15. "Grass Green Defeated Napoleon T-Shirt" from Franchies Shirt Shop

Yet another shirt painting the Emperor in a rather sad light, this time from German site Franchies Shirt Shop. At the bottom left corner of this short-sleeved t-shirt, a crestfallen Napoleon is depicted, arms folded, slumped on his equally fed-up white horse. Above the image is printed the phrase "Ihm felte etwas brot", which Google Translate tells me is German for "He lacked some bread".

Not the catchiest Bonaparte slogan I've seen this year, but actually one of the most interesting. According to the designer, it's a reference to Napoleon's calamitous invasion of Russia in 1812. Overstretched, and frozen (newspaper cartoons of the time showed "General Frost" as Napoleon's greatest enemy), the French army was forced out of Russia in less than six months, with Napoleon's tendency to live off the land instead of relying on highly-structured supply lines cited as a key reason. In the bitter wastelands they passed through on this campaign, food rations were scarce, and Napoleon's men went hungry.

According to "Six Thousand Years of Bread: Its Holy and Unholy History" (H. E. Jacob, first published in 1944), Napoleon had spoken five years earlier of the importance of bread in his planned conquest of this vast land, saying "If I have bread, it will be child's play to defeat Russia." Unfortunately, by the end of 1812, he didn't and it wasn't.

This shirt is available in a man's size in "grass green" for €29.95. There are also several other colours and styles of shirt, ranging ijn price from about €25-€35. All shirts are 100% cotton, and - for a change - made by American Apparel. Most of the designs are based around the bread theme, but one or two feature a simple image of Napoleon standing with his arm inside his coat (perhaps hiding his sandwiches before the other guys see them).

14. "Napoleon" from Vicious History

If history is written by the victors, then - unfortunately for The Emperor - it seems that the t-shirts are designed by them too. This design by Keaton Henson for Vicious History sees Napoleon as an addled old tramp, with sad eyes and a damaged face, though still resplendent in his trademark uniform and bicorne. It's a surprisingly powerful image, and comes from a collection of similar t-shirts curated by Chaz Matses in Massachusetts. According to the Vicious History website, "We specialize in contemporary apparel which incorporates a vast range of historical influences into its designs. Our company’s purpose is to create inventive and unique apparel that allows us to share our artistic vision with our customers." Well, in that case: Mission Accomplished.

The "Napoleon" design uses white American Apparel t-shirts (does literally everyone use American Apparel?), and in a nicely consistent anti-Napoleon touch, is available in either large or extra large, ensuring that anyone with Bonaparte's 5'7" build will have to wear one hanging round their knees.

Actually, that's not entirely fair. The description of the shirt is remarkably pro-Boney: "Take on the world just like Napoleon Bonaparte in this new shirt!"

Or as a grateful army once cried: "Vive l'Empereur!"

The shirt costs $20, and is shipped worldwide.

Hat-tip: Buy-Tees.net

13. "Waterloo T-Shirt" from Dicteetors/HalfEmptyClothing/Zazzle

Want a t-shirt to do with Napoleon Bonaparte? Easy. No problem - the web's full of them. Want a t-shirt specifically based around a bad pun on the name of an infamous, often murderous dictator? Er...

Well actually, maybe it's as niche as it sounds. Dicteetors is a small, one-page website, featuring six designs about totalitarian menaces, happily incorporated into humourous t-shirts inspired by dodgy wordplay. So we are presented with "Chairman's Choice Mao-nnaise", "Kim Jong Illinois (Not just a place but a state of mind)" and a "Castrobot". Napoleon's probably got the best design of the lot, principally because it's based not on his name, but on Waterloo, the site of his biggest defeat: "Napoleon's Water Loo, San Dimas, California".

