Tyson, Brooklyn, NY

Who: Tyson, 30

What: 50/50 cotton\poly

When: 2007

Where: Online, Swell (?)

Why: I like they way Rvca shirts fit, and I thought the graphic was cheeky. It wasn't a shirt I would normally wear, but I liked the color. About six months after I got it, I bleached it. I diluted bleach in a spray bottle-it was a technique we were using at work, and I wanted to try it. I like it even better now.

Stewart, Queens, NY

Who: Stewart
What: cotton, red
When: photographed last month
Where: the Bell House, in Brooklyn
Why: England won the World Cup in 1966, and it's the only time we won it, so, we make a big thing of it. This is Bobby Moore, he's the captain. He played Brazil in 1970. He played against Pele. There's that famous picture; if you look up Bobby Moore, that picture of him and Pele will probably come up. Some people say it was the greatest match ever played. Brazil won, but still. So, that's why I have the shirt. We only won once (in 1966), so, we like to talk about it.

Christy, Brooklyn, NY

Who: Christy
What: cotton, child's size medium
When: almost 2 years ago, when we moved to New York
Where: a gift
Why: This was my friend Lauren's shirt. She wore it all the time, and I admired it. She went though her closet and gave me a ton of clothes. I like it because I can't decide if the message is positive or negative. Like, maybe procrastinators are leaders of tomorrow because they're not going to burn out today...or because they're just never going to become leaders. People respond to it, they mostly just laugh. It's the perfect grad school shirt--if there's one thing grad students are good at, it's procrastinating. I wear it on days when I feel like I should work harder, but I also feel a little snarky at the world. Or, on days, like today, when it's just a clean shirt.

Valerie, Brooklyn, NY 3-for-Friday

Who: Valerie
What: gray, cotton, size small
When: April 2010
Where: from Ben and Annie, in North Carolina
Why: I ran a 5K for brain cancer research for Duke Medical Center. I ran it with Ben and Annie on behalf of their daughter Lila, who, at 3 months, was diagnosed with a brain tumor. She's happily in remission, and 'Lila and the Brainiacs' was our team name for the 5K. The back of this t-shirt reads like a concert shirt, listing Lila's cancer milestones. And, I'll tell you what, this t-shirt is always going to win for "most emotionally compelling race shirt", so, don't even try to top it.

***

Who: Valerie
What: white, cotton, size small
When: January, 2009
Where: New York Road Runners office, Upper East Side
Why: I got this for the Manhattan 1/2 marathon, which, to be honest, I didn't run. I woke up on the day of the race, and it was 8 degrees, and I just put my foot down. But, it's a good shirt. Long sleeved, but light. So, I still wear it. It gets a little awkward when people ask me about the race. I just try to keep it vague.

***

Who: Valerie
What: 100% poly (technical tee)
When: May, 2010
Where: Woodstock, NY
Why: I, along with 12 teammates, ran the New York Ragnar Relay in May. My teammate, Elizabeth, modeled our team t-shirt, and this is the official race tee. This race was so singular, it was like nothing I'd ever run before. I loved each of my runs, I loved pacing my teammates in the middle of the night, and I loved my last 7.5 hard miles. I loved it enough to be wistfully sad when I'd finished all my miles. I can't wait to do it again.

James, Chino, CA

Who: James, 32
What: cotton, size medium
When: August 2008
Where: Camp Pendelton Marine Base
Why: I got it for competing in the Swift Intruders Spring Triathlon. This was my 2nd triathlon. It was easier than my 1st. The bike and the run were easier because the scenery was more interesting--tanks, hovercrafts, and other large military vehicles. The swim was an ocean swim with a beach start, and there were some pretty big waves, so, it was a tough start.
It's a good race because they order all the Marines to be volunteers, so there are 200 Marines yelling at you like drill sergeants as you run. It's pretty cool.
This race was better than my first. My first race I was beaten by a guy with one leg.
Although, he only had one leg to get tired, while I have 2. So, I feel like he had the advantage.

James, Brooklyn, NY

Who: James, 31
What: cotton, size M
When: 2009
Where: at the Scotland 10K in Central Park
Why: Somebody wanted me to run this really long race. It was the longest race I'd ever run. The thing I should have kept from this race was the Scotland poncho they gave us, because it rained the whole time. But, there was something kinda fun and unifying about running in the rain with everyone else. Everyone kept making the same joke, "I guess this feels more like Scotland".
I kinda dug running in the rain. It made the run more unique. By the end I remember my shoes being heavier; they kinda felt like weights.
This t-shirt has shrunk, and I almost never wear it. It shows a little mid-drift. Maybe I'll only wear it when it rains.

Melissa, Brooklyn, NY

Who: Melissa
What: 100% poly
When: May 21st, 2010
Where: New York Road Runners Office on the Upper East Side
Why: I got it for running the Brooklyn half marathon. It was my first race, and it was kind of exhilarating to run with thousands of people. It starts in Prospect Park, which was really nice, and continues on Ocean Parkway, which was really boring. It was really hard, but really gratifying. The hardest part was getting passed half way through. That was hard mentally. I felt like I was toward the end of the pack, but, in reality, I didn't know where I was. Finding out my time and place was nice (she did well). The last 0.1 mile was the hardest. You see mile marker 13, and you think it's over, but then you keep going. When I crossed the finish line I raised my arms up--it was kind of cheesy.

