Chain Mail is the new Black

Here at ThinkGeek we consider ourselves experts on geek style. After all, we've been churning out geeky shirts long before it was cool to be a geek. So it should be no surprise that one day during a secret meeting in the dark catacombs beneath the ThinkGeek office the discussion strayed towards geeky apparel that we hadn't yet covered. Timmy (the faithful ThinkGeek monkey mascot) was of the opinion that ThinkGeek had already created enough geeky things and might as well go in another direction... like mime outfits.

No sooner had Timmy's words been spoken when a low rumbling could be heard far below the catacombs. Moments later a huge explosion rocked the cavern and the floor erupted in a shower of rocks. The terrible beast who shall not be named, the one all ThinkGeek employees thought banished from existence, raised its hideous head from the rubble and turned its gaping maw to the ceiling in a bone chilling roar. As its thousands of razor sharp teeth bit into Timmy... a sigh of relief was uttered from all in attendance. It was obvious to everyone in the room what the next amazing geeky apparel item should be.... CHAIN MAIL.

The ThinkGeek Chain Mail T-Shirt is honest-to-goodness real metal chain mail hand forged by dwarfs in forbidden mines near the center of the earth and delivered to the ThinkGeek warehouse by shrieking black apparitions in the dead of night. Its bright shine and relatively light-weight comes from its anodized aluminum construction. It's appropriate protective wear for most occasions including office meetings and parties you would rather not have attended.

Two Types of Chain Mail
We're offering two different varieties of chain mail to serve your discriminating medieval needs. Our Standard Chain Mail is a butted mail where the aluminum rings are bent closed, while our fine Riveted Mail features hand riveted closures on each ring. Look at the close-up photos and the difference will become obvious.

Important Note:
Please keep in mind that the ThinkGeek Chain Mail T-Shirt is real chain mail, made from thousands of anodized aluminum rings. This makes the shirt fairly light (for chain mail) at around 12 pounds. However if you opt for the less expensive standard (butted) mail the aluminum rings can be bent and come uncoupled if you don't take care with the garment. Therefore we have included a small bag of extra rings with the standard (butted) mail that you can easily bend into place with needle nose pliers if any repairs are needed.

Tips on Wearing Your New Chain Mail:
In case you weren't aware, chain mail does not stretch. You cannot put it on one arm at a time like a fabric shirt. Instead lay the chain mail flat on the ground, bend over and thrust both arms into the bottom of the shirt. Work your hands through to the end of the sleeves and then begin to stand-up. Get your head through the neck hole and let the chain mail slide down your body. If you have long hair, make sure to tie up your hair before you wear the chain mail. Otherwise it could get tangled in your hair. You might feel a bit claustrophobic when first wearing the chain mail... but don't worry you won't get stuck. PLEASE wear a shirt or some other garment underneath the chain mail. The edges of the rings where they are joined together are a bit rough and can scratch you.

Sizing:
The Large size Chain Mail T-Shirt will fit people who wear standard T-Shirt sizes XL and XXL. The Medium size Chain Mail T-Shirt is for people who wear Small, Medium or Large standard T-Shirts. Both sizes are pretty forgiving. How long the shirt appears on you will depend on how chubby you are. For skinny people the shirt will hang rather long, while overweight folks will find that the shirt appears shorter because of the way the links spread out horizontally. Women can certainly wear the Chain Mail T-Shirt. We would recommend the Medium size unless you are a very large lady.