Negative t-shirts

[CupOfCoffee]

I assure you this is not a joke rant. It's a carefully constructed critique on society's view of what makes a quality t-shirt slogan.

Nothing has historically put me in a bad mood quite like going shopping for shirts. I'll be leaving for College (with a capital C no less) next Sunday, and so I've been going out and trying to find some new shirts to spice up my wardrobe. See, I'm kind of one of those people with, like, four shirts and two pairs of pants. Most of my shirts are polo ones (although I have got a few band t-shirts I found online), so I went to Kohls or whatever that stupid clothes store next to Best Buy is to find some cheap shirts that look okay. Sounds like a harmless excursion, even if I couldn't find anything I wanted (like usual), right?

Wrong.

As soon as I found the men's shirts section, I noticed a disturbing trend. Most of the shirts I saw had pictures of skulls, skeletons playing guitars, or demons. I even found one shirt with a picture of a razor blade on it. Nothing else, just a razor blade silhouette. What the heck? Who wants a shirt with a skeletal demon playing the guitar with a razor blade-shaped pick? I wondered to myself as I wandered deeper in, having to squeeze between a few of those circular racks of shirts on hangars as I went. What I found in the core of the men's shirts section of Kohls was even worse, though. Every shirt I came across had a really negative phrase on it, like "I wish you were a pinata so I could whack you with a stick," or "Why are you stupid?" I kept thumbing through shirts, uncovering more and more nasty sayings. "Your face makes me laugh." "It's not that I'm ignoring you, you're just boring." "Enough with the learning already." That one made me clench my jaw, in fact. Enough with the learning already? No wonder everybody hates this country. If I was a nice New Zealander out for a stroll and saw some stupid American kid walk by with a shirt declaring he had had enough with the learning already, I'd probably say to myself, "Man, I shouldn't have yelled at K-Morphos so much!"

After I decided I had had Enough With The Men's Shirts Already, I decided to browse the girl's shirts to see if they had the same problem. They did. "I know I'm perfect, you can quit staring." "Buy me something." "Boys are smelly. Throw rocks at them." What if you saw a giant billboard off an interstate highway with one of these stupid phrases on them? I'd probably do a double take. I wandered out of Kohls scratching my head in awe at the overwhelming negativity of the t-shirt industry. Could it be that I'm really the only guy who would rather have a shirt with a picture of a cartoon penguin on it than one denouncing learning? I know shirts are meant as jokes and to be taken lightly, but it just... man, it grinds my gears!

Looks like my first semester of college will be spent washing my two polos and Death Cab shirt every couple of days, just like this summer!

[TheyCallMeJoe]

The only people who were this stuff are the ones who are attemting to be cool. I get the same feeling while watching gangsters walk out of "BossWear", a store in the Auburn Supermall...lol it can be funny sometimes, the ridiculous stuff they sell in there.


I know shirts are meant as jokes and to be taken lightly, but it just...
Well, in this cause, t-shirts like that are more of a method of flaunt attempted superiority and "oooh you just got served" attitude. Unfortunately for the wearer, it just makes them look plain stupid.

[Skuda]

$5 dollar plain colored T-shirt at Sears :3

that's the way to go http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif

[Eihwaz]

I don't have any stupid t-shirts like that. Most of my stuff is boring plain stuff my mom buys me. http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_wacko.gif

I do have two especially badass t-shirts, though. One is a plain yellow t-shirt with the same art on it as on FLCL DVD number one, and another one that I bought yesterday. It's black and has Pyramid Head on it. http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_yes.gif

But yes, shirts like that do indeed cheapen our culture. Everyone wants to seem witty/sarcastic/whatever, but they're really not, so they buy a shirt with some stupid little blip on it, so they can say it to everyone without thought or consideration.

[saturnihilist]

I spend $5 on three white t-shirts at Wal-Mart or the local dollar store. I personally think the shirts with insanely detailed designs are the best, but my wallet isn't that deep.

[Blitzkommando]

Screw t-shirts, wear nice collared shirts with no words or logos!

I do have a select group of t-shirts but the majority are things like, the mission completion shirt commemorating the retirement of the C-141 Starlifter. (I will say I was one of those guys that spent $80 for the collector's edition of Half-Life 2 that came with a t-shirt of which I still wear to this day)

But, like I say, I've been wearing collared shirts, mostly cotton pull-over types with just a couple buttons, for... 6 years now. These are comfortable, easy to take care of, and at least help protect my neck from sunburn. The nice thing is they don't have lots of crap written or drawn on them and they give a much better impression than t-shirts every day.

[BeeYee]

i like the shirts with just advertising "adidas", or And 1, or the Nike symbol. I wear none with jokes on them.

[Leviathan]

I kind of agree with you but ...
I hate the skull shirts <<what are you trying to do glorify death?>>
But about the other shirts. I think have one of the ones you were talking about well I like themm alot there supposed to be taken as a joke. I have "I love boys because their stupid." "whatever!" "Buy me stuff and I'll be nicer." There supposed to be taken as a joke, most af the ones I see are pretty funny. "5 out of 4 people have trouble with fractions."
I totally respect your opinion but if you were offended don't go to your local Abercrombie & Fitch store its 10x more offensive.

