savedimage said:
I was wondering: I have an idea for a successful t-shirt; many people have agreed that the humor and popularity of the timeless icons would sell a lot of shirts. How would I go about getting it into mass distribution
through companies such as (Anchor blue, Hot Topic, etc?)THANKS
Savedimage
My suggestion would be to actually *test* the "saleability" of the t-shirts by getting some printed.
A lot of times your friends and family might not be the best source of the type of critical feedback you'll need to see if your design will actually be a success.
Bring your idea to life by creating the graphic, heading to your local screen printer and getting some shirts printed up. Then, setup a website and start marketing the t-shirts.
Better yet, use one of the many online t-shirt fulfillment companies to do the printing, web hosting, ecommerce, and customer service for you. Then all you worry about is marketing your new cool line of t-shirts.
Big companies don't necessarily buy "ideas", they buy established "trends".
A lot of people say they have the "best" idea, but the ones that get picked up are often the ones that have actual sales numbers behind it.
Another way folks have been successful at getting their products into major stores is to head to the major t-shirt/sportswear tradeshows like
Magic in Las Vegas (the biggest) and some of the other clothing tradeshows that are hosted in various parts of the country. A lot of buyers from major stores are at these trade shows looking for the latest and greatest fashion styles.
Hope this helps (hopefully others will have more to add

)