FashBlog.com

Tee shirts have always been a central part of my wardrobe. Going back to my childhood, I distinctly remember owning a tee that touted me as "Daddy's Little Tax Exemption". My grandparents would always bring me tees from the Jersey Shore-- shirts that sung the merits of Atlantic City, Ocean City, Wildwood-- yes, I always had a good collection of those.

In the mid 70's, when the television show "Happy Days" was really big, I owned the token "Aaaaaay Fonz" tee shirt. Once I started high school, tee shirts-- especially black ones featuring rock stars-- were all the rage. My first official rock star tee shirt was obtained at a Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers concert, circa 1981. I felt so cool wearing that shirt. My best friend and I both owned the same one and we wore them until they literally could be worn no more.

As the years went on and I went to more rock concerts, I acquired quite a collection of official rock tees. I say official because, while many of my friends bought rock tees outside of the concert venue after the show, most of those sold outside for five or ten dollars were considered bootlegged tees. Personally, I only bought the official concert tees because I found that the bootlegs tees, while cheap, would usually peel and fade after one washing. Over time I had tees that announced the historical Live Aid concert, tees that showcased 80's hair bands like Dokken and Def Leppard, legendary metal bands like Judas Priest and AC/DC, and blues artists like the late, great Stevie Ray Vaughn.

These days, my grown son has drawers full of tee shirts of his own. His earlier tees, which featuring PG rated bands like No Doubt and Green Day, are gone-- they were replaced with tees paying tribute to heavier groups like Korn and Limp Bizkit. Now those are gone, too-- his newest tees are emblazoned with the logos of bands I've never even heard of-- Coheed and Cambria and Mindless Self Indulgence. One of his favorite tees has a picture of Bruce Lee on it and it says "Bruce Lee is my Homeboy". He also has a tee that states "I've lost my phone number-- will you give me yours". Silly, I know, but that's the fun of tee shirts.

These days, tee shirts are still something I wear just about every day. I have lots of plain ones-- comfortable, perfect fit tees from Old Navy in a multitude of colors. I buy them when they're on sale, two for eighteen dollars. I also have a worn out gray tee shirt that used to be my husband's, which I wear to bed almost every night (I know-- sexy, huh?).

I recently purchased a pink tee with the Superman logo embellished on it-- it's glittery and pretty. I also like tees that give people a chuckle-- I recently came across one that says, "Smile--it confuses people". When Martha Stewart was in prison, I almost bought a tee that said "Free Martha" but then I realized it would go out of style pretty quickly (too quickly for the twenty four bucks it cost). I've recently noticed that retro tees have made a huge comeback-- check your favorite store for the Pink Panther tees, Care Bears, My Little Pony and tees featuring your favorite foods from the past (I've seen a Wonder Bread tee-shirt-- need I say more?).

Some of my friends like to wear tees that advertise for their favorite stores-- Abercrombie, Old Navy, Gap, DKNY. I guess this is really no different than advertising for your favorite rock band-- either way, you're still a human bill board, but at least wearing a tee shirt will also keep you warm.