P.S. Do you live in Texas? It sounds like the whole layout, Best Buy being near Kohls and all...

[CupOfCoffee]

On 2006-08-27 19:18, Leviatha wrote:
P.S. Do you live in Texas? It sounds like the whole layout, Best Buy being near Kohls and all...


Hah. Actually, I live in Wisconsin--maybe Best Buy and Kohls are part of a secret organization bent on drawing people who go to Best Buy usually into Kohls sometimes. Who knows.

Anyway, as has been said, I'm well aware that negative shirts are meant to be taken as jokes. It just kind of shocked me to realize that there were almost no positive (or even neutral!) shirt phrases. I've seen the occasional "life is good" or "let's hug" shirt, but for every one of those there are ten skeletons playing guitars or instances of "what are you looking at?"

It doesn't really anger me to see shirts like this, but it does bother me a little bit. I wonder who thought the idea up. Was it an old white guy in a $3000 suit who decided that 7/10 shirts should be rude? I also wonder where the huge audience for this type of thing is. I mostly see negative shirts in stores or in magazines, and not necessarily on real people. Supply and demand, huh? I tell you what, t-shirt executive type: I'd be much more inclined to buy a happy shirt than a sad one. Same goes for hats.

[Danger_Girl]

On 2006-08-27 19:33, CupOfCoffee wrote:
Hah. Actually, I live in Wisconsin


Ah ha! I too live in Wisconsin just outside a tiny town about an hour east of the Twin Cities. It's my rural paradise. I'm close enough to the cities to enjoy the benifits of a metropolitan area, but yet far enough away that I can enjoy the quiet life.

[CupOfCoffee]

Haha, lucky. I live in Madison--well, I will for one more week. Then it's off to school in good old Menomonie, the smallest town I think I have ever been to. It's got, like, a Taco Bell, a creepy little hotel, a liquor store, a run-down movie theater... and a university. I can't wait. http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif

[Dre_o]

I go to walmart. $5 shirts for me man.

Besides, with words on a shirt, it always feels like EVERYONE IS WATCHING YOU. That sucks.

[astuarlen]

Yeah, the slogan shirts at most retail chains disappoint me, which is why all my tees are plain (okay, except for my awesome My Little Pony shirt ['91 vintage :3], which is awesome 'cause it's pink and, umm, it's got ponies, baby). I love to browse the shirts at http://www.threadless.com; there are some quite clever and cool designs there. Too bad I'm too cheap to get any, but maybe you'd find something worthwhile ('specially if they have a sale).

[Danger_Girl]

On 2006-08-27 19:55, CupOfCoffee wrote:
Haha, lucky. I live in Madison--well, I will for one more week. Then it's off to school in good old Menomonie, the smallest town I think I have ever been to. It's got, like, a Taco Bell, a creepy little hotel, a liquor store, a run-down movie theater... and a university. I can't wait. http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif



My sister lives in Madison (she lives near the Kohl Center). Menomonie is just about a 30-40 minutes drive from here. In fact, I've got an ex who lived there. It's a small world.

[Otis_Kat]

There's a Kohl's next to a Best Buy where I live too O_O

Even more hilarious is the BJ's Food Market next to Dick's Sporting goods http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_disapprove.gif


The most retarded one I've seen is a pink striped shirt for guys saying "I'm Straight" -_-



<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Otis_Kat on 2006-08-27 21:13 ]</font>

[geewj]

And this is why I shop at thrift stores.

You find the best T-shirts there hands down, at a tenth of the price as an added bonus. Win win.

[HAYABUSA-FMW-]

Well what with college and all being Fall season, an advertisement for sweatshirts explained something to the tone of, wear this sweatshirt around campus over anything to hide the fact that you haven't done laundry in weeks!

That's the way to go.

Threadless does have sales often, just check online for the coupon codes or what have you also.

You could probably find better shirts in different stores. JCPenny usually has those Marvel characters things(Captain America shield, Venom logo, etc) or regular looking polos with no flashy colors or designs, or Nike/Adidas/atheletic plain things with a small "logo on the upper left chest."

But one of those I saw in a Kohls ad was one about "Welcome to the gun show" and the stickman with biceps, that was pretty good; you just have to fit the profile of the stickman.

[BogusKun]

I think those shirt's are retarded... I think I will get a white T-Shirt made to say "I Rape the Willing" and "Girl Toucher" on the back.

TAKE THAT!!!

[Shattered_weasel]

My favorite shirt will always be the one that says "I hate people".

[Allos]

This is why I only shop for t-shirts online.

[space_butler]

wow, guess im a negative person then.

[Leviathan]

You should get this shirt.

http://www.kohls.com/products/product_page_vanilla2.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=3551 85847&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=365752343&bmUID=1156796372961

[HUnewearl_Meira]

No Fear used to have good t-shirt slogans. Stuff like, "Losing is not an option." I fear they've lost that writer, though.

