Koslow Engineering 1931 Vintage Women’s T-Shirt

After some initial success with the Super X model on the dirt tracks during the 1926/27 seasons, Chicago-based Excelsior Motor Mfg. owner, Ignaz Schwinn, instructed chief engineer Arthur Constantine to develop a competitive bike that could capture the National Hillclimb Championship. Constantine went to work, relying on the company’s engine builder and tuner, Andy Koslow, to finish work his magic on the engine. Koslow produced a 45 cubic inch hillclimber utilizing a bottom end based on their “Super X” road model, and a specially cast, top-end with an OHV top-end with Hemi combustion chambers and detachable, bolt-on heads. These machines were set-up to burn alcohol through special aluminum racing carburetors and from the first test run, both men knew they had a winner on their hands. The new engine gave Excelsior the National Hillclimb Championship title in 1929 and 1930. When Ignaz Schwinn unexpectedly closed the doors at Excelsior in 1931, Koslow convinced Schwinn to allow him to retain the blueprints and molds to his engines and promptly opened Koslow Engineering that same year. Koslow would go on to build limited examples of his meticulously handcrafted OHV engines, but really made a business out of designing and building performance parts for other manufacturers, including adapting his now-legendary OHV heads to their powerplants. This design is based on the company logo which was proudly emblazoned on every Koslow made part.

Like all our designs, this one is treated with our signature ‘relic-ing’ process which includes our own secret recipe of hand-painted chipping, cracking, fading, and just the right touch of yellowing to ensure that it looks the part of a true vintage imprint.** We lay these works of art down on premium Next Level 3900 Premium Women’s tees, aka ‘the boyfriend tee, one of the softest, best-wearing women’s t-shirts available today. We utilize state of the art direct to garment (DTG) printing which allows us to create a vintage effect that simply can’t be accomplished with other printing methods. In short, these shirts are everything you’ve dreamed of and more – it feels soft and lightweight with just the right amount of stretch making it both comfortable and flattering while the feminine fit and shorter sleeves add a special touch to this classic missy cut tee.

Not sure what size is your best fit? We recommend taking one of your current t-shirts, laying it flat and measuring it. The measurements in the chart below are taken with the shirt laying on a flat surface. To get the length, measure from the high shoulder point down to the bottom of the shirt. To get the width, measure approximately 1-inch below the armhole, across the chest, from seam to seam. The Next Level 3900 is a fitted women’s t-shirt, so if you are looking for a roomier fit, we suggest going up a size or with the unisex Bella + Canvas 3001 we print our men’s t-shirts on as they are the same super soft ring-spun cotton that feels like an old favorite. While our tees are all made using premium, pre-shrunk, ring-spun cotton, there can be some shrinkage depending on your personal wash and dry cycles. With that said, if you’re on the fence, we always suggest going up a size.

All sizes are provided in inches!

*Heather colors are 90% ring-spun cotton and 10% poly. **Due to the nature of the printing process and different sizes of shirts offered, imprint position and scale may vary slightly from the product images, but we do our best to be as accurate as possible.