Vintage Black Panther Shirt Spotted at the Barneys Warehouse Sale

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• The front
• proof?
• Is that price $2,199?
• Front pocket detail
• The back

We were drawn to the military color and structure of the collar, but pulling it off the rack, we discovered this shirt was drawn on and was not nearly so innocent a garment as we first presumed. What was it we were holding? The tag said only "Item No. 14 Black Panther 1971." Is the Barneys Warehouse Sale really selling a vintage shirt formerly owned by a Black Panther, or is this just another faux-worn military shirt?

The price was either $2,199 or $219 or $199...we weren't totally sure, since it was surrounded by plain, preppy shirts of the $90 sale level. Nonetheless, we were sure that the images and words that covered the front and back of it were physically written on there. And you can't see it in the photos, but the underside of each sleeve is slashed open.

Barneys, having been founded in 1923, was obviously around in 1971 (and only down the block from the Warehouse sale location). One of the original Black Panther meeting spots is what we now know as the underground store Nom de Guerre. There's a good chance it's real, and there's also an even better chance it hasn't yet been bought.
· Menswear and Mayhem: A Barneys Warehouse Sale Opening Report [Racked NY]
· The Barneys Warehouse Sale Survival Guide: February 2011 [Racked NY]