By many accounts, Elvis Presley is the best-selling solo musician of all-time (second overall to the Beatles), having moved more than 600,000 records in the United States and over 1 billion worldwide in the past six decades. It goes without saying that The King’s landmark recordings have held up incredibly well since his untimely 1977 death, but the Pride of Tupelo, Mississippi has had some stinkers (1972’s Elvis Now and the posthumous 2010 Cirque du Soleil remix album Viva Elvis come to mind). However, nothing emits a foul odor quite like the latest Elvis item up for grabs.

According to news reports this week, a Stockport, England auction house plans to auction off a stained, unwashed pair underwear he wore beneath one of his famous white jumpsuits at a 1977 concert, months before he died of a drug overdose at the age of 42. The custom undergarments were Elvis’ number-one choice because the lining wasn’t visible underneath his get-up, but perhaps he was a little too comfortable in them. The piece sports a curious yellow stain on the front. No, it’s not lemonade.

The pair of underwear, which once belonged to the estate of Elvis’ father, is expected to fetch up to £10,000 (approximately $15,800) when it’s auctioned off in September. The clothing’s potential value is aided by the fact that it’s encased in a frame, complete with an accompanying plaque and two photographs. You know, because someone willing to fork over five figures for used underwear just wants to look at it.

Suggesting that the collectible world’s dignity hasn’t completely gone down the toliet, another Elvis item is expected to sell for more than his used underwear: his Holy Bible, given to the singer as a Christmas gift in 1957 and used until his death 20 years later. The world’s best-selling solo artist’s copy of the world’s best-selling book includes annotations made by The King himself (Elvis, not God) and could go for as high as $25,000 (around $40,000). Holy moly!

A reel of 16mm footage from wife Priscilla Presley’s collection of home movies is also scheduled to be auctioned off next month. The highest bidder will get film of the couple’s wedding, the day they brought infant Lisa home from the hospital, their daughter’s formative years and family vacations.

The glass must be cleaned. The underwear? Not so much.

Auction organizers are hoping to capitalize on a spike in demand for Elvis memorabilia since the 35th anniversary of his passing this month, an occasion commemorated by a candlelight vigil at his Graceland estate in Tennessee and attended by some 75,000 fans.

If you think Elvis’ unwashed underwear is the strangest King collectible that’s appeared in auction catalogs recently, think again. There are a couple of other items contending for that distinction, including a lock of the pop star’s hair that went for $15,000 in 2009 and the crypt where he was originally buried. The latter was expected to bring in at least $100,000, but was pulled from a Hollywood auction house’s June sale after outcry from fans across the globe.

Could Elvis’ underwear elicit the same kind of reaction? Let’s hope they can at least get an hour in the washing machine before heading to their new home.

“How much did you pay for your rock ‘n’ roll t-shirt

That proves you were there, that you heard of them first?”

Cake, “Rock ‘n’ Roll Lifestyle,” 1994

Souvenirs have always fascinated me. As a little kid, whenever my family and I went to a baseball game, museum or national park, my experience was always preoccupied by my fantasizing about what cheaply-made, overpriced items the gift shop would have in store for me. Much to my parents’ chagrin, I usually made it out with at least one item I wouldn’t feel like playing with the next day and would forget existed within a week.

Naturally, when I began going to concerts at the age of 11, the merch table became one of my favorite hangouts. “Never mind that they’re playing my favorite song right now, I need something to show off tomorrow at school!” Like many rock fans, the t-shirt has long been my merch table purchase of choice, although during less economically-friendly times (read: college), I’ve opted for more affordable fare like beer can coozies. Now that I’m a gainfully (well, “gain” is a strong word when you consider all of the money I shell out at concerts) employed college graduate, it’s all about the t-shirt.

My rock ‘n’ roll t-shirt career got off to a rocky start. The year? 2000. The show? 3 Doors Down at Peoria’s Heart of Illinois Fair. My friend Zak’s mom took me to the merch table to buy a shirt, but they were all out of men’s shirts in the size and style I wanted. (“Bullshirt!” I would have yelled, had I been a wittier fifth grader.) Not aware that there was any difference between men’s and women’s t-shirts, I simply bought the female version, only to realize later that it made my hips look fat. I still have a soft spot for their first album, but I wouldn’t want to be caught in a 3 Doors Down shirt now anyway.

Who else would grace the front of my favorite rock ‘n’ roll t-shirt?

