Sometimes I feel like it is graphic tees and such are an open door.  That anyone can wear whatever shirt they want.  Then I reminisce to my old skateboard punk days of yesteryear when someone would wear a shirt for a punk band or skate company and they didn't even listen to said band or skate.  And my friends and I would call them a poser.

Now I see young kids picking up AC/DC or Nirvana shirts at Target and wearing them at the mall as a fashion piece.  It seems up for grabs.  But I feel like there are some categories, some sub-cultures that would take offense to the idea of someone wearing a shirt that they had no interest in the graphic.  Like, say, Harley Davidson.  Harley is synonymous with owning or riding a Harley.  In fact, once you get one, every piece of apparel you don't wear to the office or to formal occasions turns into Harley apparel.  

I live in Green Bay Packer country.  Around these parts people wear their green and gold everywhere.  I know damn well people exist who wear Packer regalia that are not Packer fans.  It's something you do to fit in at the office.  Or an excuse to wear jeans.  Some may feel pressure from wearing a Packer shirt to lie a bit about their interest in the team, sport and game.  Then they start treading the line beyond poser.  Not quite Rachel Dolezal but you get where I am going.

I sometimes wonder about people who wear Carhartt and CAT (Caterpillar) brands.  I wonder if people who work as tradesman see people in fresh and clean tradesman apparel think of them of posers or having stolen valor.

People wear Packer clothes that aren’t Packer fans? I’ll throw them in the snow bank. Ope sorry about that!

Otherwise yeah... carry on.

I do think it’s silly for someone to wear something they have no interest in.

Stolen Valor was a super awesome NYC hardcore band

Fun story about this though. Last month a kid was wearing a Kurt Cobain shirt with a live short of Nirvana. I asked him who the singer was on his shirt, and he said Kurt Cobain. The shirt had Kurt nowhere on it and showed Pat Smear as the singer for Nirvana. Whoever made that shirt is a genius.

Stolen valor is a term for the behavior of military imposters: individuals who lie about their military service.

Throwing on a $10 tee hardly fits the same category. No one is walking around claiming they knew Kurt Cobain and expecting a free ride like many do in military gear.

I also think there’s much less divide than there was 25 years ago, wearing a band shirt doesn’t mean you need to adhere to certain rules or follow certain trends or only participate in certain activities anymore.

If that is the case, anyone wearing a pair of sneakers needs to have a gym membership.

Similarly I know guys who wear “ tradie “ gear, as it’s usually hard wearing and durable. In fact, Big W in Australia sells a lifestyle brand called Tradie.

Hate this weird gate keeping we do with no casuals allowed. In middle school we all had to cover our books in the brown paper bags from the grocery store. Everyone wrote their favorite band logos on the covers. We all followed the trend. My so-called best friend took offense to some of mine and started quizzing me on them. I think it was Nirvana (seems to be a trend here). Bet you can't even name a song that isn't Teen Spirit. Yeah, well, everyone knows that one too... name another!

Why were we even friends? LMAO.

And honestly I've never had an issue with civilians walking around in military gear. I've seen the videos and it isn't like their getting free healthcare at the VA or anything, so just fuck off dude.

I get questioned on everything I wear and it’s annoying. I wore my Misfits hoodie and got questioned on it because I guess don’t look punk enough or goth enough to apparently know them. I asked them ‘would you like the current lineup or the lineup through the years’. Every time I wear something nerdy like my Death sweatshirt or Star Wars sweater I get the same thing. Like I’m just jumping on the Nerd bandwagon when I’ve waited years for this stuff to be readily available like it is now. Fuck right off. I hate to say it but usually it’s guys asking me like I’m a fake geek girl. Some of these kids might have been raised with Nirvana, AC/DC, Rammstein etc so I find it pretty insulting to just assume they don’t know. I loved Heart and Fleetwood Mac growing up. I’m a Rammstein fan. Very few people in North America can name a song of theirs other than Du Hast. Oh well.

Stolen Valor is a different thing entirely and I think it far more disgusting than a teen who wears a Metallica shirt and can’t name one song other than Enter Sandman. You are pretending to be a hero/someone willing to fight and die for their country abs to gain the praise and adoration of the public and sometimes even take advantage of the programs available to them. That’s horrible.