The fact that Napoleon's shirt has nothing to do with his name gives us a clue to the source of its inspiration, and fans of "Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure" will doubtless recognise the name San Dimas. In the movie, Bill & Ted take Napoleon Bonaparte - struggling to fit into his new 20th Century, Californian surroundings - to Waterlube, a waterpark set in San Dimas (those of you eager to recreate this scene will have to travel slightly further afield though, as the waterpark used was in the movie was actually Golfland/Sunsplash waterpark in Mesa, Arizona.)

The design itself is (like most other Napoleon t-shirts) taken from Napoleon Crossing The Alps by Jacques-Louis David, and says "Water Loo" rather than "Waterlube", which makes sense as all but the most die-hard Bill & Ted fans wouldn't get the Waterlube reference.


Either way, it's a nice idea for a shirt. According to the description on the site "Dicteetors.com is not intended to make any political statement. These designs are intended only to be funny."

The Waterloo shirt is available for $21.95, and comes in all sizes and 11 colours, though a premium of $2.85 is charged for every colour apart from white. The t-shirt itself is described as "Comfortable, casual and loose fitting, our heavyweight t-shirt will quickly become one of your favorites. Made from 6.1 oz, pre-shrunk 100% cotton, it wears well on anyone. We’ve double-needle stitched the bottom and sleeve hems for extra durability. Imported." Dicteetors makes use of a Zazzle store to sell the shirts. Click on whichever design you're interested in, and you get taken to the Dicteetors/HalfEmptyClothing shopfront ready to place your order.

Delivery is free to addresses in the US, but because of Zazzle's network of local websites, its policy on international distribution is quite vague. There are lots of disclaimers to do with import taxes, and delivery tracking, and in order to find out the price, you are encouraged to complete a "mock purchase" first.

This is a fantastic t-shirt, and the guys at Dicteetors/HalfEmptyClothing win my full endorsement when they ask "If you were one of Europe's greatest leaders, and you were stranded in San Dimas for one day, where would you go? Waterloo!" Yes, "one of Europe's greatest leaders". In fact he WAS Europe's greatest leader, but this is close enough. Vive L'Empereur!

12. "Napoleon Tee T-Shirt Print" from ediot

"Napoleon Tee T-Shirt Print" is a three-colour (tricolour?) design that builds on the univerally recognisable nature of Napoleon Bonaparte, and represents him as a mere silhouette carrying the French flag (Tricolour). Printed on a short-sleeved white t-shirt, its uncluttered layout, combined with the restrained use of powerful colours, makes it pretty striking.

Designed by ediot, it's the first Napoleon-inspired shirt I've seen that comes from Sweden. If you want to know more about ediot, I can't put it more succinctly than she does on her website: "im 26. live in sweden- originally from norway. love clothes. love making prints. love music. I have an webshop at www.ediot.etsy.com". Job done.

The shirt costs $21 from ediot's etsy store, plus $7 dollars p&p plus $5 per subsequent item ordered. An ediot logo on the shirt is optional.

11. "Napoleon Bonaparte T-Shirt" from Johnny Cotton

A very simple t-shirt here from British website johnnycotton.co.uk, which depicts Napoleon above the word "Leader". Whatever you make of the guy, he was undeniably a leader, and as a slightly lame bonus, casual observers of the shirt may assume that the wearer is also a leader. Double win. The picture used on the shirt is from a favourite of mine, "The Emperor Napoleon in His Study at the Tuileries" painted by Jacques-Louis David in 1812.


Johnny Cotton print shirts in several categories, from dogs and movies, to music and cars. This particular design is from the "Famous People" section of the catalogue, in which Napoleon finds himself in the company of such greats as Salvador Dali, Einstein and Mozart, and is described as being "widely regarded as one of history's greatest commanders". Finally: some respect for the little fella.

The shirt costs £9.99 and is available in ten different colours, with six colours to choose from for the print itself (though the site urges you to choose a print colour that is darker than the shirt colour). Shipping options vary from country to country, and are calculated just prior to payment, so it's not clear how much delivery might cost. The product itself is very reasonably priced though, so unless the shipping is insanely expensive, it looks like being a good deal.

