The Robin and The Revolver

NAME: Fabrice
LOCATION: Cole's, Logan Square

This t-shirt is actually something that I found at a Buffalo Exchange and I picked it up because I had to do a poetry reading and I wanted something interesting and it had a multi-colored robin, and it looks decent. But I feel like the gun is so like large and almost imposing.

It's kind of a threat to the bird.

Yes. But at the same time, like, maybe the bird is not really threatened at all and so it implies a sense of coolness.

The bird is so cool, the bird's not even afraid of the gun.

I would think so actually. I think there's something pretty about it.


So for you, the t-shirt is about the bird, not the gun.

Oh, definitely about the bird, yeah.

But people notice that gun.

I think that people do, yeah. I didn't pick it out - I wasn't like, "Oh, look at that awesome gun." I literally was like, "Wow, that's a great like robin-ish looking bird that's multi-colored, followed by a gun."

Do you have any specific affinity for robins?

Um, the person that I am dating currently is really into those types of birds, so I guess when I saw it immediately I thought at first maybe she would like it. It's kind of weird, but yeah, that's what I thought.

And does she like it?

Yeah, she loved it.

Madison Regatta!

NAME: John [with Alexis]
LOCATION: house party, Avondale

Are you from Madison?

Uh, my folks live there. Yeah, Madison, Indiana.

Oh! Okay.

Yeah, Indiana. The other Madison.

And were you in a regatta?

Nah, it's this, this big thing they do every year around the Fourth of July, yeah? It's this speedboat race, it's, uh, right on the Ohio River. Right on the Kentucky-Indiana border. So, they do it there, and I picked it up at a thrift store. My parents, they work for the Salvation Army, yeah? And, they run the thrift store - that's part of it - so I got a family discount. It worked out pretty good.

How much of a discount do you get at the Salvation Army?

It's like fifty percent, man, it's pretty good.

So how much did this shirt cost?

About a dollar fifty.

And you've never been in the regatta.

No, never been in the regatta. Never actually even been in the same state as the regatta was going on. So it's not quite legitimate. But I like the shirt, right? So what are you gonna do.

Fishbone

NAME: Angel
LOCATION: Whole Foods, Lakeview

Fishbone was an early-80s band that was a ska/punk/metal hybrid ... they had a couple good records in like the mid-, late-80s. Still around. But I found this shirt vintage at, um, Brown Elephant, I believe?

I just, this kinda brings me back a little bit to my childhood, I guess. The early 80s, or the late 80s, 90s.

Are they from here?

Uh, no no, they're from California.

Is that where you're from?

No, I'm born and raised in Chicago.

But have you seen them live?

No, not live. I've seen them - I've seen, like, footage of them on TV. I mean, they were an exciting band at the time. They were one of those bands that you couldn't really pigeonhole because they just had so many different styles but like the Chili Peppers were down with them and um, a lot of metal bands, too. Primus, I know they toured with them, so. And it glows in the dark!

Nice.

And it's very appropriate because I work in the fish market. So, you know.

You wear it to work a lot?

I wear it out and about. I do get comments from the old-timers, they see it, they're like, "Yeah, Fishbone, yeah!"

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.

St. Norbert College Knights

NAME: Jacob
LOCATION: Brown Line (Northbound to Kimball)

This is a private college in Green Bay. One of my best friends actually played football for the St. Norbert Knights and I was at a thrift store in Green Bay and came across it and it was something that I could like support his team and also have an awesome shirt and it only cost me a dollar.

Not bad. How did the St. Norbert Knights do that year?

Um, they did pretty good. And it was something that I was definitely getting a couple eyebrows raised at the games because, you know, this is an old school throwback t-shirt. It went over really well.

What position did your friend play?

My friend was a wide receiver. His name is Judd O'Connell, um, he was number 85 and, um, had a fantastic Senior season and we were very proud of him. He did a great job.

Wait, tell me again where St. Norbert College is.

St. Norbert College is located in De Pere, Wisconsin, which is a suburb of Green Bay. Actually a funny little story: before St. Norbert College became a college it was Abbot Pennings High School and that's actually where my father went to high school. Graduated in 1972. Just a little tidbit for ya'.

The Field Museum

NAME: Cat
LOCATION: Clark & Diversey

Dinosaurs!

Dinosaurs.

Tell me about this shirt.

Well, it's my favorite shirt. It's got a tyrannosaurus, there's a pterodactyl. The best thing about it is that it's glow-in-the-dark.

Are you into dinosaurs?

I've always loved dinosaurs. I used to play with my little brother... we used to play with those little paleontology kits where you like have the sand and you have to dig through it.

But you didn't actually get this at the Field Museum.

No, it's a Field Museum shirt, but I got it at a Michigan thrift store.

Had you been to the Field Museum at the time?

Probably.

What's that dinosaur's name?

This one is a Tyrannosaurus Rex.

No, the big skeleton that they have.

That one's also a T. Rex!

But it has a name!

Sue!

Sue!

Yes.

Thank you! Did you know it glowed in the dark when you bought it?

I didn't. That was a big surprise. I turned out the lights for the first time, and I was like, "Oh, man." That was really good.