Recognizing the haute couture potential of the humble t-shirt, Michael Stars has been a continual pioneer in “casual style” since its founding in 1986. The Los Angeles based, family-run company remains a leader in the women’s contemporary market, distinguished by its contoured fit, exuberant colors and comfortable fabrics.
In 1976 South African Michael Cohen emigrated to Los Angeles from his native Cape Town to work for a British shirt company. A decade later he met an artist selling hand-painted t-shirts, which spurred his imagination to do garment-dyed, multicolored screen-printed tees. He began by creating “large boxy men’s t-shirts with tribal art” before moving into an unplumbed niche in 1992: women’s fashion tees. Capturing a distinct West Coast feel, the brand is also inspired by the Greek island of Mykonos, a favorite and long-time destination of the company’s eponymous founder.

In the beginning, the company was modestly ran out of a garage by three family members, all of whom remain with the company today. Cohen, his brother Stuart Cohen, and Suzanne Lerner, owner of the Lerner et Cie showroom, who has repped the line from the beginning and later married the entrepreneur. Simon Cohen, his son and the company’s president, joined the business in 1994.

The Michael Stars company has grown from three to over 175 employees, and has concurrently seen its distribution grow from the local Southern California market to all 50 states. Offering more than 200 styles in over 30 colors per season, the Michael Stars collection of tees includes a variety of tanks, crews, v-necks, henleys and turtlenecks. Available in fabrics like shine, supima cotton, supima modal, and supima thermal.
Building on the success of its original women’s line, Michael Stars expanded with “Maternitees” in 2001. Most recently in 2006, Michael Stars launched a tissue weight, 16-gauge Cashmere line. Each year the company produces over a dozen “Noveltees” like tie-dyes, screen prints, and hand-stitched embellishments, to merchandise with their solids.

Michael Stars Tee’s are a favorite of Cameron Diaz and Mischa Barton.