Update! When I received the t-shirts in the mail, they had thrown in an extra t-shirt for FREE. Since then, I've been spreading the Strange Cargo gospel to all my Chicago friends. read more

Cute store with cute clothes. Great spot to find something different or have something personalized.

Two Words: Awesome Store! If you are looking for any sort of iron-on decal-this is the place. Or, you can purchase tees that have already been printed w/ cool iron-ons. In addition to the specialty-tees, Strange Cargo has shoes, bags, patches, and other random accessories. read more

Recently purchased bachelorette party tees here. Although there was a minor error on the shirts, the craftsmanship was otherwise excellent and all were pleased. They handled the situation very kindly and I will definitely do business there again. Highly recommend Strange Cargo for custom t-shirts. read more

For all you assholes complaining about bad service cause you walked in last minute... I say Fuck you!!!! People have lives and want to go home to their families. So sick and tired of assholes like you guys complaining "they were mean" cause they were going to close. I work at a place that people do this to me all the time and I fucking hate it. Have some respect. I'm sure you would not want somebody coming into your place of business right when you are getting ready to go home. GET THERE EARLIER DICKS!!!! read more

Here's the thing: I LOVE Strange Cargo. It's fantastic. And everyone for the most part is very agreeable and awesome... But... one of the girls in their store is trying to convince people that a Youth Medium tee-shirt is the exact same size as a Women's Medium tee-shirt.. which any lady with any ta-tas to speak of will tell you is most certainly not the case. I sent my boyfriend in to make us some custom shirts and he came out with a youth medium for me, with the excuse that some lady had told him that was the right size. I thought he was an idiot until I went in the next day and the girl (who is gorgeous and perfect and has never been a medium-anything in her whole life) said the same thing to me as well. I explained to her that I normally wear a size small in women's but had wanted a medium because I was going to be running in it. And when I put on the Youth Medium, it not only choked me - it barely covered my rib cage. She and the Owner (or Manager) were totally agreeable and helpful and gave me a new custom shirt free of charge (and let me keep the old one, which I will now let my cat wear, as its about her size). In conclusion- Strange Cargo is AWESOME and I totally recommend you buy all of your random tee-shirts from them. But a Youth Medium is not a Women's Medium. Ever. read more

We live just around the corner from this great, funky place. Over the years, we've purchased the best t-shirts and novelty items - usually holiday-themed, including this year. I always get compliments on the shirts, especially...shoes and other cool stuff, too. Great for quirky gifts, too! read more

I had a really good experience here. We needed custom t-shirts made right away. We walked in and had really great service from Sarah. She was so nice and accommodating. Our shirts were ready in 15 minutes and they came out great. It was a completely positive experience. Cool place. read more

I had been hunting down this America's Top Chef T-shirt with Walter White from Breaking Bad on it for a while. I was super excited when I saw that this was the store that carried it! I couldn't find it on their web site, so I called the store. It turned out that it was about 5 minutes before they closed. The owner, Jay answered the phone and was an absolute delight to deal with! He knew exactly what I was talking about. He took all my info and 2 days later it appeared in my mailbox! Talk about prompt service! I could not be happier with my purchase or the experience as a whole. I hope that I will actually get to stop in the shop at some point instead of browsing it online. Wonderful customer service!! read more

They screwed up my email order, but then more than made up for it by redoing it and doing an excellent job. Class act place!

Excellent service! I showed up three days before a bachelorette party cruise in desperate need of celebratory tanks. I provided a slogan for the shirt and the staff member put together an awesome design. 7 shirts were ready for pick up two days later. Tanks looked fantastic and the bride was thrilled! read more

This is the place for vintage T-shirts and Iron ons. Great selection, cool staff, and one of the few stores where the music doesn't suck. In addition to the cool clothes, tons of other fun stuff to keep you happy. Did I mention the Chuck Taylors? read more

Great place for Dickies for girls and boys. They sell Vans, too. Also, old music posters and random card packs. Super friendly service; the kind where they don't hound you and follow you everywhere. read more

Iron-ons! Classic iron-ons! I hate shopping, get headaches and nausea after 5 minutes in a mall, and try to avoid running errands. But this is the kind of rare place where I happily browse for an hour. When I want to get gifts, I go here. When I want a classic t-shirt I'll wear for years till its iron-on has slowly and perfectly faded and crumbled away, this is the place. Sheldon is the man. read more