Shirt description: "Heavy weight T-Shirt, 180 gsm (Ladies 150gsm with shaped side seams), Tubular Construction, Twin needle and Cover Stitch fabric with Taped Back Neck, Collar wih Elasthane, Superior quality print that will not fade, crack or peel, Fully machine washable".

10. "Napoleon, 5 Feet of EuroTrash" from Irish Laundry

So far this site has only featured t-shirts which were either pro-Napoleon, or at worst neutral towards the great man, and there was an unspoken assumption that this would always be the case. Could anyone seriously contemplate designing or making an anti-Napoleon t-shirt? Well, yes. Over at Irishlaundry.com, they've done just that. (Thanks to Travis at Founditem for the tip-off).

Irish Laundry specialises in classic t-shirts aimed squarely at non-metrosexuals ("An Irish Laundry man drinks beer and whiskey instead of cosmos and wine coolers"), and resolutely not at "pretty boys walking around in their lame $80 t-shirts with foil prints, popped collars, and hair with frosted tips." Well said.

The site currently offers around 20 different designs on a variety of themes. You can see the full range here, but my main interest lies in the anti-Napoleonic offering, in which our man is described as "Five feet of Eurotrash" [Note: Readers unfamiliar with the term "Eurotrash" can find several apposite definitons at the Urban Dictionary.

Back to the t-shirt, and there are two important points to be made:

1) Boney was a bit Eurotrash, but he wasn't actually that small. According to Wikipedia: "During the Napoleonic Wars he was taken seriously by some in the British press as a dangerous tyrant, poised to invade. A nursery rhyme warned children that Bonaparte ravenously ate naughty people; the 'bogeyman'. The British Tory press sometimes depicted Napoleon as much smaller than average height and this image persists. Confusion about his height also results from the difference between the French pouce and British inch—2.71 and 2.54 cm respectively; he was 1.7 metres (5 ft 7 in) tall, average height for the period, sometimes quoted as 1.68 metres (5 ft 6 in)."

2) Hostility to the Emperor never normally makes any sense, but in the case of Irish Laundry it's entirely consistent with their well-documented anti-French policy. The site makes no apology for its hardline stance regarding the French, and doesn't even ship to the country. On the FAQs page, the company's shipping policy is not ambiguous: "FRANCE - If you are thinking about placing an order to be shipped to France, please don't bother. Irish Laundry has a strict policy against shipping to Frenchys. No, we're not joking. It's not that we can't ship to France. It's just that we don't want guys named Pierre wearing our shirts."

So as long as you're not French, this actually seems like an interesting t-shirt. Selling for $18, this tee is available only in white, and features a very recognisable silhouette of Napoleon against a zig-zag Tricolor background, with the Eurotrash legend beneath it. In terms of the shirt itself, the site says all designs use "super soft premium tees that typically have a slightly slimmer fit than a traditional Hanes type of t-shirt. Nearly all of our shirts are printed on American Apparel or similar fitting brands." Shipping is a flat $4 for all shirts within the US, $10 to Canada, and $15 to the rest of the world (except France).

Purchase Power: Grey Napoleon T-Shirt Present

And so for the most recent of my new Napoleon t-shirts, and my favourite Christmas present of 2009. Designed and given to me by my girlfriend, it's a simple t-shirt bearing a close-up of Napoleon's head, and I'm proud to say it's without a doubt the best I've seen.

Grey cotton/viscose t-shirt in MEDIUM (she knows how to impress me), it features an enlarged monochrome cut-out of the The Emperor's head and hat, taken from our old friend Napoleon Crossing The Alps by Jacques-Louis David.

Total cost: To me? Nothing!
Delivery time: Instant gratification.
Verdict: Simple, comfortable, unique. Best of the bunch.

