Here you can find gaming, coder & hacker, science and other themed tees. I love the “I adore my 64” and “Ladies NSFW” shirts best. Although, the “Domokun hoodie” is vomiting cuteness in my direction…

• Istheshit.net: IsTheShit breaks their apparel down into the following categories: “Gear for Massive Online Gamers, Geer for Fragging Gamers, Gear for Retro Gamers, Gear for the Root People, Gear for Pirates, and Gear for the Rest”. I think they have most of us covered. I love the orange “Invader” t-shirt as well as their “1337” girls zip up jacket!

• Splitreason.com: While SplitReason has a smaller amount of women’s garb, the “Achievement Locked boy shorts” more than make up for it. Some of my favorites from this site include “Shat Happens” and the “Linked women’s baby-tee.” They also get points for having some great Destructoid.com garb, including one with a certain infamous princess on it.

• AllPosters.com: What?!? AllPosters has shirts? It is true – AllPosters has some great geeky stuff! They have a variety of anime, comic, video game, movie, music and cartoon inspired designs! I would not mind owning the “Gears of War Zip-up Hoodie” or for pure nostalgic reasons the “Pinky and the Brain baby tee.”

• G8brand.com: These guys say it best themselves, “G8 Brand, is a first-of-it’s-kind gaming apparel and accessories company. Our collection of limited edition t-shirts consists of innovative, high fashion prints, inspired by nostalgic gaming designs and classic video game imagery.” The long and short of it is that G8 makes clothing for the fashion conscious gamer. While their collections are somewhat limited at the moment, they are worth checking out. My personal favorites include “Homage” and “1972 Pong.”

• TorrelTorrel.com: Looking for something even higher end? TorrelTorrel specializes in Nintendo “couture.” With a variety of jackets, hoodies and shirts for men, they are worth taking a look at. Be prepared to pay a pretty penny to pick up one of these designs though, the jackets run $200 a pop, the hoodies are $90 and the shirts will set you back 50 big ones. However, being the only one to own a “King Koopa Varsity Jacket” may be worth the money!

• Stylinonline.net: I have been saving the best for last! While it might not look like much, StylinOnline is a Yahoo store with some of THE BEST nerdy t-shirts I have ever seen. The great thing is that they have shirts from every category imaginable. Music, comics, anime, television, cartoons, video games, sci-fi and other pop culture designs can all be found here. The shirts are also amazingly unique; I have never seen the majority of them before. They also have great selection of women’s sizes and are reasonably priced. If you check out any of the links here today, this is a must! I am particularly fond of the “Wonder Woman Cloud Logo Hoodie”, the “Halo 3 City Walk” shirt, the “Resident Evil Shotguns” design and “Star Wars Crossbones Track Jacket.”

So what do you think? Is this enough information to help keep you clothed through the full year? These tips and links are both my gift and my curse to you. Don’t blame me when your wallet starts to echo. Remember – moderation is the key to enjoying anything – even geek goods. I hope to see some new nerdy gear on you soon! Feel free to post pictures of your past purchases and share any great tips or links you might have! I will leave you with some of my favorite nerdy shirts, gathered from many of the above-mentioned places! This is not even a third of my collection… I have a nerdy shirt addiction…

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