I was looking for shirts last minute for a volunteer project and Strange Cargo was absolutely incredible! Every staff member I encountered was very helpful and just awesome! They not only had the shirts ready within a couple hours, they went above and beyond to make sure that I was happy! Thanks Strange Cargo, I will DEFINITELY be back! read more

Very pleasant and easy experience. What a great staff. Helped me design shirts for my softball team and they came out perfect! Thanks guys from team Foleys! read more

Great prices, great communication, great service, and great work. I put in a custom order and it was done in a faster than quoted time. Thoroughly impressed. read more

I had a wonderful time. My boyfriend took me in for our last anniversary as boyfriend and girlfriend. I got the coolest Mickey shirt (need more Mickey). Since im getting married in july i thought personal shirts for the wedding party would be dope. I came back and had another wonderful experience. My girlfriends and i felt so welcomed and it meant alot. Thanks Guys read more

These guys and gals are top-shelf. Awesome to work with and quick. They are also creative which helps when you're not sure how you want things to look. Only T-shop I'd recommend. read more

Strange Cargo offers styles of jeans and apparel that appeal to customers looking for a true vintage flare to add to their wardrobe. The store contains mostly clothes that are used, but some new items are also available with the majority of the clothes being of the seventies and eighties style of clothing. Although the store itself resembles a true day at the flea market, I must admit that it is relatively organized. You can even find a beloved logo tshirt from the 70's or 80's if you so desire. read more

I've been shopping here since high school and now over 10 years later, this place is still great. I go to Strange Cargo about every three months and every time I find something new for my wardrobe. This is my first review on Yelp. I went to Strange Cargo yesterday and was blown away by the great service I got. I usually just look for vintage clothing and western shirts, but I needed some T shirts for Xmas gifts. The three shirts were made within minutes and the prices were within my budget !! I hope my family does not mind wearing some of the same t-shirts I already own?? Always great service at this joint. No wonder this place is always my first choice when shopping. If you have not been there check it out. Strange Cargo, thanks for being there. read more

I love Strange Cargo! I have bought many custom designed t-shirts from here over the years, from their famous "Da Bears" t-shirts with Chris Farley from the SNL skit, to their Dikta and Harry Caray shirts, to making up funny sayings of my own like "I see fake people" (pun on Sixth Sense) and wearing it to visit LA. Their t-shirts are made of super soft cotton, and don't shrink. I love all the varieties of logos and people and iconic sayings that they have to choose from, as well as their seasonal varieties on Cubs, Bears, St. Patty's Day, and all around Chicago designs. The staff is always super efficient and it has never taken them longer than 15 minutes to design my t-shirt and have me in and out of there. But while you wait, make sure to peruse around. You will find a huge assortment of old school high socks, which they sell in an assortment of colors, their selection of wigs, and chochkey type memorabilia and don't forget about the big league chew! read more

So impressed! VERY customer service focused, VERY friendly, and they even gave me suggestions I didn't think of before so my design turned out even better than I expected! Not to mention no minimum price and they got my order done in less than 30 minutes. 100% this is the place to go to for clothing design/ printing. read more

Who doesn't love Strange Cargo? I've got several Halloween costumes here as well as some wigs for dress-up parties. I would recommend this store if you are looking for some cheap vintage or custom made t-shirts. read more

I got a shirt made here that said "Ryan Gardner is a cock" and the person writing the order down hardly batted an eye. That's the kind of respect I feel I deserve. read more

What an amazing business! Needed a dozen custom t-shirts within a week, and they nailed it. Great quality shirts, quality printing, best price anywhere, no problem with rush order on a small quantity of shirts, and, knowing I needed them right away, they actually had an employee living near me drop them off at my door. Seriously, don't bother comparing quality and pricing with other companies. Web site was a little confusing for ordering so I just emailed them a design and told them what I wanted, and they got it done--great communication, too. read more

make your own tshirts!!!! they have vintage clothing and just all types of crazy knick knacks. i can be in this store for at least an hour looking through everything. read more