Since that gender-confused beginning, I’ve amassed a collection of 25 or so rock ‘n’ roll t-shirts that prove I was there and that I heard of them first, such as my well-worn Vaccines and Static Jacks garb. I always come back from Lollapalooza with several new additions to my wardrobe and, against my closet-space-concerned girlfriend’s wishes, often cave after seeing a solid performance by a band I’m fond of. “Hoarder!” she (kind of) jokingly cries whenever I add to my collection.

Not every shirt is so easily procurable. I had to hunt down my vintage mid-’80s R.E.M. shirt online, where I also recently got a Stone Roses tee that will hopefully arrive by the time I leave for Chicago in two weeks.

I usually switch shirts in and out of my monthly rotation, but after seeing The Gaslight Anthem rock a packed club here in Minneapolis last Wednesday, I think there’s only been two days when I didn’t wear the extremely-comfortable grey tee I picked up prior to the show. I’ve gone on several long bike rides and played nine holes of golf in sweltering heat since then, so Lizzie has been keeping a stench-safe distance of about 20 feet from me over the past few days.

Even though they’re everyday items, I feel like my t-shirt collection is one of my most worthwhile. My future children might not fully appreciate my signed CDs and limited-edition vinyl, but everybody loves a comfortable shirt that they look good wearing.

Especially if it proves you were there and that you heard of them first.

So we might be going a little Avengers-crazy here at CQ. I’m pretty excited to see how arrogant Tony Stark gets along with good-guy-from-the-past Captain America, and how they handle the always-difficult Hulk, and where the heck ultra-powerful Thor fits into it all… but for now, I’m still fixated on collecting all things Avengers.

And right now, my favorite thing is this 8-bit Avengers tee from Mighty Fine. They offer a crazy amount of pixel art tees from Marvel (as well as a closetful of MODOKs, of which I own three), but I’m completely enamored with this synthesis of the world’s greatest super-team and my old Nintendo. It seems like a pretty important part of my t-shirt collection.

[UPDATE! Winners announced HERE! Thanks for playing!]

It’s no secret that Threadless is at the forefront of both excellent t-shirt design and innovative business design, so I’m pretty psyched to see these two things collected into a single book, simply titled Threadless. It’s truly a tome of breathtaking design.

75% of my own sizable, color-coded t-shirt collection comes courtesy of Threadless, since they offer something fun for everyone and satisfy my need to express my love of oldschool video games, vinyl records and robots across my manly chest. If you haven’t, check out Threadless’ website and browse their countless offerings. I don’t think I could get through a New York winter without their sweatshirts.

Abrams Books has provided us with not one but TWO copies of the new Threadless book to give away! In addition to that, I’m also throwing in two brand new Threadless t-shirts which have never been worn from my own collection (both in men’s large size):

I'm Sure Everyone Thinks I'm Paranoid

Beat It

So, what do you need to do?

We’ll be randomly choosing TWO winners from the comments below this post, and each will win a killer t-shirt / book combo. All you need to do is tell us a little about your favorite t-shirt (Threadless or otherwise), be sure to include your e-mail address in the proper spot (which will be used ONLY for the purposes of this contest and nothing else), and on December 1st, we’ll choose two winners from our magic hat! (Shirt choice will try to be accommodated, but in the event that two people prefer the same shirt, it’ll be a random drawing – plus, you still get the amazing book!)

So, get to commenting!

The other day I talked about a particular passion of mine, antique clothing (which I don’t actually collect but love to see in museum collections, old photos and paintings), so today I thought I discuss collecting vintage clothing, a collecting field that is becoming increasingly popular. While antique clothing is generally too delicate for wearing, vintage clothing that is well-cared for can still be worn and often is. Celebrities often appear in public sporting vintage wear. Books have been written about both collecting and wearing vintage fashions.

There are so many different types of vintage clothing that collectors focus on. Some are just looking for something a little quirky that will spice up an outfit. Some are after pretty slips or other unique lingerie to go underneath their everyday clothing (Deanna Dahlsad wrote a few great blogs about vintage lingerie here on Collectors Quest just a few months back). There are collectors who focus on vintage pieces by important fashion designers like Pucci and Chanel, while others are not concerned with the brand so much as the quality of the fabric and superior workmanship. Men often go for vintage ties, old bowling shirts, suits or vests. Of course vintage clothing can be found in resale shops and garage sales, but more and more shops and websites specializing in vintage clothing are popping up.

Because of their age, articles of vintage clothing require a little TLC. Here are some more helpful tips for keeping vintage clothing in good shape.

