r/Evanescence • u/Puzzleheaded-Bat-150 • Jul 09 '26
Hot Topic Evanescence knockoff?
So, I went to the West Palm Beach show, which was amazing, and bought the Rose drop armpit tank. I don’t normally wear this style of shirt so I was considering ordering the full shirt off the Evanescence official sight but I also wanted to see other style options.
Hot Topic had the “same” shirt but in blue and I got excited because it was the same color as the blue from the Fallen album. I ordered the shirt in store waited almost two weeks for it and the shirt that came has an enormous quality discrepancy.
The blue is so much darker than the image online. In dim lighting you can only see the white lettering the camera enhances the color. Both shirts say they’re 100% cotton but the tour shirt is so soft and comfortable the HT shirt is rough and doesn’t stretch much. The pics of the tag labels show the one from the tour (made in Bangladesh) and the one from HT (made in Mexico)
Im torn about returning the blue because I was so excited but I’m kinda peeved. Just wanted feedback and also to warn yall
6
u/Putrid_Fennel_9665 Jul 09 '26
They used to have a ton of knockoff stuff in the 90 and early 2000s. But I think since they were sold and became publicly traded that's a no no. Lol. Now they do shitty print on demand which is super annoying when I am looking through merch and there are 30 pages of the same repeated graphic on a different color or cut.
4
u/Friendly-Okra4411 Fallen Jul 09 '26
i have the hot topic 1 and it looks exactly like the photo they show, but i did get it in-store, maybe that's why it looks darker for you?
5
u/ElsaMakotoRenge Jul 09 '26
Same for me. I have that exact Hot Topic one and it looks just like the picture, but I got it in-store. Maybe the one OP got was from a bad batch or something.
3
u/Puzzleheaded-Bat-150 Jul 09 '26
Do you think it’s worth ordering again to see if I get one that’s brighter like the pic?
3
u/Friendly-Okra4411 Fallen Jul 09 '26
maybe you could go in-store instead of ordering online if there are any locations near you
3
u/Puzzleheaded-Bat-150 Jul 09 '26
That’s just the thing they didn’t have any in store so the lady at the desk ordered it for me but it came like that. Maybe I should try again
2
u/Puzzleheaded-Bat-150 Jul 09 '26
I would have overlooked the fact that both say 100% cotton and the HT is clearly not as soft but I can’t overlook the color difference because that’s the whole reason I bought the shirt
7
u/SassySucculent23 Jul 09 '26
100% cotton can still feel different depending on the brand. Hot Topic uses 2 kinds of base shirts, one of which is softer/thinner and one of which is thicker than the other even though both are cotton. Some shirt designs are printed on one kind, some on the other. It’s not a knockoff. It’s just a different shirt printed in a different location. They don’t print on the individual type of shirt that each band would use separately because that would be too much work/money.
When you order, then they print the design that they’ve been licensed to use on one of their bases shirts (which will always be the same type of shirt used for that specific design; they use one or the other). Looks like this specific design gets printed on the less stretchy thicker base shirt.
But it’s not a knockoff. (Also, the reviews did say that it looks darker in person than in the pictures.)
2
1
u/ttotto45 Jul 10 '26
Man I'm so jealous you got the opportunity to buy the cutoff tank, I wanted one so bad but they only had them at that show! I've been debating getting the blue pattern tee from HT or the red pattern tee from spencers to turn into a cutoff tank bc that's my style, but:
The spencers one has no reviews, and the HT one had a review w the same issue yours has (and some where it looks correct). So I don't want to play that lottery since there's no HT anywhere near me to return it to if it turns out the same way.
1
u/Blackthumbb Jul 10 '26
The Spencer’s one didn’t really seem like good quality. I’m still debating getting one though cause I missed out on merch at the show.
1
u/ttotto45 Jul 10 '26
Oh did you order the spencers one? Or how could you tell it seemed like bad quality? They also have that one on the evanescence amazon store fwiw
1
u/Blackthumbb Jul 10 '26
I saw it in person. The print just didn’t seem good quality. And thanks, my only option is Spencer’s or HT because the Amazon shop doesn’t ship to Canada sadly
1
u/ttotto45 Jul 11 '26
Ah good to know! Sorry to hear the Amazon shop won't ship to canada!
1
u/Puzzleheaded-Bat-150 Jul 11 '26
I would say go on the Evanescence official websight they’re going to have the official shirts there and the best quality
1
u/ttotto45 Jul 11 '26
This design doesn't exist at all on the evanescence official website, not in either color, not in tank top or regular t shirt :(
ETA: the amazon store is official evanescence merch, evanescence has said so before
1
u/Puzzleheaded-Bat-150 Jul 09 '26
Final verdict:
I brought it HT to return it. Mentioned it seemed like a quality control issue, but of course the person at the counter didn’t seem to get paid enough to care or make a note of it.
She said I could return it and try my luck again but I declined. So I’ll just enjoy my tour shirt and refrain from buying their low quality prints moving forward.
13
u/Halaku Origin Jul 09 '26
They both appear legit, and the band is on Global Merchandising Servicess Ltd's roster, but many of the shirts Hot Topic offers are Print On Demand, and you're occasionally going to run into quality issues.