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    « Thoughts on Piracy in Thailand | Main | The Changing Face of Bangkok - 1970 vs 2009 »
    Tuesday
    Jun022009

    Seen in Bangkok - T-shirts Not to Wear to a Wedding

    thumbT-shirts with cool slogans on them have become quite the hot little item in the past few years. Be they funny, cool, geeky, dirty or cute, it seems that you can find your voice no matter what socio-economic bubble life has shoehorned you into. Luckily, Bangkok's endless street markets are a great place to find some very funny examples. Although many of them are made by Thais with a very weak grasp on what makes a t-shirt statement 'cool' (my favorite - a picture of a potted plant with the words 'Spaceship One', swear to God), most are really neat. Some make you laugh, some make you go 'Awww...', and some - like the shirt below - make you go "WTF?"

    While wandering near the infamous Khao San Road a few weeks ago, I came across this gem and had to double-back to take a picture. Now, my mind being the vast wasteland of pop culture filth and frivolity that it is, borne by youthful overexposure to skin mags, bootlegged VHS porn movies and violent Hollywood movies, I immediately think the worst when I see this. But what about the positive side? Maybe the shirt is referencing... uh... perfume? Makeup? Maybe it's the end part of a long sentence that explains the whole thing, and is just missing the elipsis, as in: "... to wipe love on her face." Essentially what I'm asking is, can anyone think of an instance where this shirt is not filthy?

    It's nice to see an artist with the care in their work to pay attention to the little details, such as the occasional dripping letter.Well, most are much tamer than this. If it's true shock value you want, you can't beat TShirtHell.com. Head on over and browse - just make sure you're not at work.

    Reader Comments (4)

    Whoa ...

    June 19, 2009 | Unregistered CommenterGuy

    hey, i am actually the designer of this shirt. it is a parody of a famous t-shirt designed by a clothing company guised as a charity called "To Write Love On Her Arms". the shirt you took a photo of is not licensed and whoever produced these is stealing from me. not that i really care, but the least the assholes could do is send me some, hah.

    you can see the original here:

    http://emptees.com/tees/2773-twlohf

    August 2, 2009 | Unregistered CommenterSkull With Hair

    Hey Skull, wow, that's interesting, thanks for posting. I just thought it was a bad attempt at a Thai trying to say something cute, but I stand corrected. Now if you could only explain the 'Nazi Punks Fuck Off' t-shirts all over Bangkok... :)

    August 2, 2009 | Unregistered CommenterGreg

    hah, yeah i am assuming they don't even know what it is either because they altered the design just enough to no longer really resemble the original it is a parody of. either way, thanks for taking the photo and sharing. it's neat to actually see it. If you ever come across these again and pick one up i definitely paypal you the money for the shirt/shipping/and your time. If not thats fine too, just thought i'd put that out there. interesting blog BTW!

    August 2, 2009 | Unregistered CommenterSkull With Hair

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