T-shirts are so gay.

Holy crap, it's October!  If anyone knows how that happened, email me.

If you follow me on FB, you know I love T-shirts and have recently designed some that you can purchase for your very own!  $5 of each sale supports this site.  The rest goes to Skreened.  I chose them because they seem socially responsible (but they're not cheap!).  More designs coming soon.

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With the plethora of independent T-shirt sellers out there, there's no excuse for parading your queer self around town in dull shirts that say things like "Quiksilver" (full disclosure: I love Quiksilver).  So I went to Etsy, found the coolest T-shirts, ordered 10-15 of them (some were donated), and wore them around for a couple months.  Here are my top picks (not in order, though the first two are probably my favorites!).

Sevengill
Dana Gibson's Etsy shop contains simple artistic homages to--in her words--"all creatures, big and small, except for horses."  The green four-shark design (left) comes printed on an American Apparel shirt.  It instantly became my favorite T-shirt and has held that position for months.  The high-quality printing survives lots of washings.  $20.

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Ideaka
...And this is my close second favorite!  Chris, the owner of the Ideaka shop, specializes in designs that tend to incorporate maps, bicycles, and/or birds.  I get a ton of compliments every time I wear this shirt, and the quality of the printing is impressive.  Printed on an American Apparel shirt.  The price is steep, but I'd rather get this shirt than two Hurley tees at Target or something.  $28.

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237inc
Lara, owner of 237inc, has some cool designs--some of which are explicitly queer (one of my favorites just says "gayish").  I don't love the Fruit-of-the-Loom shirt it was printed on, but I do love my "I heart coffee" design, especially the cool print job, which makes each shirt a little different from the next.  Reasonably priced.  $20.

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myuniT
This is the softest T-shirt I've ever owned.  I'm not in love with this particular design (though I do like the "Grow More" one a lot).  The collar is a little larger and thinner than on other shirts.  I end up wearing it to sleep because it's so incredibly soft.  I guess it's made out of bamboo(?!).  $28.

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TheSimpleLaugh
Yeah, this is a little dorky, but we all know that dorky is in.  Jodi Stiefvater's store, TheSimpleLaugh, caters to geocachers, map-lovers, and coffee drinkers.  Unfortunately, not all sizes and styles are available now; let's hope she makes more. $9.

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RetroPopNamu
If you're looking for something a little different from the norm, but still cool, check out RetroPopNamu's store, which riffs on Japanese vintage style to create a variety of interesting designs.  I love my bullet train design (pictured right), although after 8-10 washes, the graphic is already fading a bit.  These shirts run a little larger than most, and the collar seems kind of thin and stretches out easily.  Still, it's a cool enough shirt that I'd buy from this store again.  $28.

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ZenThreads
As Etsy shops go, ZenThreads is pretty large.  They have a terrific assortment of shirts from which to choose--tons of animals, but also miscellaneous designs featuring astronauts, ampersands (I disapprove of ampersands, just FYI), and hops.  I got the one pictured left, and while it's cool, the contrast doesn't show up nearly as well on the actual shirt.  They use American Apparel tees.  Good price, too.  $18.

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Dark Cycle Clothing
Dark Cycle Clothing specializes in shirts of a few categories, the largest of which is "animals on bicycles."  While the print is way too big (and maybe a little too blatantly hipstery) for this shirt to be a favorite of mine, I like their art.  I suggest getting a higher-contrast shirt/print pairing than the squirrel one (pictured), which is what I have.  Printed on an organic American Apparel shirt.  $25.

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phoenixcompost
This adamantly political, left-leaning, anarchist, feminist, environmentally-conscious shop prints on used tees from thrift stores.  A good idea, but I don't like not knowing the brand ahead of time--even though I ordered my usual size, the shirt I received ended up being way too big for me.  Plus, I didn't like that it was already a little pilled.  Still, an awesome idea.  $18.

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There you have it--awesome tees to spice up your fall.  Yay for supporting Etsy and independent businesses!  And if you have a great idea for a BW shirt, let me know--we'll make it happen.