Let your clothes do the talking

Purveying humour, good taste, or alluringly esoteric styles, slogan tees have a storied history and are worn by toddlers and senior citizens alike. A quick and effective signifier of personal allegiance—be it to a movement, a person, or, more transiently, a moment—slogan tees can be found in the bins at Goodwill as well as on the runways in Paris. They are politically charged (see Katharine Hamnett’s ‘Choose Life’) or eye-rollingly vacuous (see Paris Hilton’s ‘Don’t be Jealous’). Steeped in candid irony, they invoke the wearer in this unashamed ridiculousness, and they’re usually pretty funny (and at times a little cringe). Despite predating social media by who-knows-how-long, the statement tee embodies the quick-fire nature of our current digital sphere. Say something, but say it quickly. And if you’re going to say something, we suggest you say it with your chest! 

We’ve come a long way from Forever 21’s ‘Touch my butt and buy me pizza’ and Abercrombie’s dubious days of ‘Daughters love me’ slogan tees. Approaching this well-loved garment with an elevatory eye, brands are utilising this simple but effective technique as a way of relaying identity, both aesthetic and perhaps moral. For Maria Grazia Chiuri’s debut at Dior, the SS17 collection featured a simple white t-shirt emblazoned with the statement ‘We should all be feminists.’ As the brand’s first (standalone) female creative director, Maria recognised this significant moment in fashion history and consolidated it with the definitive slogan tee, offering a sartorial statement that wasn’t up for interpretation. Despite existing on a spectrum between the sincere and the silly, regardless of where the tee lies, the intention—to make a statement, to be bold—remains consistent. 

Across the AW25 runways, designers were making a statement, quite literally, with several collections debuting slogan tees. Putting their own flair on the medium, the t-shirts, in all their iterations, gave designers the chance to say something, however silly or sincere that may be. At LFW, S.S. Daley took things up a notch with slogan knitwear stating we should ‘Stay Faithfull to Marianne,’ an homage to the late (great) singer and actress. Meanwhile, a distressed tee, scribbled with sketches of dogs, jokingly stated ‘Keep staring; I might do a trick.’ At NFW, the cool-girl brand Collina Strada showed a layered graphic tee with the chronically online phrase ‘Girl Dinner’ accompanied by a photo of butterflies landing on clementine slices, crafting a rather wholesome take on the TikTok trend. Stella McCartney sent a t-shirt cheekily claiming ‘Slippering when wet’ down the runway, further illustrated with a sexy pin-up girl riding a blow-up whale (as you do).

While the runways debut their luxury versions of the slogan tee, we think some of the best finds are lying at the bottom of a bargain bin at your local Oxfam. Car boot sales, charity shops, or bundled away in your parent’s garage, the slightly scraggly slogan tees are usually all the cooler if they’re a tad dated (and moth-bitten). So, whether you’re looking to make a statement—be it politically or culturally—or perhaps just want to add a touch of humour or irony to an otherwise normal outfit, a slogan tee, whether it’s £750 or 50p, is a simple way to let your clothes do the talking...