anyone who thinks they get cool points for wearing a band t-shirt is most likely 18 years old or younger
― Mr. Que, Thursday, 26 July 2012 19:36 (eleven years ago) link
how many cool points do you score with a "serenity now" t-shirt with michael richards on the front and summer glau on the back?
― Philip Nunez, Thursday, 26 July 2012 19:37 (eleven years ago) link
I would wear a Dharma Initiative logo t-shirt
― my father will guide me up the stairs to bed (anagram), Thursday, 26 July 2012 19:39 (eleven years ago) link
mr. que do you ... own a dunder mifflin t-shirt?
― congratulations (n/a), Thursday, 26 July 2012 19:41 (eleven years ago) link
xp Ok, but people wear Beatles or Rolling Stones shirts too
― Godzilla vs. Rodan Rodannadanna (The Yellow Kid), Thursday, 26 July 2012 19:41 (eleven years ago) link
i guess part of what's weird to me is the scale of fandom involved - it's like oh you like the office? so do 2 million other people - you don't really get any "cool points" from anyone for having a dunder mifflin t-shirt, which i think is the self-perception when you wear a band t-shirt
I think a better analogy might be sports team t-shirt -- I don't think people wear them to get "cool points", it's just a way of showing their fandom.
― LISTEN TO THIS BRAD (Nicole), Thursday, 26 July 2012 19:41 (eleven years ago) link
it's not about 'ccol points' it's about constructing your social identity using cultural references
― real men have been preparing manly dishes for centuries (elmo argonaut), Thursday, 26 July 2012 19:42 (eleven years ago) link
or it's just a t-shirt?
― pun lovin criminal (polyphonic), Thursday, 26 July 2012 19:42 (eleven years ago) link
no but so what if i did? who cares?
― Mr. Que, Thursday, 26 July 2012 19:46 (eleven years ago) link
cool points? really?
those damn hipsters and their cool points
― real men have been preparing manly dishes for centuries (elmo argonaut), Thursday, 26 July 2012 19:48 (eleven years ago) link
i guess i don't really get what your point is other than contrarianism?
― congratulations (n/a), Thursday, 26 July 2012 19:50 (eleven years ago) link
I did like seeing a baseball shirt at a game recently w/ CHICO'S BAIL BONDS on the back.
(for those who know)
― Pangborn to be Wilde (Dr Morbius), Thursday, 26 July 2012 19:50 (eleven years ago) link
haha, that's awesome.
― Marco YOLO (Phil D.), Thursday, 26 July 2012 19:52 (eleven years ago) link
well.... faux promotional t-shirts have been around for well over a decade now, almost two. you know, products designed to reference a business / product / event that doesn't actually exist. e.g. "mary's crab shack" or "aloha mike's tiki bar" or whatever. and yes, part of this was marketing 'cool' on a larger scale, selling a sort of thrift-store authenticity without having to deal with licensing or legal issues.
this sort of product is so commonplace, really, it's not 'cool' anymore. i don't think it's at all surprising that t-shirt sellers fill in references from fictional businesses. the aesthetic is the same, now it just has the added bonus of signalling the shows / movies you watch.
― real men have been preparing manly dishes for centuries (elmo argonaut), Thursday, 26 July 2012 19:59 (eleven years ago) link
and a t-shirt is "only" a t-shirt when it's underwear, imho
― real men have been preparing manly dishes for centuries (elmo argonaut), Thursday, 26 July 2012 20:00 (eleven years ago) link
http://rlv.zcache.com/wolf_bret_sweatshirt_fotc_flight_of_the_conchords-p235320978787163161zvd80_400.jpg
― The Cheerfull Turtle (Latham Green), Thursday, 26 July 2012 20:04 (eleven years ago) link
yes. some people strongly identify with wolves. wolves are a "power animal" and are very popular on tshirts.
