D46768.

Size: M
Where: Oddica



Why: No reason. Just liked how it looked.

Comment: One of my very favorite designs from Oddica. Cool, clean, colorful, mysterious.

Triple Nerd Score.

Size: M
Where: Gift from Chris and Spano



Why: Birthday present.

Comment: I used to be big into Scrabble, and everybody knew it.

Marked.

Size: L
Where: A table at MoCCA Art Fest a couple years back



Why: The shirt was free. FREE! I didn't even have to ask. I walked by the table and they asked if I wanted a t-shirt. Did I want a t-shirt??

Comment: I haven't picked up the book yet, but it sounds pretty cool. Apparently it's a sort of contemporary, surrealist retelling of the Gospel of Mark? You can read all about (and order) it here.

While you're there, ask if they have any t-shirts left.

I'm Watching You.

Size: L
Where: Cranky Design



Why: Another shirt from John and Sunny.

Comment: Another cool design from Cranky. The black, white, and red color combo is great, and I love the little guy hiding in the eye.

emptyfree.com

Size: L
Where: emptyfree.com



Why: I remember winning this in a contest. I don't remember the question or the answer, but it had something to do with Invader Zim.



Comment: emptyfree was a cool little music blog I liked reading back in the day. I sort of let it fall by the wayside after a while though, and last time I checked it didn't appear to be up anymore.

Blue Sun.

Size: L
Where: Cafepress



Why: There it is, there it is. It's always there if you look for it. Everybody sees and nobody sees it. These are the ones that take you. Little ones in the corner that you almost don't see. But they're the ones that reach in and do it. They're the ones with teeth and you have to smash them.

Comment: The logo on this shirt is actually incorrect, as it was later pointed out that the character for "blue" was for a different usage, or something (you can see the corrected version here). When buying this shirt, I had to choose between "original"-but-incorrect or right-but-altered. I wonder what why my choice says about my personality....

Armadillo Dan's Roadkill Cafe.

Size: L
Where: Texas, somewhere?



Why: Roy got this for me on a trip.

Comment: Silly shirt. I like my friends.

LAIFF 2000.

Size: XL
Where: Los Angeles Independent Film Festival, 2000.



Why: I'm trying to remember whether or not this was a free shirt for volunteering, like the one from the previous year. I may have had to pay for it.

Comment: This shirt's seen better days.... :(

Cargo.

Size: M
Where: Cargo magazine



Why: Shirt came free subscription to the now-defunct Cargo magazine, which I used to enjoy looking at.



Comment: They also sent a free "messenger bag", which was about the size of a clutch purse, which I probably still have in my closet somewhere.

There were a whole bunch of free shirts that the magazine was sending out, each designed by some hot-shit, up-and-coming designer. Honestly, though, I don't find this particular design so interesting. I guess it's all subjective.

Acapulco '82.

Size: L
Where: Old Navy



Why: Another sale, no doubt.

Comment: I sure did used to buy a bunch of shirts from Old Navy.

Though I like the colors and design of this shirt, I really wish it was a silkscreen rather than this weird fused rubber iron-on whatever they used.

Robocat.

Size: L
Where: Cranky Design



Why: John and Sunny sent this to me a few years back. It may have been my birthday. It may have not been.

Comment: Robocat is a transformer variation of Vegetarian Kitty. Robocat is 1 foot high and weighs the same as 2 bags of lima beans. Robocat can also turn into water.

You can read more about Robocat and all the characters of Cranky Village at the Cranky site here.

Fox & Fowle '03.

Size: L
Where: Tim gave it to me.



Why: No real reason.

Comment: Fox & Fowle (now FXFOWLE) has a softball team every year, and being the design-y folks that they are, hold a firm contest every year for someone to design the year's uniform. Not to be mean or anything (and apologies if the designer of this shirt is reading this), but competition must have been pretty thin in '03 if this is the design that won. I'm serious.



The cleverest thing about the shirt, I think, is that instead of individual players' numbers on the back, everyone (presumably) got the same "03". Because, you see, it was 2003. Clever.

New York Korean Film Festival 2004.

Size: M
Where: New York Korean Film Festival



Why: To commemorate my third (?) year helping out with the Festival.



Comment: Although I alluded to the creation of this shirt in my post about the Wonderful Days shirt, I had somehow completely forgotten that I actually had this shirt when I unearthed it from the back of my closet the other week. Another lost shirt re-discovered! Another shirt blog win!

Duncan Sheik - White Limousine. (2)

Size: L
Where: the store at duncansheik.com



Why: the site store was having a 2-for-1 closeout sale to finish out their stock of shirts from the White Limousine tour. The other shirt I got was this one.

