Coming to Grips: I Am A T-Shirt Guy

As a lifelong fashion enthusiast, I've accumulated loads of weird clothes over the years. I think that it was only recently that I tried to truly hone in on a basic wardrobe, just to have versatile building blocks to good, understated fits. I had been buying colorful outerwear and graphic hoodies this whole time.

I love all items of clothes. I have a big variety of hats and hoodies. I own a lot of jeans and chinos. I also collect enamel pins, an interest that has grown since I started 5 years ago. One day, however, out of the blue, I was hit with an extreme bout of existential dread. My brother designs jeans, so he has a million pairs of vintage Levi's. He actually gets usage out of all of them too. My college friend has spent a bag on sneakers recently. The guy that sits next to me at work loves handbags. Every day that I go into the office, he's carrying a new designer handbag. I thought about all of these people and realized that I didn't have a "thing." 

I’ve long considered myself a generalist rather than a specialist. I love all kinds of clothes, different garment types, different styles of dress, but never gave I ever honed in on a specific clothing item or type. I think about Derek Guy, specializing in more of a #menswear, or Nigo, a streetwear savant. Jack Carlson of  Rowing Blazers has his perfectly crafted modern prep style.  Then I examine my own personal style and realize that I dress like a chameleon. I have roots in streetwear but have preppy pieces, some athleisure, smart casual, etc.. I’m a mf box of chocolates, you really never know what you’re going to get when I show up.

I didn’t have enough pants to be considered a pants guy. I didn’t consistently dress prep, street, or athletic. I didn’t have enough collared shirts or hoodies.  This whole thing was very puzzling to me, making me a man without a country.

About a year  I bought two different Palace t-shirts from one of their Summer drops. My brother bought a t-shirt, a hoodie, and some accessories. When we huddled up to Compare our purchases he made an interesting accusation: “you’re a tee guy.” I didn’t take it well at the moment. “No. What’s the fuck? I buy several clothes that aren’t t-shirts.” He went on to explain that it wasn’t meant to be a diss, but more of an observation that he has been making. I tried not to think too much about it. I know My wardrobe isn’t insanely cohesive, but I didn’t consider myself just a t-shirts guy.

I’ve purchased a lot of clothes since that day. Some hats, a couple of pairs of pants, a hoodie or two, and a stack of t-shirts. My brother and I live in the same house and I have to go to work now, so a lot of times he answers the door for the UPS guy to secure my packages. He usually texts me things like “you got a package, it feels like a tee,” to my chagrin.

During the latest Supreme drop, my lone purchase was a tee. There were a lot of cool pieces, but nothing that I absolutely had to have. The t-shirt I bought was called the Shadow Tee and it was a rerun of a 1994 classic. It was time for me to admit that maybe my brother was on to something. My first supreme purchase in over two years reinvigorated me. After years of getting my credit card declined on the site, the new PayPal feature has given me a breath of new life, return home to the greatest streetwear brand of all time. I began diving into the Supreme archives. While diving through the pages of old Supreme pieces, I mindfully noticed how I was gravitating towards tees. There were hundreds -if not thousands-of old t-shirts going back to the brand's founding in 1994. I loved all of the unique graphics on each tee and the stories that they have to tell, the references that they pay homage to. Tees paying homage to Casablanca, Miles Davis, and Popeye. I loved them all. I wanted all of them in my possession as soon as possible. It was time to admit that I am a t-shirt guy.

When I dive into my closet, I have so many goddamn t-shirts that have been compiled over the years. I have souvenir t-shirts from Vegas hotels that I've visited, promotional t-shirts from school plays that I was in, a dozen Supreme tees, some Palace tees, etc. You get the idea. I have also recently got into vintage t-shirts on eBay and have made a handful of purchases there. As much as I've told myself over and over that I have enough t-shirts, I can't stop. It's my gift and my curse. My salvation and my addiction. Every time I go to a concert, I just have to pick up a t-shirt. When I go on vacation, I usually grab a t-shirt from the hotel or a local souvenir shop.  Even now, after all of these t-shirts purchases, if you looked through my watchlist on eBay or my favorites on Grailed, they're full of vintage t-shirts and old Supreme releases.

I don't know why I was fighting with myself this whole time. I didn't like the title of being a t-shirts guy because it felt too simplistic. I always wanted my style to be advanced and the idea of being a t-shirt guy reduced my efforts to the most basic level of clothing. At least, I've embraced it. At the end of the day, I am a t-shirt and jeans guy. I have hundreds of t-shirts at my house and stashed in boxes at my parent’s house. Sure I'll sell one or two every now and again if it doesn't fit in my wardrobe anymore, but for the most part, I'm going to keep them in my own personal archive. These simple cotton garments excite me, and I wouldn't have it any other way.  The feeling of stumbling on an old t-shirt that fits me just right, with a clean graphic is one of the best in the world. Currently, I am looking to buy Supreme tees from 2015-2017, the years that I began to develop an interest in the brand. It brings me back to a simpler time.

Now I am ready to fully admit that I am a t-shirt guy and that's not going away anytime soon. The t-shirt is the most perfect and versatile garment, and I'm going to make sure I have plenty of options. A lot of you guys are probably t-shirt guys too, you just don't look at it that way yet, but when you do, it'll be liberating. You won't feel guilty about buying another $38 t-shirt on Supreme, or that $25 vintage Harley Davidson tee on eBay. Sure ALD has a ton of great options, but that $95 tee is still going to last a really long time. So go forth, my friends, and cop tees. Ain't no shame in copping tees, as long as you save a little money for other things too.

Peace and Love