Purchase Power: Grey and Blue T-Shirts from Greatcitees

A double whammy: one "Metro Gray", and one "Candy Blue" t-shirt from Greatcitees.com to celebrate the town of Napoleon in Ohio. As promised, they're decent, everyday t-shirts with a resilient design which - unlike most of the other tees I've reviewed - is not a transfer, but specially embedded ink. The shirts are 100% cotton, and are fairly heavy, but look understated and represent pretty good value at just $13 a piece plus p+p.

My only complaint about them is actually a complaint about the USPS delivery time, which cost me $12 and got me worried for the first time since I started reviewing Napoleon t-shirts last year. I placed my order on 27 October 2009, and the product shipped from the US to the Netherlands on 30 October. It then took until early December for me to receive the package, by which time I'd begun to think it would never turn up.

Now, I'm not blaming Greatcitees for this, as their website does specify that "estimated delivery time by USPS First Class International is 2-4 weeks", and this only took a week longer than that, but it does seem like a ridiculous amount of time to wait:

Distance from Cambridge, Massachusetts to Amsterdam, Netherlands: 3453.11 miles.
Delivery time for this order: 5 weeks = 35 days = 840 hours
Average speed = 4.11 miles an hour.
I COULD HAVE WALKED IT FASTER (plus a bit of swimming...)

What unsettled me further still was Greatcitees.com itself. In a way I think my doubts were a backhanded compliment to the sheer efficiency of the site, which offers a multitude of different options for each shirt. For the Napoleon, Ohio t-shirts I ordered, there were a choice of five different colours, 11 different sizes, and a total of 15 fonts. Trouble was that once I'd paid up, and started waiting, the site started to look very impersonal to me. Hundreds of different cities available in every combination you can think of... Too good to be true? I'll admit that for a few days, I began to wonder if it was a scam. Would I ever get the shirts? I was about to call the number listed on the site when a Google search revealed an @GreatCitees Twitter feed. Though locked, its very existence finally gave the site the human face it had been lacking, and I relaxed. Sure enough, the shirts arrived two days later.

All told, I'm pleased with these t-shirts, and content in the knowledge that any time I need one, there are 825 different combinations of Napoleon t-shirts waiting for me at Greatcitees.com.

Total cost: $13.00 x 2 + $12.00 for international posting = $38.00

Delivery time: 5 weeks from USA to Europe.

Verdict: Good choices from a vast selection of custom t-shirts.

Purchase Power: Blue Napoleon T-Shirt from Found Item Clothing

I've spent most of my time on this blog looking for new Napoleon designs, but recently the time came for me to return to an old favourite. This t-shirt was the first Napoleon shirt I ever bought, and was the inspiration for this site. It's made by founditemclothing.com, which operates out of Portland, Oregon, and mainly sells replicas of t-shirts that have been featured in either TV shows, movies or music videos. The company came into existence when its founder couldn't find an "I Love Toxic Waste" t-shirt, as seen in the movie Real Genius, and promptly had one designed specially for him.

So after ordering several new Napoleon t-shirts, I decided the time had come to replace my original t-shirt (or at least buy an identical shirt to hang alongside it in my wardrobe), and back in November, I placed my order (same system, sames price: $21.95, though the international shipping cost had risen from $3.95 in 2006 to $10.95 in 2009). Sure enough, after less than two weeks, the new shirt arrived, and was everything I had hoped it'd be - the same as the last one! No changes, just a much newer, richer blue American Apparel t-shirt, with a pristine white "Napoleon" emblazoned on the front.

Now the only question that remains is whether or not to expand my search to include t-shirts about other great historical figures, starting with this Found Item beauty:

This one's also based on a shirt worn by Murdock from The A-Team, and it looks pretty good, though it's currently out of stock. Handily, Found Item provide a link to their Spreadshirt Shop, where you can create your own Alexander shirt using their design, though if I'm going to do that I might just tailor myself a new scorching red Napoleon shirt instead...


Total cost: $21.95 + $10.95 for international posting = $31.95

Delivery time: Less than 14 days, from USA to Europe.

