How to date your Snap-T

Most of what you need is on the tags inside the left side seam and at the collar. Here is what to look for, roughly in the order I check it.

Make sure it is a Snap-T

A Snap-T closes with snaps on a short placket, usually four, sometimes three on the earliest prints. The same prints were also sewn into quarter-zips, half-zips, overshirts and sweaters, and sellers call all of them Snap-Ts. If it has a zipper, it isn’t one.

Read the style number

Newer care tags print a style number. These are the ones that show up across this catalog:

Find the season code

Modern tags often run the style number and season together, like STY25580FA15. FA means fall and SP means spring, followed by the two-digit year, so that one is Fall 2015. That is the most reliable date you will get.

Check the color code

A four-letter code next to the style number names the print and colorway. SKSB is Shepherd Knit in Stone Blue, SHNV is Shale in Navy Blue, HOST is Howl in Stone Blue. When a seller doesn’t know the print name, this code usually settles it.

Look at where it was made

Printed Snap-Ts from the 1990s are mostly made in the USA, with some made in Canada and a few in Jamaica. From the 2010s on, expect Mexico, Nicaragua and other countries. A “Made in USA” tag on a printed Snap-T almost always means 1990s.

Check the pocket

Several of the earliest prints, including Spears and Creatures, have no chest pocket at all. Most later pieces have the familiar snap pocket on the left chest in a contrasting nylon.

This guide covers what I’ve seen on real tags. If your tag says something different, I’d like to see it.