Cara Rogers
Celebrity fashion is a guiding light for the masses – we trawl through Pinterest, street-style recaps in glossy magazines, and aesthetic Instagram stories for a glimpse at the latest trends. The bold slogan t-shirt is the latest in a long line of celebrity trends setting an iconic precedent. Let’s take a look at the most memorable slogan pieces past and present.
Dump Him
We can’t talk about slogan t-shirts without referencing Britney Spears’ iconic 2002 “Dump Him” t-shirt. Cropped, baby blue, and paired with some low-rise jogging bottoms – a dream. It’s no wonder that Britney’s shirt has spawned thousands of copy-cats. Also worth mentioning is her 2004 “I am the American dream” fuchsia crop.
Confident and proud of it – Britney is undoubtedly the leading light in all of our slogan shirt lives.
We Should All Be Feminists
The “We Should All Be Feminists” slogan, worn by a wide range of celebrities and then mass produced for the rest of us, peaked in popularity in the 2010s.
Still sold by Dior for a humble £690, these tees have been particularly controversial and, ironically, susceptible to feminist critique. Extortionate pricing and investigations of less-than-legal factory conditions have left these t-shirts slightly fallen from grace, calling into question the compatibility of clothing and fashion with activism and social change.
I’m Somebody’s DUFF
There was something ironic and certainly interesting about seeing a then-King Kylie at the height of her popularity sporting a t-shirt which dubbed her the “Designated Ugly Fat Friend”, but that’s what Kylie Jenner did in 2015.
She was one of several celebrities to wear the shirt at the time of The Duff’s release in cinemas, promoting the film and making a tongue-in-cheek statement at the same time.
The Slogan T-Shirt Today
The popularity of the slogan t-shirt is not resigned to the fashion archives, in fact, it’s making a strong comeback.
TikTok’s sweetheart Charli D’Amelio recently donned a bold slogan of “Bitch I’m TikTok Famous”, pointing to her extreme popularity on the platform (presumably only socially acceptable to wear if you’re actually TikTok famous?).
Other trending slogans modelled by various influencers and celebrities across the internet include a humble “Pretty People Make Mistakes Too” and a self-deprecating “Ironically Hot”.
There’s something slightly jarring/amusing about seeing near-flawless celebrities poking fun at themselves in ways it seems only those very confident in their looks can do, but we can look past that in the name of appreciating the magic of the slogan shirt.
It’s unclear who exactly these pieces are intended for, and it remains to be seen whether these particular bold and brash slogans will trickle down into the wardrobes of the average person – they certainly require a certain level of confidence. What is for sure is that with its latest resurgence on social media, we certainly haven’t seen the last of the slogan t-shirt.
Featured image courtesy of Malcolm Lightbody on Unsplash. No changes were made to this image. Image license found here.
cararogers
Cara is a freelance lifestyle and culture writer based in Manchester. When she's not writing opinion pieces about pop culture or the latest social media trends, she's trying out new veggie recipes and listening to podcasts.