Verdict: Just as perfect as it was in 2006.

Purchase Power: "Napoleon Cookie Shirt" from Topatoco

Next to make it over the Atlantic was this little beauty, which is fast becoming one of my favourite t-shirts.

This one took slightly longer than the Emperial Living delivery, arriving fourteen days after I'd placed the order, but this was more than made up for by the fact that Topatoco sent it using the regular mail, so I didn't have to wait about for a FedEx delivery all day, and found the package as a pleasant surprise when I checked the postbox.

The product itself is great. The blue American Apparel shirt is vibrant and easy to wash, and the design itself asks more questions than it answers.

Total cost: $19.50 + $12.52 for international posting = $32.02

Delivery time: 14 days, from USA to Europe.

Verdict: A thing of beauty. Good t-shirt, great design.

Purchase Power: "Napoleon Living" from Emperial Nation

First to arrive was my shipment from Emperial Nation in New York. I had been planning to order a single Napoleon Living t-shirt in the garish bright pink colour that's mainly advertised on the Emperial Nation site, but at the moment of ordering I caved and ended up ordering the white version as well.

After just over a week, the shirts arrived, and I'm delighted with them. They look like they did on the website, and best of all they're low maintenance - just stick them in the wash with everything else. This is important because Napoleon Bonaparte or otherwise, washing by hand is never an option.

Total cost: 2 x $41.00

Delivery time: 8 days, from USA to Europe.

Verdict: Bang on the money.

Napoleon Tees: Purchase Power!

So, having reviewed several Napoleon-themed t-shirts over the past few months, I've now ordered a few for myself. After a couple of weeks, they are finally starting to arrive. As I receive them, I'll review them. Check here for updates...

9. "Napoleon Cookie Shirt" from Topatoco

This is the ninth t-shirt to be reviewed here at The Emperor's New Clothes, and it's the least militaristic by some margin.

Printed on a vibrant Royal Blue American Apparel t-shirt, Napoleon Cookie Shirt depicts a cartoon Emperor gleefully nibbling on a cookie. Napoleon's Ride may have featured a doughnut, but at least that one was on a flag. Here, the snack food is all too real, with Bonaparte munching on a biscuit with the wide-eyed delight of man who has been looking forward to a sugary treat for quite some time.

Sold by the Topato Corporation at topataco.com, this shirt was designed by artist Kate Beaton as part of her Hark! A Vagrant collection, which also includes several other historically-inspired t-shirts.

At $19.50, it's good value, and while stocks are running low, it's still available in larger sizes. Shipping is with USPS, and Topatoco's policy regarding international delivery is clearly summed up on the site as "We ship to every country that accepts packages from the USA, even the ones where people talk funny and don’t eat 20 hot dogs every day! These packages may take a bit longer because of all the pointless bureaucracy."

In short, this is a fantastic design, and though I disagree with Topatoco's description of the big guy as "a terrible sort of dictator", I heartily endorse this t-shirt.

8. "Napoleon Complex" from Ecko

Possibly the meanest-looking shirt to be featured on this site, and definitely one of the coolest I've seen so far.

Available from Shopecko.com, this Mark Ecko t-shirt takes the same picture of Napoleon Crossing The Alps by Jacques-Louis David as featured on the Threadless shirt "Napoleon's Ride", but runs with it in absolutely the opposite direction: here we see Napoleon clad in a gas mask, and brandishing a rescue flare. The Emperor as urban rioter.

With graffiti-style slogans adorning the front of the shirt, the back is empty apart from the phrase "Writing All Wrongs" in large red letters.

Designed predominantly from red, black and white, Napoleon Complex is only available on black t-shirts, and retails for $28 dollars.

On Shopecko.com it's described as follows: "Riding high. A Napoleon hat clad skeleton is robed and charging on a horse on this Ecko Unltd. screenprint tee with Ecko logos and designs. "Writing All Wrongs" and the iconic rhino weld logo in back. 100% cotton. Machine wash. Imported."

