In Good Company

NAME: Ben
LOCATION: The Firkin & Pheasant, Orchard and Diversey

They gave it to us for free at the video store I worked at. So, I stole it. We were supposed to wear it in the store, but I never wore it in the store, I wore it everywhere else. And it's comfy!

Are you a fan of the film?

I don't hate it. Any movie where Topher Grace gets to bang Scarlett Johansson, I'm all for.

Do you wear it, though, as an advertisement for the film?

No. I wear it as an advertisement for comfortable maroon shirts. And Topher Grace. And Dennis Quaid and Scarlett Johansson, but not the movie itself.


But you told me that it's your favorite shirt.

It is my favorite shirt.

What makes this your favorite, as opposed to a shirt advertising a movie you actually like?

I got it for free. Um, it's the most comfortable shirt I wear. It doesn't wear out no matter how many times you wash it. I've probably washed it ... at least more than once, hopefully. It doesn't fade. When it's hot out, it feels cool, when it's cool it feels warm. And it's ironic enough not to be hipstery, but it's also not a hipster shirt because I actually got it where I worked, I didn't buy it in a second-hand store or anything.

Is there irony in your wearing it because you don't think it's a very good movie?

No, I don't hate it. I mean, I think I have a burned copy of it somewhere, from the video store. But I don't watch it a lot. If it was on TBS when I go home right now I would probably watch it. They order Domino's because their dinner gets ruined and then Topher Grace hits on her by playing ping pong in the garage then the lovable little sister comes in and it ends - well, I'm not gonna say how it ends because it's really cool. And then she goes to school and lives in a dorm even though she's like 29 or something. And then Topher Grace bangs her... I haven't watched it a lot, I swear to god.

Fluorescent Fruit

NAME: Kelly
LOCATION: Farragut's, Andersonville

I'm not usually interested in these kind of patterned shirts for the blog, but you seem really excited about this.

Yeah. Yeah! I'm so excited about this shirt. So many reasons. And the first reason is that, well, first of all, the fruit is fluorescent. And basically food that is artificially colored is my favorite food.

To eat, or to have on your shirt?

To eat. Especially Cheetos. And I was a Cheeto for Halloween, and so, um, fluorescent lemons are probably what I'm gonna eat when I get home and I'm hoping to acquire some more artifically-colored food clothing slash costumes slash food for dinner.

Do you have other items of clothing that display your favorite food like this?

My Cheeto costume for Halloween!

How did you pull that off?

Um, I had orange fishnets that were nice and textured like a Cheeto. I had this tarry cloth skirt which also had a nice Cheeto-like texture. I had an orange cardigan and orange hairspray and orange facepaint and yellow rainboots with anchors on them.

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.

eels with strings

NAME: Jon
LOCATION: Clark St, Lakeview

Tell the uninitiated about eels and Mr. E.

Eels is my favorite band of all time and, let's see. They're from California. They had a hit about 1996 called "Novocaine for the Soul". But then, after that, they didn't really have any big hit radio songs. They just kinda kept going but people didn't really know that they kept going. Well I knew they kept going. So I kept listening.

What about "Last Stop: This Town"?

That's another one they kinda - yeah, that's true. They did have one more - it wasn't as big a hit, but y'know.

I love that song.

I love that song, too. They're a great band.

So was E morose and depressed when you met him?

Uh, no. He was rocking out at a concert. I've been to see them three times.

Where?

I saw them first time at the one down here. The Metro. Yeah, the Metro. And then I saw them again in Detroit and I saw them again - this is the concert I got the shirt from - I saw them at Park West.

How did you go about meeting him, to get him to autograph the shirt?

I just hung out after the show. The first time I met him was at The Metro when I was young and dumb and excited to meet a rock hero and so I was this very scary big man going crazy.

Just how tall are you?

I'm 6'5". So I said, "Hey, can I get a picture?" And he said, "Yeah, sure, whatever." And so I just went like this...

[To demonstrate, Jon threw his long lanky right arm over my shoulder with delightful enthusiasm.]

...and so the best picture I've ever taken in my life is me smiling this big huge smile and him looking off to the side not even looking at the camera. So, that's the first time. And then the second time I, you know, I went home that night and I thought you know what? He's probably gonna think I'm a big jerk or whatever and if he ever sees me again he's probably gonna wanna punch me in the face so I gotta lay low this time and so I just went up to him and said, you know, "nice concert" hoping he wouldn't remember this big kid from Chicago who mauled him last time. So I just asked him for an autograph and he was cool.


This says something here?

It says "E was here".

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.