Comment: I actually wanted this same shirt in red as I already have way too many shirts in this exact shade of navy, but they were out of my size. I guess they must have found another few boxes in the warehouse, because I always note that they have stacks and stacks of the red ones whenever I go to a show. :s

Green, striped shirt.

Size: XL
Where: Old Navy



Why: Clearance rack.

Comment: The only real "mystery" about this shirt is that, though it's labeled XL, it fits much more like an L. Oooh, scary. I guess as far as "mysteries" go, this one is pretty lame.

Puerto Vallarta.

Size: M?
Where: Puerto Vallarta, I guess?



Why: There is no why.

Comment: Mystery Shirt Week continues with this cute shirt from Puerto Vallarta.

Pureto Vallarta. Just like the shirt that started this whole "mystery shirt" kick.

Is it possible that I actually was in Puerto Vallarta at some point, and simply forgot? I wonder. You know, all my life my parents told me that when I was little we took a big family trip to the Grand Canyon, and I was just too young to remember. All my life I believed that when I was little we took a big family trip to the Grand Canyon, and I was just too young to remember. Until one day it suddenly occured to me.

If we really had taken a big family trip to the Grand Canyon, you'd think we would have taken even a single photograph of it.

Mystery shirt (2).

Size: M
Where: Evidently, it originated from an Abercrombie store somewhere.



Why: Nobody will ever know.

Comment: Are we bored with Mystery Shirt Week yet?

Unlike yesterday's shirt, this one actually is in bad enough shape to make me think that maybe I did pick it out of the laundry room trash (ha ha, not really). It's all stretched out and thin and has a bunch of tiny, ratty holes in it. So the question is not so much where did I get it, but why do I keep it?

Nothing to do with this shirt, but there's an Abercrombie store near my work that last summer took down all their signage and shuttered all their windows...yet the store was clearly still in operation, almost visible waves of cologne and air conditioning pulsing down the street whenever the door opened and shut, people going in and out and buying their short shirts and skinny jeans and...geez, what else do they sell there, lanyard ankle bracelets? I still don't know what the deal with that is, and last time I walked by (shortly before Christmas) all the signs were still down, windows still shuttered, business as brisk as ever.

Now there's a mystery.

Plain blue t-shirt.

Size: M?
Where: No idea.

Why: Not a clue.

Comment: Mystery Shirt Week continues with this plain blue t-shirt.

It's in pretty good shape, so I know I didn't just pick it out of the laundry room trash (not that I'd do that, anyway), and I may have even gotten it fairly recently.

Where did it come from? Why do I have it? When will I wear it next?

The answers to these questions and more, unknowable. It's a mystery.

Just a plain, blue t-shirt. Nothing to say. Move along.

Mystery shirt (1).

Size: S?
Where: Not a clue.



Why: No idea.

Comment: A couple weeks ago I posted about this shirt, which I had no idea from where I got it. And that got me thinking, you know, for all the shirts that I have, I'm sure there are at least a couple whose origins are a complete mystery to me, that have no stories attached to them (at least, none that I can remember). And so, after a fun afternoon digging deep in the back of my closet, I present to you: Mystery Shirt Week!

(it's actually just going to be a few days. as much as I'd imagined that there'd be a ton "mystery shirts", there only wound up being like three or four of them.)

So first up we have this grey long-sleeved number. I really do wonder where it came from. Did someone give it to me? Did someone leave it at my house? Looking at it and feeling it, you can tell that it's not new (unless it was purposely made with that faux-vintagey, "refugee shirt"-type feel). The shirt itself offers few clues: the label simply reads "anr" (is that a brand?), and is size S, which I'm pretty sure I'd never, ever buy for myself (much less so far back enough in time that I wouldn't remember getting it). I find the two-toned sleeves interesting, as it's sort of a one-stop for that long-sleeve-shirt-under-short-sleeve-shirt-over-long-sleeve-shirt look.

The shirt is also very soft and feels a little thin, but again it could be just because (I'm guessing) it's so old.

So...where could this shirt have possibly come from? Anyone care to speculate?

Johnny Hi-Fi.

Size: L
Where: cafepress, via Johnny Hi-Fi site.



Why: I like the band.

Comment: Johnny Hi-Fi, to my knowledge, began life in Austin, TX under the name Megalo. Then singer Eric Hsu relocated to Brooklyn and has been putting out awesome music under the name Johnny Hi-Fi ever since. Their album "Vicious Cycle of Promises & Apologies" (which you can download here) was one of my very favorites of last year.

Devil's Cut.

Size: M
Where: Lucky Brand, I'm pretty sure.



Why: Birthday gift from Doug a few years ago.



Comment: As much as I love the design on the back of this shirt, this is actually my shirt of choice when I do that whole long-sleeve-shirt-under-short-sleeve-shirt-over-long-sleeve shirt thing, just because the sleeves are so great.


Left sleeve.


Right sleeve.