As the culture enthusiasts at Vol. 1 Brooklyn pointed out this morning, Forever 21 is selling a Flipper t-shirt re-branded for that guy with the toned arms and healthy skin complexion at the top of this post. “Once upon a time it was a punk shirt,” Vol. 1 mourns, referencing the San Fransisco band whose logo it copies. “Kurt Cobain made one with a marker and wore it on Saturday Night Live in 1992. ” (He wore it a lot, actually.) But it’s all good, you see, because it’s a throwback and shoppers at Forever 21 will want to buy it for $16.90, and maybe some people will buy it thinking it’s a joke on the kids TV show with the friendly dolphin, which would be great for business, wouldn’t it, hahaha, says a hypothetical Forever 21 businessman. Faux-vintage apparel is very popular these days. Here’s our guide to the items which most drastically disregard what the band actually stood for; it mutually functions as a guide to what not to buy the music nerds in your life this holiday season.
KISS Tee, $24.50, dELiAs
I think we can all agree this girl probably isn’t a huge KISS fan.
Ray Charles Graphic Tee, $15.80, Forever 21
The older the guy on your shirt, the hotter you look in it.
Classic Nirvana Tee, $17.80, Forever 21
It’s cool everyone, it’s an officially licensed product. Frances Bean gets a $1 for every shirt bought.*
Sublime Tee, $24.50, dELiAs
“Mom, can I get this belly shirt, pleeeease? The singer overdosed on heroin!”**
Beatles Uneven Hem Tee, $15.80, Forever 21
Uneven hem = authenticity
Muddy Waters Crop Tee, $15.80, Forever 21
“Hey Tom, you don’t suppose if we cut off the bottom of this Muddy Waters shirt we could sell it, do you?”
The Clash Swing Muscle Tee, $49, Urban Outfitters
This one will cost you $49 — Joe Strummer would’ve loved that.
Metallica Distressed Muscle Tank Top, $39, Urban Outfitters
Meet the world’s biggest Metallica fan, undoubtedly distressed by Lulu.
Now this is more like it… $24.50, dELiAs
*I just made up that part about Frances Bean.
**Sorry, that’s not really funny.
***I’d be remiss if I didn’t admit to shopping at all three of these stores and owning a retro-style Beatles t-shirt, though its hem is perfectly even.
all of these images are broken..
Still broken . . .
Should be fixed now! Sorry about that — weird browser issue for Firefox and Google Chrome.
pics worked fine for me since yesterday. I have the original of that Metallica shirt, tour dates on the back, really distressed!
and for the record, I am wearing the shit out of my White Suns shirt right now. Support the bands that could really use your merch cash, not this!
I wouldn’t shop Urban Outfitters. The CEO is a big supporter of Rick Santorum.