Slogans, motifs, important messages…
Why I’m in love with the t-shirts of the moment.

If there’s one SS17 trend that has come back in full force not just in shops but in my wardrobe too, it’s the white t-shirt. 

My wardrobe has always consisted of t-shirts. Usually band shirts. Nearly always black. A way of me fangirling the music I love and the artists that create them. 

But something changed this Spring. I am obsessing over the white t-shirt and I think I know who to blame. 

 

A little (enormous) change happened at one of the most renowned fashion houses. Dior has its first female artistic director. And the woman, Maria Grazia used her first collection to send a very clear message to the fashion world. Spearheaded by a simple white slogan t-shirt that made everyone (me) gasp, clap and nod in approval. 

We Should All Be Feminists. The title of an essay by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Feminist as a word, the idea, the notion was perfect for the first woman to take the esteemed role of artistic director for the Parisian couture house but it couldn’t have come at a more important time. Where social media meets fashion, meets tumbler and snapchat more than ever before. Where young people feel less restraints than ever when it comes to freedom of thought and ways of how to express them.

Take Emma Watson being a spokeperson for the UN Women’s He For She campaign. Championing equality, encouraging us to listen and to not be judgeful on each other to try and erase the lines of division that have long separated man and woman on our planet. 

These important milestones of our generation deserve to be emblazoned on t-shirts for history to keep printing decade after decade and I hope that I will get to see that happen. 

T-shirts have always had a rather special and powerful role in fashion. Slogans (and I hate the word muchly as belittling it’s power). Brand logos. Political messages and ideals. Notable pictures or patterns. Once printed onto a simple cotton shirt can become iconic. How many decades has the Rolling Stones Tongue & Lips logo been around now? I think it’s the fifth decade by my count. 

In 2017 enthusiasts will pay top money to get their hands on original vintage tees where cracked prints and thinned and worn out cotton give authenticity of their devotion to the cause. Even I have found myself putting vintage band t-shirts on my wishlist that cost hundreds of pounds only to give in and go for a remake picked up on the high street. 

Some purists will scoff at the availability of these t-shirts as demeaning to their messages or what they represent. But sod those kind of thoughts. I grew up in a world where I dreamt I could pick up a Nirvana T-Shirt in a high street store rather than never ever seeing one. But as I was only 9 when Nirvana played their last ever show in the UK, that wasn’t likely to happen.

My collection wasn’t all bad. Mostly filled with the ones sold out of cardboard boxes on the streets of London after gigs. I used to love those pirate £5 t-shirts that made up most of my wardrobe in the late 90s and early 00s. I would collect them as memories of which bands I had seen but I also used to hate the fruit of the loom logo that would be visible beneath the screen print! Fail. 

But enough about my black tee past.

Hello, white tees of the here and now!

White as a background has always been ‘it’. Nothing looks crisper, sharper and more defined than when it appears on a white background. I hasten a half educated guess that the first person to ever wear a t-shirt in the name of fashion over purpose was wearing a white one. 

My white t-shirt moments of 2017

First came the ridiculously cute I-Keep-A-Kitten-In-My-Top-Pocket Tee I purchased in H&M.

Then this Females of the Future Tee from Topshop. I thought it was the closest piece I would own to the Dior SS17 We Should All Be Feminists T-Shirt.

Then the t-shirt that made me want to throw all other clothes out of my wardrobe and wear only this. Feminist White T-Shirt from Topshop/Outfit.

Then today (28/03/17) I spotted these beauties @ MK1 Shopping 

This Beauty & the Beast T-Shirt is from Primark. No stiff messages here, just fun and a nod to the latest Disney release.

And this Happy Pineapple T-Shirt from H&M.

So for the moment white t-shirts are my passion. I want to wear my thoughts, my loves and hopefully inspire others to do the same. Do you have a favourite? Are you enjoying a white t-shirt moment too? *Most t-shirts featured were purchased from MK1 Shopping Park just in case you wondered!