Get yourself some Hawaiian shirts. Can't go wrong, there.

[Solstis]

On 2006-08-28 13:32, HUnewearl_Meira wrote:
No Fear used to have good t-shirt slogans. Stuff like, "Losing is not an option." I fear they've lost that writer, though.

Get yourself some Hawaiian shirts. Can't go wrong, there.



Hawaiian shirts are offensive in and of themselves.

I like Nautica shirts. They tend to say "Nautica" on the front, and not much else. A bit excessive with the plastics sometimes, though.

[Danger_Girl]

I prefer to remain topless. That way I can't possibly offend anyone.

[Orange_Coconut]

I love T-shirts with stuff on them, but there are some pictures/sayings that are rather odd, I guess. I can't think of any off the top of my mind, but I like getting nerdy shirts even if they cost a bit extra. I still have my "Game Over" Poison Mushroom shirt. Same with "I've got Mad Bills" with a list of different bills from Mario. XD

There are some shirts that take it too far, but there are many that have funny sayings or pictures on them. I can't remember the site name, but my friend used to order all these shirts that seemed rather vulgar, I just can't remember the specifics.

[agenevil]

I get onto my friends near every day for wearing such shirts. Where I live, and being in the position and age I am (am I allowed to talk being only 16?), I have come to the following conclusions:

1. Unless it's a brand such as AF, AE, Hollister, etc., only teenagers will wear these shirts. The aforementioned brands usually have sexually related phrases, such as "An awkward morning beats a boring night." and are thus more popular among college kids.

2. All of the 'negative T-shirts' are printed with a scribbly font, and usually with a white or red on black combination.

3. Of the teenagers that wear these shirts, they are typically but not always somewhat outcast and listen to any of the following bands, sometimes obsessively: Seether, Slipknot, Rammstein, Korn, Mudvayne, etc.

[Allos]

On 2006-09-03 20:23, agenevil wrote:

Of the teenagers that wear these shirts, they are typically but not always somewhat outcast and listen to any of the following bands, sometimes obsessively: Seether, Slipknot, Rammstein, Korn, Mudvayne, etc.



Ah yes, Nu-Metal at its shittiest.

[saturnihilist]

http://www.threadless.com/product/383/The_Communist_Party

I thought someone would have posted this website by now

[astuarlen]

On 2006-09-04 09:41, saturnihilist wrote:
http://www.threadless.com/product/383/The_Communist_Party

I thought someone would have posted this website by now




On 2006-08-27 20:36, astuarlen wrote:
... http://www.threadless.com; there are some quite clever and cool designs there. Too bad I'm too cheap to get any, but maybe you'd find something worthwhile ('specially if they have a sale).


Coincidentally, I love that shirt, and it would probably be #1 on my list of ones to buy if I ran into a cart full of money. http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif
On the other hand, being an art student = getting all my clothes terribly mucked-up, thus I ought not to buy anything I'd hate to ruin. ;<

[agenevil]

I always thought it was kinda cool when artists got their shirts messy. It shows off what you love. I can't get music to stain my shirts - you're sorta lucky in that respect.

[Soinkus]

I just go to Candy's.

don't know if there are any other than here in Florida.

They have a ton of neat stuff. Lot's of retro tees, like Alvin and the Chipmunks, Smurfs, Andy Griffith, ect.

And alot of neat merchandise.

I got an entire kitchen of Coca Cola stuff somewhere waiting to be put in my china hutch >_>
And they always have a cool new Corona hat.

But what I do is if I see or hear a saying I like, I have it put on a tee.

They have an airbrush artist there that'll do it, and also an embroidery machine, and they can also make iron on tees >_>

But the airbrusher is awesome. He painted my ninja turtles helmet >_>

[Neith]

It entirely depends on personal preference though. For myself, I love stuff that most people would hate (I'd buy a T-Shirt with Demons on it, I like that kind of thing).

Hell, I have posters of the Grim Reaper in my room http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_lol.gif It's just for fun, I like the more alternative clothing- I for one am sick of brand named stuff.

I don't like anything that's too offensive, and I try not to wear clothes covered with swearing/disgusting remarks, because I know other people will see it.

I think as far as things like skeletons/demons go, that's fine- especially for people like me who are into metal music (you can't really have Metal without the references to death and the demonic- and we're not even talking Death Metal here).

As long as it's not overly offensive, I don't really mind wearing it.

[Tetsuro]

Unfortunately for myself I live in Southern California, where alot of people seem to think they are hot shit. I'm all for self confidence, but some people seem to genuilly believe they are better than others. As such I see alot of T-shirts with similar things written on them. I tend to wear things that show my interests rather than putting others down. If my clothing isn't plain and simple it usually has something to do with video games, since thats what I'm into and hope to gain a career in the game industry. I don't have a problem with the skulls or demons though since it's usually used to show an interest in music, I'm also a fan of gothic art which portrays demons and gargoyels alot.





<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Tetsuro on 2006-09-18 01:58 ]</font>