Hype and Vice College Tees: What to Buy First

I have a soft spot for a brand born from the kind of workaround you invent before the right clothes exist. In 2015, USC students Kimberly Robles and Cecilia Gonzalez started Hype and Vice in their dorm after watching women at tailgates cut oversized campus tees into crop tops and skirts. Kimberly studied business administration and economics at USC, while Cecilia trained at FIDM, which is a very handy pairing of operating instinct and fashion eye.

The idea was never to shrink men's fan gear and change the color. They set out to make officially licensed collegiate clothes for women, with trend-aware shapes that carry team spirit through a whole day, not just the stands. The label's own story is women-first and community-minded, and you can feel it in the baby tees, bandeau tops, jersey-inspired pieces and sweatshirts.

A UCLA collection in 2023 made a fitting milestone, since the brand began with a USC tailgate and ended up with a UCLA license too. That is the heart of it for me: school colors without uniform dressing, and fan identity turned into clothes considered enough to wear off the field.

I like these tops because they start with the school and let shape do the styling. The University Of Florida Playmaker Tank Top and University Of Miami Track Top are the straightforward way in, while the Texas Jersey Tube Top and Michigan University Tube Top are more outfit-first. The Alabama Football Oversized T-shirt is the relaxed counterpoint, and baby tees like the Indiana Goalie Baby Tee, Syracuse Goalie Baby Tee and Michigan Goalie Baby Tee take the same team shorthand somewhere closer fitting.

The team mark stays, but the proportions change, which is the difference from standard bookstore gear. Picture her at a tailgate in the Texas Jersey Tube Top with high-rise denim and a light layer for later. My rule is to keep the bottom half quiet when a tee or tank already carries the lettering. The Usa Offside Crewneck and UT Austin Football Oversized T-shirt follow the same logic.

The University Of Michigan All-star Stride Pants and Knicks Foldover Pant are a pants-first route into fan dressing, while the Alabama Gameday Gingham Short and Miami Bandeau Top read lighter for warm afternoons. I like that not every team piece has to be a tee, so game day can feel like a look rather than a uniform.

Picture her leaving the bleachers in the Michigan pants, a simple tank and sneakers, then swapping to the gingham shorts when the afternoon moves to a patio. What I would skip: a second piece in a clashing team color. Check the colors first so it supports the main graphic instead of competing with it.

The best thing about this idea is that it starts with belonging and then asks how a woman wants to dress around it. Kimberly and Cecilia saw students making their own cropped, game-ready pieces, and Hype and Vice gave that instinct a licensed home. I would start with the school I actually root for, then add one piece that feels like my regular closet, whether that is a tee, a short or a track top. That is how team colors earn a place beyond the stadium, although mine would probably still end up at the stadium.