When I first read the headline that Sgt slaughter didn't serve in the military I thought it was a parody site. Come to find out Sgt slaughter has claimed to be a former Marine I think in kayfabe interviews. In actuality he hasn't served.

I have no interest in pants and yet I still wear them.

I feel trapped by the cultural norm constraints of society.

Jan 19, 2020 19:41:39 GMT c said:

Stolen Valor was a super awesome NYC hardcore band

Fun story about this though. Last month a kid was wearing a Kurt Cobain shirt with a live short of Nirvana. I asked him who the singer was on his shirt, and he said Kurt Cobain. The shirt had Kurt nowhere on it and showed Pat Smear as the singer for Nirvana. Whoever made that shirt is a genius.

Fucking LOVE this idea.

Jan 19, 2020 19:15:56 GMT theend said:

I sometimes wonder about people who wear Carhartt and CAT (Caterpillar) brands.  I wonder if people who work as tradesman see people in fresh and clean tradesman apparel think of them of posers or having stolen valor.

Don't @ me just because I wear work boots outside of work. If I wear steel toed boots at work have I earned the right to wear some form of work boot outside of work? Those brands as well as Dickies are quite comfortable. 


iron maiden, as I age I feel more conflicted about wearing my GWAR hoodies and shirts out and about. When I'm in bigger cities I get comments on GWAR and I that sort of thing when I"m at a concert, but I find if I'm dressed like that I get treated with much less respect than if I'm dressed 'nicer'

Jan 20, 2020 7:51:23 GMT nazzer said:

Jan 19, 2020 19:15:56 GMT theend said:

I sometimes wonder about people who wear Carhartt and CAT (Caterpillar) brands.  I wonder if people who work as tradesman see people in fresh and clean tradesman apparel think of them of posers or having stolen valor.

Don't @ me just because I wear work boots outside of work. If I wear steel toed boots at work have I earned the right to wear some form of work boot outside of work? Those brands as well as Dickies are quite comfortable. 


iron maiden, as I age I feel more conflicted about wearing my GWAR hoodies and shirts out and about. When I'm in bigger cities I get comments on GWAR and I that sort of thing when I"m at a concert, but I find if I'm dressed like that I get treated with much less respect than if I'm dressed 'nicer'

I live in North Edmonton. My Misfits hoodie is nicer clothes. :lol:

I don't believe any tradesman ever would get upset at a layman wearing Carhartt, they make quality gear, of course others want to partake. Not like it's the uniform of trade craft, people pretending to be workmen, just popular for its durability.

Yeah, I don't think you're quite talking about stolen valor. Along those terms for sure, but dialed back to 25% and as far as I know the preferred Internet term is fake geek girl, which has since turned into a pejorative aimed at someone trying to gatekeep their hobby by accusing someone else of being a fake geek. Replace the 'Green Lantern' down below with 'how many Slipknot albums can you name, and have you heard their demo songs they recorded in their guitarists' garage' sort of stuff.

which is invalid because

There are some T-Shirt trends that annoy me: Che Gurrera, Mao, Communism etc. normally worn by people who would have been the first against the wall in those revolutions.
I am a nerd or a geek or whatever, still don't find myself passionate about any one thing to wear something that supports it.
My fav graphic Tees of the moment are: ugmonk.com/collections/tees


Some people say that I am too old at 42 to spend 90% of my time in a T-Shirt, those people can shut their filthy pie holes.

Before I feld Georgia one of the guys we lived with told us all about his time in the army.   Was like all he  talked about.  Had medals and everything, notably a Valorous Unit Award.   But things were a bit strange as he had no purple heart despite claiming a nasty scar was a service scar, and his stories did not entirely fall in line with those of another friend who served in the same invasion of Baghdad he did.  His military ID was lost as well he just had his dog tags and medals and proof. As I was leaving the police were asking a lot of questions about it. Turns out he had no record of service. He tried to tell us it was classified and the police did not have clearance to know about his service. I am fairly sure the police told him to find another place to live or he was getting stolen valor charges as he was getting discounts and saying he was a vet. After I left the others we lived with told me they think he got the medal on ebay, ordered the tag custom made and just faked everything for free stuff. Really weird guy, he was fucking his 18 year old step-sister in true southern fashion.

One day I should write up my time in Georgia, that year was crazier than anything else including my marriage and sick days.