― real men have been preparing manly dishes for centuries (elmo argonaut), Thursday, 26 July 2012 20:05 (eleven years ago) link
i don't want to adjust my glasses and "well, actually" at you all but i know a thing or two abt tshirts you guys
― real men have been preparing manly dishes for centuries (elmo argonaut), Thursday, 26 July 2012 20:06 (eleven years ago) link
so are yetis xp
― how's life, Thursday, 26 July 2012 20:07 (eleven years ago) link
I keep seeing this fat dude by the library wearing a shirt that says "DIFFERENT DAY, SAME SHIRT". I can't figure out if I only recognize him when he's wearing the shirt or if he's really taking its message to heart.
― pplains, Thursday, 26 July 2012 20:19 (eleven years ago) link
Anyway, that's the only guy who's allowed to wear a cute shirt with a message on it. Everyone else should stick to solid colors.
― pplains, Thursday, 26 July 2012 20:20 (eleven years ago) link
I wish I had a Rue Mclanahan shirt
― The Cheerfull Turtle (Latham Green), Thursday, 26 July 2012 20:25 (eleven years ago) link
your ban will really kill the market for my "romney loves chachi" t-shirt.
― Philip Nunez, Thursday, 26 July 2012 20:26 (eleven years ago) link
guess i don't see why this is a whole thread and not just a single post on the IA thread
― Mr. Que, Thursday, 26 July 2012 20:34 (eleven years ago) link
actually I wish I had a shirt that just said "I Miss the Holy Vag of Rue MAclanahan"
― The Cheerfull Turtle (Latham Green), Thursday, 26 July 2012 20:37 (eleven years ago) link
Ding ding ding!
We're on a message board where a significant portion of the users have band tshirts on right now. Me wearing a Dinosaur Jr shirt works the same for me as wearing a Black Mesa or New California Republic shirt.
Or even this :
http://rlv.zcache.com/hojo_clan_mon_blue_tshirt-p235625217682413192en7po_210.jpg
which works for fans of either Zelda or Sengoku-era clans
― Steam Sale Jonesin' (kingfish), Thursday, 26 July 2012 20:48 (eleven years ago) link
I've seen some cool Firefly/Serenity shirts that work as designs and not just nerd signifiers.
Woot or Teefury had an Indiana Jones shirt I almost ordered - all the chalices and the one sad cup from the Holy Grail scene of the Last Crusade
― Kiarostami bag (milo z), Thursday, 26 July 2012 20:52 (eleven years ago) link
I order way too many teefury shirts. And I do their get a random shirt deals.
― Jeff, Thursday, 26 July 2012 21:07 (eleven years ago) link
who has the best shirts for the price would you guys say?
― Philip Nunez, Thursday, 26 July 2012 21:10 (eleven years ago) link
I like seeing people wearing these shirts! Like I saw someone wearing a 'Mr Manager' shirt and it made me smile. What was the first show to do this? I remember seeing the Sunnydale High ones a million years ago and thinking that was sweet. It's less annoying than this kind of thing:
http://www.shotdeadinthehead.com/product_view.aspx?pid=4526
― kinder, Thursday, 26 July 2012 21:25 (eleven years ago) link
I bought my brother a Nostromo tshirt or something from Alien. Looked kind of cool. He likes the film. It's a great film.
― Sick Mouthy (Scik Mouthy), Thursday, 26 July 2012 21:37 (eleven years ago) link
It's not really advertising though; you'd have to know the "meta product" pretty well already to recognise it. It's a total geek thing.
― Sick Mouthy (Scik Mouthy), Thursday, 26 July 2012 21:38 (eleven years ago) link
I'm wearing an in-jokey t-shirt right now. It's not this one, but I'd wear this one:
http://rlv.zcache.com/miskatonic_university_t_shirt_tshirt-p235954220874632309b7hwh_400.jpg
Why? Because I like the idea of someone seeing the shirt and thinking, "That is a thing I like, too!" and I like kinder, I like seeing other people wearing these shirts. So it's connecting with people with similar interests even if we don't actually talk to each other? Also I guess it's a slightly more subtle way of expressing what I like than walking around saying "I LIKE HP LOVECRAFT" or putting that on a button.
