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Stratford Connecticut Vintage Retro Unisex Cotton Jersey Tank Top - Black Logo

Stratford Connecticut Vintage Retro Unisex Cotton Jersey Tank Top - Black Logo

Regular price $28.00 USD
Regular price Sale price $28.00 USD
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The Stratford tank, for the town that is the birthplace of the American helicopter. Lightweight Airlume cotton jersey with the Stratford vintage retro logo on the chest in black, for the hottest months of the year.

The tank is the summer Stratford piece: light enough for the trail, the boat and the porch, cut in a retail unisex fit that runs true to size. Order it before the warm weather does the deciding for you.

Unisex jersey tank made from lightweight Airlume combed and ring-spun cotton with a retail fit. Side-seam construction and self-fabric binding help it hold shape, with a tear-away label, and it runs true to size for adults. Solid colors are 100% cotton; select heather/prism shades may include cotton–poly or cotton–poly–rayon blends.

Stratford was founded by Puritans in 1639 at the mouth of the Housatonic and named on April 13, 1643, for Shakespeare’s Stratford-upon-Avon. It spent two centuries oystering and shipbuilding on the Sound, and the 1750 Captain David Judson House still stands from that era.

On September 14, 1939, Igor Sikorsky’s VS-300 made the first practical helicopter flight in the world over the Housatonic, and every presidential Marine One since 1957 has been built in town. Boothe Memorial Park keeps a clocktower, a windmill and an old Merritt Parkway tollbooth, and Stratford Point Light marks the river mouth. The mark on this piece is the town that taught America to hover.


QUICK FACTS — STRATFORD CT COTTON JERSEY TANK

Town: Stratford, Connecticut

Founded: 1639; named Stratford 1643

Known for: Birthplace of the American helicopter (1939); every Marine One since 1957; Stratford Point Light; Boothe Memorial Park

Art: Stratford vintage retro logo, black (printed)

Blank: Unisex jersey tank, retail fit, side-seamed, self-fabric binding

Fabric: Airlume combed and ring-spun cotton; solids 100% cotton, heather/prism shades blended

Label: Tear-away

Sizes: S, M, L, XL, 2XL

Made to order in the USA


Made to order and shipped free in the U.S. More Stratford pieces, and the rest of Connecticut, are one button away.



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Product FAQs

How does your sizing work?

Every item is made to order, so please check the size chart on this page before you buy. Women's fitted tees run small; size up for a looser fit. Caps are one size with an adjustable strap.

How are items made and when will they arrive?

We make each item to order using premium blanks, embroidery and soft-hand prints. Production takes 2-5 business days (weekends and holidays excluded), then 4-10 days in transit via USPS, UPS or FedEx to U.S. addresses; most orders arrive within 6-15 business days. You'll get a tracking link the moment it ships. Any current shipping offer is shown in the bar at the top of every page and applies automatically at checkout, no code needed.

How do I send a gift?

Enter the recipient's address as the shipping address and your own as the billing address at checkout. Nothing ships with a price; the package includes a plain packing slip. Tracking goes to your email, not theirs. For birthdays and holidays, order two weeks ahead to be safe.

What's the return policy?

Made-to-order items can't be returned or exchanged for size or color, so please use the size chart and photos before ordering. If anything arrives defective, misprinted or damaged, send a photo and your order number within 30 days and we'll replace it or refund you.

How do I care for my item?

Apparel: wash cold, inside out, with like colors; no bleach; tumble dry low or hang dry. Embroidered pieces: iron inside out to protect the stitching. Caps: spot clean. Printed glasses and water bottles: hand wash only, no dishwasher, so the artwork lasts. Mugs and engraved glasses are dishwasher safe. Any item-specific care notes are in the description above.

Who makes this?

Merlin Classics is a small Connecticut brand making original retro designs for the towns people love. Every piece is printed, embroidered or engraved to order in the USA, and the business supports hunger relief in the communities our collections celebrate.

The first real helicopter on Earth lifted off here. On a September morning in 1939, Igor Sikorsky's VS-300 rose into the air over the Housatonic River, and the American helicopter industry was born in Stratford. But the town is three centuries older than that flight — a 1639 Puritan harbor at the mouth of the river on Long Island Sound, named for Shakespeare's Stratford, with oyster boats, a colonial sea-captain's house, and a lighthouse on the Sound. This is Stratford, Connecticut, and this page tells its story.

Then, in 1939, Stratford changed the world's idea of flight. Igor Sikorsky's VS-300 made the first practical helicopter flight here on September 14, and the town became the cradle of the American helicopter — every presidential Marine One has been built in Stratford since 1957. For a small Connecticut harbor, it is an outsized claim to fame: the place where the helicopter went from dream to working machine, on the same riverbank where oyster sloops had worked the tide two centuries before.

Why People Visit Stratford Connecticut

  • Tour Boothe Memorial Park, a 32-acre former estate with an eclectic collection of historic buildings on the Housatonic.
  • Visit the Captain David Judson House (1750), the Stratford Historical Society's colonial Georgian home.
  • See Stratford Point Light, the lighthouse marking the mouth of the river on Long Island Sound.
  • Relax at the Lordship beaches and seawall, facing out onto the Sound.
  • Explore the National Helicopter Museum and the Connecticut Air & Space Center, telling the town's aviation story.

Stratford Connecticut Merlin Classics retro vintage logo featuring oyster shell over Connecticut Est. 1636