Till It Lasts the Wash

This chapter explores T-shirt as a commodity, along with images and texts imprinted on it. It discusses the casual, flexible, and androgynous properties of T-shirt, devoid of symbolic depth. It argues that the T-shirt can host a range of texts and images because it is a vacant surface, waiting to be populated with random images and messages. It is so empty and trifling by itself that it requires textual and graphic support in order to communicate. Textual and visual contents of T-shirts are also observed and interpreted to argue that they do not necessarily translate into an obedient subscription of these messages. The mix of wit, sarcasm, and clichés is so ‘casual’ that it does not demand adherence to, involvement with, or even awareness of surface-level meaning. Simultaneously, it also asserts that the popularity of the T-shirt announces an advent and acceptance of the ephemeral, indicating a detached and dispensable relationship with commodities.