What's with the shirts?

May 27, 2005 5:28 PM

I recently moved to St. Louis into a non-ghetto but decidedly urban area. I've noticed that an enormous amount of the teenage/young adult boys in the area wear simple, plain white t-shirts. No logos whatsoever. They're long, down to the knees often, but that's the style for all shirts. Definitely quite larger than what would come in a package of hanes. I'd say something nearing a majority of the boys seen out and about here are dressed this way. I passed by a shop a few blocks from my house that had a large sign in the window which read, "White Tees xx-xxx-xxxx-xxxxx-xxxxxx". I'm extremely curious what the deal is! I thought maybe it was some sort of school dress-code, but some of the boys are too old to be in school. Also the girls don't do the white t-shirts at all. So anyways, anybody know if it means something? Or is it some new fashion? A function of poverty? Maybe rebellion against branding? That'd be cool!
posted by FortyT-wo to Society & Culture (16 answers total)

Best answer: It's a fashion statement mostly. From a Dec. 12, 2004, Baltimore Sun story on witness intimidation: "Adams [a prosecutor] says that in a recent murder case he prosecuted - which ended in a hung jury - about a dozen young men wearing what's considered the 'street uniform' of bluejeans and white T-shirts filled the courtroom's two back benches." It's the new puffy jacket.
posted by Airhen at 5:46 PM on May 27, 2005

It's a fashionable look amongst "urban youth," and has been for a few summers, at least here in ny. Shirts often come down below the knees. In the summer months, baggy shorts fastened below the buttocks often come down nearly to the sneaker/boot.

To me, they seem silly, but then again all fashion is just as silly, I suppose. I presume that they are affordable though, so at least the kids (and young men) aren't spending hundreds of dollars on the shirts, unlike "retro" sports jerseys and their expensive ilk.
posted by pinto at 5:51 PM on May 27, 2005

I live in the Loop area of St. Louis. It is just the latest, stupidest fashion trend. I'm not sure what you mean by a "function of poverty." Anyway, it's only idiot kids thinking they look cool. You probably haven't lived here long enough to become overwhelmed by the swarm of mindless Cardinals fans and the Nelly butt hole lickers.
posted by crapulent at 6:39 PM on May 27, 2005

Dem Franchize Boyz - White Tees

(it sucks)
posted by rxrfrx at 6:40 PM on May 27, 2005

Response by poster: Thanks for the great answers guys! By "function of poverty" I was meaning that surely the t-shirts were cheaper than other more expensive fashion trends. I have to say I think it's less silly than most street wear, seems pretty economical.
posted by FortyT-wo at 6:49 PM on May 27, 2005

actually, the philosophy behind it is so they can't be ID'd. Basically, you have every young black male running around in the same outfit and since the T-shirts are so long you have a hard time determining how tall they are.

basically it's urban camouflage that's fashionable right now.
posted by slapshot57 at 7:13 PM on May 27, 2005

actually, the philosophy behind it is so they can't be ID'd

Yeah, same thing with the von dutch trucker hats. It's a strategy all the williamsburg hipsters agreed upon a few years back to confuse johnny law.

/rolls eyes
posted by stupidsexyFlanders at 9:04 PM on May 27, 2005

Hispanic cracka nigga even yangs wearin white tee

Awww...
posted by delmoi at 9:36 PM on May 27, 2005

what's with all the slapshot hate?

for what it's worth, the most popular definition on urbandictionary supports exactly what he says--it's urban camoflauge.
posted by Ziggy Zaga at 9:46 PM on May 27, 2005

This isn't new. It was a pretty popular style when I was growing up in less than wealthy parts of Oakland, CA 10 years ago.
posted by cmonkey at 10:01 PM on May 27, 2005

The white tees were featured as a minor plot point in The Wire among the young drug-gang runners.
posted by matildaben at 10:07 PM on May 27, 2005

I knew I was getting old when I concluded that the current youth fashions were idiotic.
posted by Goofyy at 10:12 PM on May 27, 2005

Response by poster: For whatever it's worth.... I have the feeling that in my particular neighborhood, it's just a case of lower middle-class kids picking up trends from their more hardcore counterparts. These guys don't ever seem to be up to any trouble, and have always been pretty decent anytime I've interacted with them.

In other news, apparently I'm the last person to know about the white tee. I guess it never did hit the town I moved here from, and I hadn't noticed it on TV.
posted by FortyT-wo at 11:36 PM on May 27, 2005

Goofyy, getting old has little to do with it...I remember in high school I thought it was a little silly how popular those IZOD alligator polo shirts were. The only "fashion" item I've ever really enjoyed were cargo pants, which were practical with those bellows thigh pockets.
posted by alumshubby at 6:37 AM on May 28, 2005

It's because of that song. Seriously.

People often do what rap songs tell them to do.
posted by First Post at 11:03 PM on May 28, 2005

I knew I was getting old when I concluded that the current youth fashions were idiotic.

Goofyy, getting old has little to do with it...I remember in high school I thought it was a little silly how popular those IZOD alligator polo shirts were.

I think the point is one's "increasing" awareness. Even in high school you understood that fashions were kinda silly, but somehow on some level it was easier to consider them a real thing, a 'trend', sure, but not just straight bizarre and inexplicable group behavior. The further you are from it, the more artificial and useless it comes across. It's true, though, that even in school, kids judge those of other fashion segments but consider their own styles more a matter of self-expression or taste (ie, I used to laugh at alligator tees but not purple hair).
posted by mdn at 6:35 AM on May 29, 2005