Best place to get a fun and creative T-Shirt deisgned at. They have all types of vintage clothing here. They pretty much have any shirt you would ever want...well sort of! read more

we went here because we wanted shirts with the chicago flag, and because i love vintage and thrift stores. first of all, i love the whole custom printing thing. there;s loads of blank shirts, and you can choose any of the designs they have up around the store to print, which i think is super cool. i chose a black crop top had a chicago flag (with a black background, so it was PERFECT for black shirts) printed on it. the girl who took my order (she had AWESOME tattoos) was super, super nice and friendly and helped me figure out what i wanted. then it only took a few minutes and she came and found me in the store to give me my printed shirt when it was done! it was only $20, which i think is great. but seriously, the rest of the store is the coolest thing ever. my favorite part were these big baskets of vintage patches that were $1 each. my sister and i found some awesome things. they also had stuff like lunchboxes, postcards, sunglasses, pins, shoes, jewelry, et cetera. OH, packs of old WCW and WWF trading cards! i wish i bought more of those. if i ever come to chicago again, i'm definitely coming back. read more

fun store to get random stuff in, funny shirts. the first place since the 80's to carry the old TOPPS Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle trading cards lol. read more

I always shop here for my quirky, unique Chicago sports tshirts. I moved to Texas a few years ago and wanted to buy a bears shirt for the watch parties here, and they totally went above and beyond. Somehow the first shirt never made it in the mail, even tho the tracking info said it did, so they reprinted a shirt for me and sent it over for no cost. These guys are awesome!!! read more

Amazing!!! Not sure who the gentlemen who helped me but he was very helpful. They were able to put a couple of images on one of my shirts for a race. I really appreciate it. Thanks!! read more

This store is quinnessential urban downtown shopping. With their off-beat graphic tees, edgy accessories, and wide selection of hip shoes, you can go in and be outfitted for a day of city-tivities. The staff was friendly, not too in-you-face. They have great sale prices. I was able to purchase a cute shirt for only $8! read more

One of my favorite stores in the city!!! The staff is awesome, they don't hound you to buy things but are readily available to help you when you need it. Not only do they carry awesome vintage t-shirts, you can design your own and buy modern clothing as well. LOVE Strange Cargo! read more

I had to get a t-shirt made with my buddies face on it (obviously to make fun of him) - and thanks to Sheldon, he made that shit happen! Strange Cargo is the bee's knees and Sheldon is the man! read more

STRANGE CARGO T-shirts is a great place to make a customized t-shirt I wanted to make a custom one for a new game "subway surfers" character which my daughter absolutely loves in her ipad. When we got to the store there was a man who helped us to start with the process to pick which kind of tshirt would be perfect for five years old. Then there was this girl she helped us with the image n how it would look on t shirt .then once we finalized it within 10 to 15 mints we got our tshirt. My daughter was very happy to see this, absolutely made her day. Overall wonderful store and great services by them. Will definitely recommend this store to everyone. read more

i bought a t-shirt that says "you must be irish cause my dick is dublin" - need i say more? oh and they have garbage pail kids here. love.

I think the staff is great. I was there for about 2 hours today, and I received assistance from three different workers, all very helpful and personable. I had 5 shirts made and bought a few other things. There's a random dog that was walking around which was awesome because the dog was chill, just kinda added something to the place..if that makes sense. lol. Anywho, it's definitely worth checking out! Someone commented on it being outdated, I am not sure what they are talking about - they sell a great deal of vintage items, which is kinda the feel of the store, therefore....Only thing I slightly questioned was the Forever 21 shirt being sold there - probably wasn't being sold for more or much more than what it goes for in the store, but it still was kinda strange to me...Anyways, great store, great socks, decent prices, definitely one of my favorite stores in the area and in general. read more

I got roped into organizing a bachelorette party and I had to get tshirts made. I didnt know where to go since I had a specific font I needed to use. I called several places in Chicago and no one would accomadate my small order (10 shirts) and let me use my own design. I was finally recommended Strange Cargo. I could not have had a better customer service experience. I didnt catch the name of the man who helped me but he was delightful. I was very stressed about the time constraints and he assured me everything would be done before I needed the shirts. He was extremely helpful and had great suggestions about style/placement/ sizing of my design to get the best result. I had purchased tshirts at target (thinking I would be able to make 10 tshirts myself- how foolish) and they were cool with printing on the shirts I brought in (no where else I talked to in the city was able to do this). Also, their prices were extremely reasonable (I would have paid twice as much). I was so So SO impressed with the service and the attitude of the entire staff. They made a stressful situation pleasant and easy to navigate. read more