Now I don't see the skeleton myself, and think it's just the man himself wearing breathing apparatus, but I could be wrong. However, that's not my biggest gripe. On checking out Ecko's shipping policy, it turns out that delivery is only an option for US addresses (including Alaska and Hawaii) but nowhere else. This seems like a crazy decision, and I'm sure most international Bonaparte fans would be quite willing to pay a few dollars more to get their hands on one of these shirts.

In September 2007, designer Mark Ecko paid a hefty $752,467 to get his hands on the baseball Barry Bonds hit for his record-breaking 756th home run. After polling vistors to his website, Ecko branded the ball with an asterisk to denote the questions which hung over Bonds' achievement, and sent it to the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. Now for my money, if you can do that, you can stretch to international delivery for a humble t-shirt.

7. "Napoleon's Ride" from Threadless

The image is unmistakeable: Napoleon Bonaparte, right hand aloft, sitting on his rearing white horse as he makes his way over the Alps. During the period 1801-1805, artist Jacques-Louis David painted five different versions of this iconic portrait of Napoleon, and now, after 200 years, a sixth has been created... adding a stockinged cat and a hugh flag of a turquoise doughnut.

Napoleon's Ride is another in the collection of Bonaparte t-shirts available at Threadless.com. Created by Berlin-based Martin Krusche, the shirt was printed in 2008, and at the moment looks like it's pretty much sold out, with the exception of junior sizes. Once again, I've submitted a re-print request, and will let you know if there's any movement.

Details: available on a plain white t-shirt, Napoleon's Ride uses "plastisol ink and a chino additive for softness", and is entirely drawn using grey, black and turquoise. Currently $9.

I love the ghostly faces on Napoleon and the cat, and the fact that even his horse Marengo has been made to look quite sinister. Thinking about it though, Marengo outlived Napoleon, and eventually made it to the ripe old age of 38, so I'm guessing he probably was looking more than a little creepy by the end anyway.

6. "Napoleon Ohio" from Greatcitees

Napoleon, Ohio, was founded in 1834 and is the home of the world's largest Campbell's Soup plant. It has a population of 9,300 people, and is the county seat of Henry County. Sounds lovely, but critically, it's got the name we need.

These t-shirts from Greatcitees.com ("Show off your favorite place"), and are available for towns and cities across the United States. The Napoleon, Ohio tees look cool, and come in five different colours and 16 different fonts. In terms of fabric and print quality, the site says they're "Direct to fabric digital print. NOT a transfer. Ink is embedded in the fabric for ultimate wearable comfort. Unisex t-shirt is 100% cotton, preshrunk Hanes Heavyweight 5.5 oz. with double needle sleeves and bottom hem."

The Metro Blue version pictured above retails for $13. International shipping costs a further $12 for up to four shirts, sent with USPS First Class Mail International.

All in all these look like decent t-shirts, and seeing as the city of Napoleon began life in 1834, just 13 years after his death, I think it's a pretty safe bet that they're named after Mr.Bonaparte himself.

5. "Elba Rocks" from Zazzle

One of the simpler Napoleon t-shirts available on the web, this one from Zazzle.com features a charicature drawing of the man himself, alongside the slogan "Elba Rocks".

Created by abrager, it's only available in white, and the shirt used is a "classic heavyweight t-shirt. Tagless design for ultimate comfort. Pre-shrunk, 6.1 ounce 100% cotton. Double-needle stitched bottom and sleeve hems. Loose, classic fit, wears well on anyone. Imported."

t's not the most eye-catching Bonaparte t-shirt out there, but I must say I like the sentiment. Napoleon's time on Elba has always been one of my favourite parts of his life. When he was exiled there in 1814, it must have been a devastating blow, but Napoleon quickly picked himself up and got down to business. Elba's 12,000 inhabitants soon realised that while the Allied Powers might have given him the title of "Emperor of Elba" as a sop to his vanity, Napoleon was fully committed to using what small powers he had, and in less than a year on the island, he put together a small army and a navy, passed legislation on issues as diverse as agricultural methods and taxation, and pushed ahead with work to develop Elba's roads and iron mines. Elba Rocks!

