If you wear a T shirt that says the following: "Frankly my dear, I don’t give a &^%$" what does it say about you? It says that you are a laid back, cool sort of person who is not too troubled by the everyday hurly burly of life. What it also says about you is that you like reading, though this will be obvious only to those who are themselves fond of reading. Since this is a very famous line from the classic novel Gone with the Wind (a little altered for modern usage; the original reads "Frankly my dear I don’t give a damn") spoken by the protagonist Rhett Butler in the end of the novel, it would immediately ring a bell.
Graphic tees these days are not merely meant to make a fashion statement, the t shirt design slogan is meant to display your attitude. Sample this one: “I don’t need a weapon. I AM one!” how cool and tough does that make you. Now this one would make a risque sort of statement when sported by a woman!
Sometimes teens or adolescents who are going thru a particularly rebellious phase of their lives can resort to offensive one-liner graphic tees to make a statement and perhaps underline it. For instance this really rude one “You remind me of a dumb-ass I know” or this one “You stop and smell the damn roses. I’M BUSY” would go down really well with an angst ridden teen who was looking to make a non-conformist statement.
Now what does this one say about you: “How can you eat your pudding if you don’t eat your meat?” That you are a strict mom? Of course not! It says that you are a Pink Floyd fan! It is after all, a line from their cult classic Another brick in the Wall, the song that talks about needing no education.
So apart from your attitude, a tee shirt design or its graphic also declares your affiliation. It tells everyone about the team you support, the organization you work for, what charity you do volunteer work for and of course what band you like. Wearing a Britney Spears tee to prove that you like rock music would seriously dent your credibility as a rock enthusiast for example. And wearing one that simply says “Love” with a bunch of psychedelic flowers will instantly give you a born again flower child look.
You can even pick a funny tee to match your mood: Announce to the world if you will, “No seriously! Leave me Alone” or simply “Disgruntled” so that people know to keep out of your way!
You can indicate that you have a sense of humor and are able to laugh at yourself by wearing a self-deprecating tee that says something like “I can’t afford therapy, so deal with it” or “Don’t you know who I think I am?”
Since graphic tees with quotes can make so much of statement they can be a real conversation starter and then who knows? You can strike up a real friendship with a likeminded person!
The author has joined an interesting venture called InkFruit.com that holds an ongoing tshirt design contest. The winning tshirt design are then printed on cotton tees and sold online. All professional and amateur designers are welcome to design a t shirt and walk away with cash and fame.