The amount of times I have walked into a store at the mall and impulse-bought a graphic t-shirt just because it had something of pop culture merit on it explains why my drawers at home won’t close all the way. Also, I think my dresser is just broken, but that is beside the point.
When I was in middle school, I used to get made fun of for wearing graphic t-shirts too much. Looking back though, that’s an odd thing for a 13-year-old to make fun of their peer for.
I don’t even remember what the first graphic t-shirt I bought was. All I know is that my obsession stems from wanting to wear my interests on my sleeve … quite literally.
To make it clear, I did not choose graphic t-shirts — they chose me. When I was younger, my whole family realized that my interests were strictly pop-culture related, and that doesn’t exactly lend itself to a whole lot of ideas for birthday or Christmas presents.
So I usually got more graphic tees.
For instance, anyone who knows me closely knows that the late R&B star Aaliyah is one of my favorite artists of all time. This year for my birthday, both my sister and my roommate got me Aaliyah t-shirts.
Some people might see this as a lazy gift, but I don’t think so. I now have two shirts of my favorite artist to wear and now everyone that sees me will know that I am an Aaliyah fan.
It is very main-character-esque, but it is easier to show than to tell.
One of my favorite tees I own is the full cast of characters from Disney’s “Hercules.” I remember the day I bought it, too. I spent the whole hour-and-a-half before lamenting about how much I hated the store Rue 21.
All of their clothes are so busy and have too much going on. I really don’t think we need chains and paint splatters on the same article of clothing, and looking at the racks often hurts my head.
However, my sister loves it, so I always end up being trapped and forced to go into the store anyway. The moment I stepped in that fateful day, my eyes locked straight on the pile of “Hercules” t-shirts and I loudly exclaimed “I’m buying this!” to no one in particular.
Sure enough, I bought it.
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And I had to sit there and listen to my sister call me a hypocrite for the next hour, but all I could think of was how excited I was for everyone to see my “Hercules” shirt, as it is my favorite Disney movie.
Graphic t-shirts are the way I express myself, and I like to think they are indicative of my mood at any given time. If I am feeling confident, I pull out my Britney Spears “Oops! I Did It Again” album t-shirt. If I am feeling cute, I pull out my *NSYNC t-shirt.
Angry? I pull out my Grumpy from “Snow White” t-shirt.
My collection of graphic t-shirts is something I never knew I was building until I went through my clothes for college and noticed the high volume of them in my wardrobe.
I couldn’t bring myself to get rid of any because doing so would make me feel like I was throwing away a part of myself. I know that sounds extremely dramatic, but it’s true!
Pop culture is something that is heavily incorporated into my personality. There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t think about it, and your style is said to be a reflection of who you are.
Are my graphic t-shirts stylish? I guess an argument could be made either way. They might be corny and childish, but I never feel more comfortable than I do in a graphic t-shirt.
So take that, middle school bullies! How do you like me now?
@kwiatkdm
kwiatkdm@miamioh.edu
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