$15.95 from Zazzle.com, plus shipping. I couldn't find international shipping costs on Zazzle, but they use USPS Airmail Standard Shipping, so I think it's about $25. Alternatively, you can use your local Zazzle site. On Zazzle.de, for example, this t-shirt costs €14.85 plus delivery, which seems pretty reasonable.

4. "The Napoleon" from RVCA

OK, it's Word Association time. Here goes: Napoleon... Wellington... Waterloo... Giraffe... Corsica... Wait - Giraffe?

Nope, I don't get it either, but I love the look on the giraffe's face, and the fact that its clothes make it so immediately recognisable as Napoleon.

The shirt was designed for RVCA by skateboarder Kevin "Spanky" Long, and is available in four colours from the RVCA site (Black, Cement Gry, Marco Red and University Red), and other colours (red, gold) from online resellers such as Titus, Zumiez and Infinity Surfboards. RVCA don't seem to have many sizes on offer at the moment, but again, it looks like there's more choice over at their partner sites.

Easily the most unlikely Napoleon t-shirt I've encountered so far, and I think I'll buy one just as soon as I can find the right colour/size combo somewhere.

(Hat-tip: Thunderfrogs.co.uk, from "Top 5 Giraffe T-Shirts & Facts!")

3. "Napoleon Living" from Emperial Nation

In a clothing genre that tends to be dominated by digitally-printed monochrome designs, it's nice to see a new Napoleon t-shirt that boasts a soft touch print featuring "layers of shadow effects and gold foil highlights giving it a ghostly vibe", and a "signature epaulet in the lower right corner" (not on the shoulder, oddly enough).

Available in pink or white, this is a classy design from Emperial Nation, who specialise in historically-inspired clothing covering periods including the French Revolution, the Wild West and Ottoman Empire, to name but a few.

A large design on the front of the t-shirt is based on Andrea Appiani's 1805 portrait of the Emperor in good health, and decked out in some pretty robust finery, my favourite part of which is some kind of bandolier made of Imperial Eagles.

Napoleon Living is currently retailing for $41, down 9% on its original price. International shipping costs aren't listed on the site, but I've emailed Emperial to find out more. Details when I get them.

UPDATE: With incredible speed, Emperial Nation have got back to me to say the cost of delivery to the Netherlands is $25 for up to three shirts. Might have to buy one now...

2. "Napoleon In War Paint" from Threadless

This is a neat little t-shirt from Threadless.com, designed by Jesse Lefkowitz, and featuring Napoleon decked out in traditional native American warpaint.

I love the idea of Napoleon as an American, and often wonder what the modern world would be like if he hadn't sold Louisiana back to Thomas Jefferson. Back then, the French held a vast chunk of mainland America, going all the way up to North Dakota, and representing nearly a quarter of what is now the US.

Luckily for us though, Bonaparte sold up, and got on with the business of conquering Europe. In the meantime, America grew into the country we know today, and 200 years after the Emperor cashed his cheque, Threadless was born.

I've bought from Threadless in the past (this t-shirt), and delivery to Europe was prompt. The t-shirt cost me $25 and delivery was another $8. But that was 2006, and now in 2009 prices have plummeted, with most Threadless t-shirts seeming to cost $18, and classics like Napoleon In War Paint going for a very reasonable $9.

So price definitely isn't an issue for this design, but unfortunately availabilty is. Right now it's out of stock in all sizes, men and women, but I've just submitted a request for a reprint, so let's see what happens. If you'd like to join my one-man campaign, head on over to Threadless and help me bring Napoleon In War Paint back into print.