Fashion has never been my thing, and it likely never will be. My family still regularly orders clothes for me and gives me new ones on Christmas because they can’t stand to see me walk around in the same old stuff. I don’t shop unless I absolutely have to—except for t-shirts.
It all started when going to a concert with my sister. We bought t-shirts to remember the event. Every time I wore mine at home, I felt connected to that day again. So whenever we went to another concert, we bought more t-shirts.
I already had some souvenir t-shirts from places I had visited, and I started making an effort to buy more of those as well. I have t-shirts from Malta, Japan, and the UK, for example. Actually, the Malta one also opened a third—and so far the largest—category: entertainment. That t-shirt reads “House Stark” and shows a dire wolf, the symbol of Game of Thrones‘ most important family. I also have t-shirts branded with Zelda, Marvel, Star Wars, and other modern-day epics.
Yesterday, I met my reader Shelli, who was visiting Munich. She pointed at my t-shirt and asked: “What’s that about?” I explained it was a new t-shirt showing the characters from my favorite anime, Steins;Gate, and that I had ordered it because I’d realized I was missing a t-shirt for one of my dearest stories. “When I wear it, it makes me feel connected to those characters and their story,” I said.
At least to me, that’s what fashion is really about: wearing stories. My clothes should make me feel I’m part of a larger whole I want to support. Maybe it’s the same for people wearing the latest trends and haute couture, actually, and they just choose and express different stories. Wear what makes you strong and happy—and if you end up somewhere special, don’t forget to buy a t-shirt.