Elizabeth, Brooklyn, NY

Who: Elizabeth
What: gray, cotton/poly blend
When: May 13, 2010
Where: from Tyson, who got it from Heather and Joe, who purchased it at Target
Why: We got them to show team spirit for the Ragnar Relay Race. This was such a unique event, especially for me, having never run a race. It all started early in the year, when you (me, Valerie) asked if I was a runner. When I said no, you said, do you want to be? And I said, yes. I'd always had good intentions. Training didn't go as well as I had hoped, and I didn't progress as fast as I wanted to, but, I'm glad I did it. It made me realize that despite all of our limitations--I'm not an athlete--nobody cares if you don't run very fast, or with any particular grace. It was just a good experience to be part of something like this race.

Shiloh, Brooklyn, NY

Who: Shiloh, 26
What: white cotton
When: 2008 (obviously)
Where: Walmart in Northeast Arizona
Why: For my husband's family reunion, the plan was for the whole family to go to Walmart and buy one of their $5 patriotic tees for the family picture. Oh, I was pregnant when I got this.

I now use it as a workout shirt (and I've just sweat a gallon in it).

I mean, it's not like I can just throw it away. It's got an American flag on it. I'd have to have a ceremonial burning.

Melissa, Brooklyn, NY

Who: Melissa
What: gray, cotton/poly blend
When: last summer
Where: from a vendor in Union Square (NY)
Why: I felt like I'd been living here long enough, almost 3 years, and I didn't have a cool New York t-shirt to show for it. I mean, tourists come out after one week with one. I'd seen these shirts a few times at Union Square, and I really liked them. When I wear it, my 2year-old son looks at it and says, "Lady Liberty"...it's pretty cute.

Andy, Brooklyn NY

Who: Andy, 31
What: cotton, blue
When: 2001 (he thinks)
Where: Rexburg, ID--Deseret Industries
Why: Well, it was $3. I was looking for t-shirts on the cheap, and I liked the look of this one. I thought that only old people were in the Rotary Club.
As a college friend of Andy's, I'm here to tell you that this one of those iconic shirts of our college experience. I could pick out a dozen photos from college where Andy's wearing this shirt.

Pete, Brooklyn, NY

Who: Pete, 20 months
What: cotton, blue, XL
When: last year, before he turned 1
Where: water conference, originally
Why: (as told by his mother) My dad was a deputy city manager in Texas, and he was in charge of water. He used to go to all these water conferences. He gave Andy (Pete's dad) his road bike and sent it from Texas to New York packed in water t-shirts. I decided to make Pete pajamas, because I didn't want to buy them. I made them right before my parents came for a visit, to see if my dad would recognize the shirt.
He did.

Joseph, Brooklyn, NY

Who: Joseph
What: blue, cotton
When: a gift from my wife when I started grad school, almost 2 years ago
Where: video store in Santa Monica
Why: The name on the shirt is Von Trier, as in Lars Von Trier, the filmmaker. The logo is Van Halen. I'm a heavy metal guy and a film guy, so Natalie (wife) thought it was a good fit. I think the store that sells these has a tag line, "because you're 100% metal head and 200% film nerd". I'm probably 85% metal head and 200% film nerd.
People stop me in the subway about this shirt. Usually film guys.
I like Von Trier's work. He's a serious provocateur.

James, Brooklyn, NY

Who: James, 31
What: Charcoal gray cotton, size medium
When: April 2008
Where: Brooklyn Industries-birthday gift
Why: The summer before I got this I taught remedial English classes in the Bronx, and I had to drive on the BQE everyday to get there. Everyday the traffic freaked me out. The BQE is an elevated highway, and I would approach the on-ramp, and just be stuck, waiting to get on, for a half an hour every day. I would sit there, starring at the underbelly of the highway--it was the bane of my existence that summer. But, it was also my route home everyday, when it would kind of clear out. It became a very love/hate relationship. That fall I heard Sufjan Stevens' BQE Symphony. So, the shirt kind of encapsulates, in one, the summer of 2007.

Ron, Brooklyn, NY

Who: Ron, (age indiscriminate)
What: blue cotton (maybe, I didn't ask)
When: years ago
Where: Steve and Barry's, in the city
Why: So ladies know what a keeper looks like.

Tyson, Brooklyn, NY

Who: Tyson, 30

What: 25% rayon, 25% cotton, 50% poly

When: 2008

Where: Outlaw Print Co (dot) com

Why: I wanted a shirt that was over-the-top weird to wear to at a super preppy job. This was kind of a backlash against the preppy-ness. It was the kind of job where wearing stuff like this was frowned upon. I had friends visit me at work one day when I was wearing this shirt and my friend Mike asked, "What are you wearing?"-they were vaguely weirded out.

I was told not to wear it at meetings, which made it even more perfect; that it upset someone enough to say something to me.

I think it might glow in the dark, actually.

James, Brooklyn, NY

Who: James, 31
What: cotton, navy blue with orange text
When: appropriated from younger brother, Craig
Where: Craig's room, Kalamazoo, MI
Why: Craig has been stealing my clothes for years. Years. Once, when I was home from college for Christmas, I walked into his room and saw this shirt. I decided that this would be the first, of many, that I'd steal back. The shirt's significance is a little unclear, unless you're from Michigan. There are these two Christian colleges, Hope and Calvin. There is a rivalry. Obviously, this shirt originated from Calvin College. In Michigan, people generally know what it means, outside of MI-totally ambiguous. This was no big deal until the start of Obama's campaign. I was once stopped in Park Slope (5th ave and 9th St) and asked if it was an anti-Obama shirt. I was also stopped on 5th Ave and 7th St (outside a bar called Jackie's 5th Amendment) by some creepy drunk guy who asked me, "Who's Hope? I'll beat'er." Despite this, I still wear the shirt.