Some of the most memorable clothing I’ve seen has been in museum exhibits. At the Metropolitan Museum of Art, I saw the actual gown that Josephine was wearing when Napoleon crowned her empress. The oldest gown I’ve seen was from the 1600s, and at the Victoria and Albert museum I saw a dress from 1744 that stuck out so far at the sides that the woman wearing it would have had to walk sideways through doorways and would have taken up an entire couch when she sat.

Changes in antique and vintage clothing also offers interesting insights into the times. For example, gowns of the Regency era in the early 1800s were worn close to the body, and some of the more daring women actually dampened the muslin garments to make them transparent. Yet fifty years later in the Victorian era huge hoop skirts that revealed nothing were the fashion and showing a hint of ankle was scandalous.

Antique clothing from the late 1800s and early 1900s can still be found fairly easily at antique shops, malls, auctions and flea markets. I’ve seen them displayed in interesting ways in homes: a lacy infant’s christening gown hanging from a velvet covered hanger like a wall hanging, an everyday Victorian dress with a bustle on a dressmakers dummy in an alcove of an upstairs hallway.

I probably go out to the movies maybe twice a year. This is for a few reasons, and they are as follows: popcorn makes my insides try to relocate to the outsides, human beings cannot seem to shut up, and I’d have to sell a pint of blood to even get in. I don’t pay ten dollars to hear Jennifer Bigmouthington’s opinion the onscreen characters’ costume choices, spoken sharply into the back of my skull as I imagine sending other sharp, shrapnel-y things back into her general area.

Despite being a hermit-in-training, (so far, I’ve climbed the hermit ladder to ‘creepy misanthrope’ level and I have the collar pips to prove it… though they’re more like ‘beetles stuck to me with safety pins’ because hermits don’t often get out to the pip store), I did make it out to the theaters to see Hellboy in 2004, and I fell in love. Not only did it have comedy, romance and big monsters, but it had Jeffrey Tambor. And I thought to myself, quietly, “One day, I’m going to OWN those pants!”

Okay, I totally didn’t think that, but I am a big Jeffrey Tambor fan. I enjoy his work on Arrested Development and all of the other slightly recognizable, often forgettable roles that he’s fallen into. I think he’s actually 9 feet tall in real life, and he eats live cows for dinner. He’s a man’s man, I tell ya!

I found myself collecting all of Mezco‘s Hellboy action figures even before the movie came out, which broke one of my cardinal collecting rules: Thou Shalt Never Buy Toys From A Movie That Thou Hast Not Seen Yet. The toys were stellar, I was a fan of the comic book anyhow, and I succumbed to my lingering fear that the toys would vanish from the face of the Earth if I didn’t pounce on them prematurely. Sideshow Toys were also producing their own line of 12” scale Hellboy figures, which also far surpassed anything I’d seen in toy form, so I snagged those too, including the convention-only ‘Nazi Kroenen’ figure. The collection expanded to include 3” block figures of the characters, as well as 2” gumball machine PVC figures and a Heroclix piece or two. I passed by the Hellboy-branded backpacks and t-shirts, and eventually found the Diamond Comics exclusive ‘crown of fire’ Anung Un Rama Hellboy. So, I had just about everything I could acquire to suitably represent a film and comic that inspired me.

If I’ve learned one thing about collecting other than the fact that I have a pathologically addictive personality, it’s that once you’ve found everything, go on eBay. eBay is the magnifying glass that will amplify all of the strange little gaps in your completist philosophy, and the funhouse mirror that will reflect to you the absurdity of your situation. This is where I found that Revolution Studios was auctioning off film props.

Bullets, gloves, wetsuits, scarves, pants, goggles, charms. If it was in the movie, there’s a good chance that Revolution Studios was selling it, and I wanted it all. I mean, you can amass a pile of things that are ABOUT a movie, or you can own a part of the movie itself. Such crucial items as locators and stunt-worn harnesses instantly shot up in value, but Jeffrey Tambor items hovered around the tens of dollars. I was gunning for his shoes, but due to some inconvenient computer freezing, I ended up with his pants.

Why his shoes? Because what could be more bizarrely fetishistic than owning a large man’s worn shoes? I figure that if you’re going to collect something as useless and obscure as Tamborphenalia, you need to go whole hog. There’s no half-cocked collecting here. I’d be just as happy with a small rock that was on screen for a frame or so, but pants, much like paper, beat rock every time. In this way, I came into possession of something insignificant, impractical, and part of something beautiful.

Not the ‘rubbing against Jeffrey Tambor’s butt’ part—the movie was the beautiful part.