The T-Shirt Blog

Yes, this t-shirt does exist, and so does the book and the website. Somebody really hates Bill O’Reilly, but I guess it could be worse. You can find more odd and bizarre books at Bookfail.com.

While street artist Shepart Fairey is dealing with legal trouble over vandalism charges and copyright infringement over his Obama HOPE poster, various t-shirt makers are taking advantage of the opportunity to satirize the iconic image

The People’s Cube also created a deck of playing cards featuring some pretty funny parodies of the artwork.

Got any more imitators? Post them in the comments.

Update: Obamacon.me has a webapp which allows you to upload any image, and turns an icon red, white, and blue image with a caption of your choosing! [Thanks, Geekologie]

I try to be an equal opportunity t-shirt reviewer, and it’s now time to feature a couple of shirts critical of the new president.  It takes more than a half-assed, baseless, or asinine attempt however, and I believe these two t-shirts raise legimitate concerns, or at least do so in an entertaining fashion.

I wrote my first Obama t-shirt round-up in late October of last year, and it generated a good amount of attention.  Now it’s time to take a look at a new breed of Obama t-shirts, highlighted by the commemorative Inauguration T-Shirt by Cafepress, Rock The Vote and Rolling Stone magazine.

A part of me believes that anyone who triviliazes the sacred institution of democracy by making a political t-shirt that satirizes, idolizes or takes advantage of a presidential candidacy is going straight to hell. So if I’m going to make one now, it might as well be the douchiest most offensive thing possible, right?

In case you aren’t aware, Ashley Todd filed a false police report claiming to have been a victim of a racially and politically motivated attack.

One of the favorite images on my computer is this outdated campaign t-shirt, referencing the 1988 presidential election. I grabbed it from an eBay auction years ago, and now I wish I had grabbed the shirt. It’s something I like to call a political anachronism, taking a shirt with long lost political meaning, and re-purposing it for it’s inherent irony and quaint nostalgia.

One t-shirt site that seems to share my affinity for the past is Retro Campaigns.  You won’t find any Obama or Palin there just yet, but can you really go wrong with someone like J.F.K.?  Heck, they might even let you wear it to the polls.

I was trolling Digg and Cafepress to see if I could find any interesting campaign related t-shirt, and instead found something to file under T-Shirt That Shouldn’t Exist.  What I found surpsing was some of the user comments in response to the bar owner’s assertion that, “. . . the hairline, the ears, he looks just like Curious George.â€?  Have a look:

I support Obama and I think this shirt is hilarious. I would love to wear one and see peoples reactions. This is just the kind of thing we need to open up discussion on racism.

Really?  I’d never wear a shirt like that, whether I support Obama or not, because the shirt is in bad taste.  The next comment, however, cuts to the truth with a heavy dose of sarcasm:

Yeah, that’s racist as hell. Nobody ever made fun of Bush by saying he looks like a monkey.

Phew, that almost went over my head.

So is there anything inherently racist or offensive about comparing a person to a member of a different species?  After all, the current president has been lampooned in much the same way.  What makes this t-shirt racist is the racist lore from which it draws it’s imagery.

[StraightFromTheA via Digg]

I LOVE this t-shirt design, again from One Horse Shy, although I have to say that I’m not sure I agree with the message.

Stephanie from Unionmaide seems to think so.  Her line of handcrafted anti-war t-shirts is available through Etsy, a great place to shop for handmade tees.

Read more about Etsy at Custom T-Shirt Talk.

The bastion of newsworthyness that is the Gawker blog network used to run a small spinoff t-shirt site with a few slogan tees that I liked. Unfortunately they are in the middle of closing up shop, which I hope this isn’t because they’ve lost their joie de vivre for t-shirts, or that the rigors of running a business have become too much. After all, that wouldn’t be very encouraging news for those of us just starting out. The upside is that you can now own any of the Gawker tees still in stock for just $9.99.

What can you conclude about a site with with at least five different shirts displaying President Reagan’s image? That’s gotta be some seriously conservative t-shirt site! No, I’m not talking about Deez Teez, it’s Those Shirts that got liberals all worked up. We’re talking about saving paving whales, nuking mecca, even neutering pets! Still not interested? How about blonde and brunette Texan models wearing Che t-shirts, baring mid-riffs and toting AK-47s?

Nothing from Walmart, anyway. I was browsing the T-Shirt Shopping List when I came across an ad for ChristianShirts.net. The site contains a huge 10 page selection of t-shirts, mainly slogan tees making a case against abortion, but also against gay rights and evolution.

Nothing brings out the creativity in a t-shirt designer quite like an upcoming election.  For once, you can legally use a celebrity’s likeness just because they are running for office, and from what I hear political t-shirts are big money.  So let the games begin…

Isn’t it ironic that the two highest profile online t-shirt shops couldn’t be more different from each other? Threadless is run by the still-idealistic twenty somethings who refuse corporate take over bids and find it in their hearts to sell their innocence and their shirts for $10 a pop. T-Shirt Hell, on the other hand, gets in the news by pushing the limit of free speech while making seriously offensive drags.

On your left is Green Party by T-Shirt Hell, a real party that’s twice the pun and green in color only.  The shirt on the right is Threadless’ reprint of Tom Burns’ Communist Party, a true example of Americana.

And here’s another thing. Ya know that cute girl in your english class that you’ve been trying to impress? This shirt should do the trick. It shows you’re smart and clever while making sure she knows you’ve got a sense of humor too. Place your order on a Monday, get the shirt on a Thursday, wear it to class on Friday and ask her out for Saturday. After that, welcome to Pantyville, population: you.

With descriptions like that and t-shirts like this, BustedTees should be on anyone’s short list of the best t-shirt shops online. Sure, Threadless is artistic, melodramatic, and above all democratic, but BustedTees are just funny, clever, and well designed, and you don’t have to collect all 200 of them. Their shirts are sort of middle of the road, not too artsy or esoteric, and not offensive like so many other t-shirt sites. Here’s some evidence of what I’m talking about, sweet, delicious evidence:

So be sure to visit BustedTees and take a look at the rest of their collection, like the classic “Visit Cuba,” and one of their newest creations “I’m with Cupid.”