The Great T-shirt Travesty

Believe it or not, but there are some people who love wearing t-shirts with huge brands emblazoned on them. Although they maybe on the decline, because big sportswear and fashion labels seem to be toning down their overt street-wear branding, as more consumers refuse to be lured into the trap of appearing like a walking billboard. Interestingly though, some well-known Australian discount retailers are ignoring this trend.

They are embracing the pseudo-authentic sport team creation:

What does the 82 mean exactly?

There is something a little offensive and disturbing about a t-shirt plastered with a random American sporting club’s name and history. Research tells me that this is actually a baseball team. I’m not sure about the 82 number though. Is that supposed to be when they were established? It doesn’t matter, because it’s clearly a cheap imitation (i.e. the strategically placed ‘Athletic Industries Inc’ at the bottom). Is this supposed to be appealing because it has an American town, a sport, and some letters and numbers thrown in?

 

'Official Champions'..how cool.

This one is a little different. It's so generic that it doesn't even mention a sport. Instead we have a fictional city, presumably also American. 'Champions' sounds pretty cool, so maybe there is a sport reference attached. And what's with the letter and number sequence thrown in. What does it mean? Are there people who really believe it may actually mean something, and why would anyone seriously want to wear these mundane creations?

There's also the pseudo-authentic denim/streetwear brand creation:

'Indian Chief', 'Indigo Denim'..enough!

These cheaply made t-shirts (also available in jacket form, as above) are often riddled with phrases like ‘Authentic’ or ‘Established in 1945.’ They are not real brands, yet the shirt's manufacturers, and the discount retailers which stock them, try so hard to make the consumer think they are. Give up I say. Give me a plain t-shirt any day.

Finally, what's with the select group of country names that streetwear manufacturers choose to adorn their clothing with?

What makes Brazil t-shirt worthy?

Brazil, USA, Venezuela, France, Italy... What about New Zealand, Romania or The Philippines, (to name a few)? Aren't they cool enough for non-tourist merchandise? You never see guys walking down the street wearing a 'Taiwan' t-shirt, although chances are it was probably made there.