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Top it with a tee

Catchy slogans on T-shirts have caught the fancy of the teens like never before. Harjeet Kaur Allagh finds out more

PHOTO: M. VEDHAN

STYLE FUNDAS Besides a hep look, a T-shirt provides a carefree attitude

T-Shirts with funky slogans and logos are the style mantra of the Gen-X. These comfortable vests give them a chance to show their `if you have it flaunt it' attitude while at the same time, announce to the world things which they perhaps may not dare to utter. If teens prefer catchy phrases like `Study Sucks', there are thought-provoking lines on tees sported by activists of PETA and Green Peace to drum up support for the cause they so firmly believe in. "I love amusing t-shirts with parody quotes and the comic strips on them," trills Sushmita.

The 1990's saw a revolutionary cult in tees with slogans and symbols, the impact of which swept all sections alike. Teenagers, young and the old took pride in flaunting popular brand names like CK, Ralph Lauren, Gap, Levi, Reebok or Adidas.

There was, however, a gradual change in the trend, which moved towards personal branding. Catchy slogans changing with the climate or the times became a rage. In Bihar, we have the Laloo tees with choicest one-liners on Lalooisms!

Fashion statement

This generation is bold and brash and it wants the world to know about it. Whether it's a tee from a flea market or from a multi-storied mall, it should make a fashion statement even while exhibiting the mood of the person wearing it. Uday and Kishore are two blasé and brave young boys who love to say things like- `Girlfriends are like medicines. They come with an expiry date'. Shilpesh, a young entrepreneur and owner of a swanky store, caters to the taste of the youth in the city and doles out tees for the fashion-conscious. According to him, the latest hot items are tees with crazy slogans. Attention-grabbing lines like `Food for the hungry' and `Love is the answer. What's the question?' and `MBA--Married But Available' has caught their fancy like never before.

What is a T-Shirt? It is a shirt with a button-less, collarless and pocket-less top with a round neck and short sleeves worn over the torso. It could be sleeveless and long sleeved too. It started off as an undershirt but is now worn over too. The over-sized tee has been in vogue for men. But it has now changed to tight fitting, cropped and short tees allowing girls to expose their belly buttons. The T-Shirt is a knitted and cotton garment, suiting all pockets. Girls like Pinky, Geeta and Tina Jain love to paint the town red in their short tees, showing off the wording `Lee Cooper, Jeans— You can't have your own way and Von Dutch Originals!'

PHOTO: RAJU. V.

Painting the town red

Rage of the age

Hippies of the 60's and 70's popularised printed tees with batik and ethnic floral graphics on them. The original flower children were completely against formal wear and thus T-Shirts became the rage of the age. There are different methods of decoration on tees, including airbrush, appliqué, embroidery and even screen-printing. The current year (2006) has introduced hologram or lenticular technology.

"Unistyle has a slogan in small print— `Reserve, Recycle, Replenish' and I love to wear it", says an environment-conscious Yogesh. Woe betide moms are horror-stricken when their audacious teenager child runs the scissors on a new t-shirt to chop off the sleeves or give it a dog-eared look, a la Hrithik Roshan in K3G but have no other choice but to keep mum.

As is rightly said: `Clothes maketh a man. Naked people have little or no influence on society'. It goes for the youth of today. Succumbing to peer pressure, they try hard to outdo others. For you never know that the patterns that are a rage today, kal ho no ho...

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