Miss Independent

NAME: Katie
LOCATION: The Ark, Lakeview

What's this shirt all about?

This shirt ... believe it or not, I got it a thrift store. And I thought it was darn fun because I had bariatric surgery, and I finally got to be thrift shopping and I found 'Miss Independent' and it just suited me. It was perfect for me. And it was cheap! And I liked it.

What kind of surgery did you have?

Bariatric surgery? Weight loss surgery.

Oh, okay.

So, there you go. And I was so excited I could shop at thrift stores and I found something that was very me. So there it is.

So now you're a woman about town, Miss Independent. Do you wear this to bars?

I don't. I'm not much of a bar-hopper. I'm just independent.

The Gong Show

NAME: Bryan
LOCATION: The Rocking Chair, Logan Square

Oh, my friend Patrick got it for me at a thrift store, apparently. Um, well, it's just something that we say. Actually our friend Brittany I guess started it. It's just something - if something's "gong show" it's kind of ridiculous, fucked up. Stupid. It's like, "That's totally gong show."

And then what's-his-name, in Pineapple Express? The cute guy, with the long hair?

James Franco.

Yeah, James Franco used it in that. And we were surprised. We didn't know anybody else used it.

Then I had a teacher who, uh - he's probably, I guess he's about forty, and he goes, "Do you even remember the Gong Show?" And I was like, "No, man. It's just a fuckin' shirt." That's true. That's a true story.

Anything else?

Also I like the color yellow. It keeps me safe at night.

The Native American, post-apocalypse

NAME: Kevin
LOCATION: Sultan's Market, Wicker Park

I got this, uh... it's one of the shirts I got from like the one-dollar rack at, like ... I think it was the Brown Elephant. And, uh, I liked it so much even though it already has pre-existing pit stains. But you know whoever got rid of it clearly saw the potential in it. You know, it's pretty ratty. It's really just one of those shirts I like to wear because I expect to get laid. I expect to get fucked when I wear this shirt. Not like, you know, I wear this, like, "Oh, I'm totally gonna get fucked tonight." But it's: "I'm going to get fucked tonight because I'm wearing this shirt. Because of this shirt." I look at me in the mirror, and I think, "I would fuck me." Just because of this shirt. And only because of this shirt.

So that's what - also, it's just pretty cool. I like looking at it and imagining where the Indian is.

Where do you imagine the Indian to be?

I don't know. I think it's like, after a nuclear bomb or something. I don't really know. That's for you to decide. I guess.

Have you ever gotten laid in this shirt?

No. Not once.

Bermuda

NAME: Jamie
LOCATION: The Firkin & Pheasant, Orchard & Diversey

I don't believe for a second that this is from Bermuda.

Well, I've actually been there, but it's not from Bermuda.

Where's it from?

The Salvation Army on ... some street in Worcester, Massachusetts.

...which is your hometown?

My hometown.

Did you get this before or after you went to Bermuda?

Exactly six years after. I was eight when I went to Bermuda and I was fourteen when I got this t-shirt.

You must have some fond memories of Bermuda.

I don't know - I was scared! Because everyone wanted to braid my hair and I was eight years old and it was - I had never really seen like many black people before. It was scary. Are you putting this on the internet? I messed up.

Why is this now your favorite shirt?

Um, well I've had it for almost eleven years now and it's, y'know, basically see-through ... it's real nice ... a great color ... they don't make 'em like they used to.