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Contempo Tees is an American streetwear brand established in California in August 2018.

The brand stems from a previous family owned business, Contempo Casuals.

History
The brand was founded by Wil Friedman and Max Rubin in 2018.

Contempo Tees is considered a relaunch of the 1960's fast-fashion giant, Contempo Casuals. Contempo Casuals was sold to Carter Hawley Hale in 1979, worth approximately $6.4 million in assets. Today, the Contempo Casuals name is owned by online retailer, Wet Seal Inc..

In 2018, Rubin's grandfather, Wil Friedman, noticed Contempo Casuals was still a household name still being referenced in articles as well as TV shows & movies such as Clueless and The Goldbergs. Friedman approached Rubin wanting to combine his knowledge of e-commerce with Friedman's experience in the fashion industry.

Friedman collected his brands hand drawn advertisements from newspapers, magazines, and billboards from the '60s through the '80s. Rubin had them printed on unisex T-Shirts for their launch on October 16th, 2020.

Friedman and Rubin were able to work on the concept for a year before Friedman passed away in September 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Contempo Casuals
Contempo Casuals was founded by entrepreneur couple Dottie and Wil Friedman in October of 1962.

The Friedmans moved to Los Angeles in 1960 with their two children. Upon moving to Los Angeles, they liquidated businesses that went bankrupt. After each liquidation, the unsold merchandise was put into storage where eventually items from fabric, drug, grocery, and women’s apparel stores grew to be too large. The Friedmans rented a storefront to sell all of the unsold merchandise under the name Bargain Town. The women’s clothing was the most popular so the couple decided to purchase more to sell. The Friedmans then renamed Bargain Town to Contempo Casuals.

The brand at a rapid rate and caught the attention of national retailers. The Friedmans sold Contempo Casuals in 1979 to the Neiman Marcus Group. The chain’s 239 stores were then sold to Wet Seal after seasons of soft sales. Contempo Casuals operated under its original name until 2001, before all stores were converted to Wet Seal and Arden B. storefronts.