― ms. cookie (carl agatha), Friday, 27 July 2012 13:33 (eleven years ago) link
This is the shirt I'm wearing today, on casual Friday. I stand strong before your judgment:
http://stacieponder.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/casualT.jpg
― ms. cookie (carl agatha), Friday, 27 July 2012 13:34 (eleven years ago) link
and I like kinder
That should say "and like kinder," although I do like kinder.
― ms. cookie (carl agatha), Friday, 27 July 2012 13:35 (eleven years ago) link
Oh also I think that t-shirts that reference things in movies/tv tend to be more attractive than t-shirts that just have the name of the movie or show on them. Like, I'd rather wear this shirt that references Quark's Bar located on Deep Space 9:
http://i2.cpcache.com/product/473383949/star_trek_deep_space_9_quarks_bar_tshirt.jpg
Thank this one:
http://store.startrek.com/images/products/4/62951-20.jpg
― ms. cookie (carl agatha), Friday, 27 July 2012 13:45 (eleven years ago) link
somebody should make tshirts that just say "I LIKE HP LOVECRAFT" or "I like Star Trek", without any logos or images, just black text on a white shirt.
― aspiring barkitect (silverfish), Friday, 27 July 2012 13:50 (eleven years ago) link
or maybe just "I like ___________" and anybody can just write whatever they want directly on the shirt
― aspiring barkitect (silverfish), Friday, 27 July 2012 13:51 (eleven years ago) link
I have a more-than-healthy number of Star Wars t-shirts, but I try to look for original-looking stuff. Like this is one of my favorite shirts:
http://fashionablygeek.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/feeding-the-chicken-walkers.jpg?cb5e28
― Marco YOLO (Phil D.), Friday, 27 July 2012 13:55 (eleven years ago) link
I am pretty sure I'd wear a shirt that says I LIKE STAR TREK.
― ms. cookie (carl agatha), Friday, 27 July 2012 13:55 (eleven years ago) link
I'd wear this shirt:
http://www.entertainmentearth.com/images/AUTOIMAGES/TRCBS154lg.jpg
― Jeff, Friday, 27 July 2012 14:05 (eleven years ago) link
haha i kind of love the 'straight' deep space 9 shirt
― funny-skrillex-bee_132455836669.gif (s1ocki), Friday, 27 July 2012 14:05 (eleven years ago) link
and also just to refer to something n/a said upthread, i would assume the % of ppl who wear a given t-shirt because of where the proceeds from its purchase are likely to go is extremely low, regardless of whether it's a 'corporate' shirt or an indie rock one
― funny-skrillex-bee_132455836669.gif (s1ocki), Friday, 27 July 2012 14:06 (eleven years ago) link
Me too! I was just thinking "I would wear that"....
― LISTEN TO THIS BRAD (Nicole), Friday, 27 July 2012 14:08 (eleven years ago) link
I'd only wear the DS9 shirt if it had Jadzia on it.
― Jeff, Friday, 27 July 2012 14:10 (eleven years ago) link
I have a similar fondness of that style of horror t-shirts.
Haha - http://www.tshirtbordello.com/Stephen-King-Rules-T-Shirt
― ms. cookie (carl agatha), Friday, 27 July 2012 14:12 (eleven years ago) link
― aspiring barkitect (silverfish), Friday, July 27, 2012 1:50 PM (26 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
you used to see those LISTEN TO BLACK SABBATH shirts in the 90s quite a bit, they fitted this description
― price lo matalan (DJ Mencap), Friday, 27 July 2012 14:18 (eleven years ago) link
I think the logo/inside joke shirts show off a deeper or more knowing kind of fandom. Like if you're wearing a Greendale Human Beings shirt then you're broadcasting your fandom to a smaller set of people than if you just wore a Community shirt. It's a bit like when I wear my shirt that says UYD: Seatbelts I know most people are not going to know what it means, but if someone says, "Seatbelts!" then there's an immediate connection.
― Listen to this, dad (President Keyes), Friday, 27 July 2012 14:25 (eleven years ago) link
I dunno, I had my fair share of band t shirts when I was younger, but I guess at a certain point the very idea of "constructing your social identity through cultural references" began to seem fraught and no longer as desirable.
― Trewster Dare (jaymc), Friday, 27 July 2012 16:12 (eleven years ago) link