Hi!
I’ve mentioned this before, but it bears repeating for today’s tale, because this is where it all began. I started my career as an assistant merchant for the graphic tee category at Abercrombie & Fitch and have never looked back - graphic tees have been part of my responsibilities at all the brands I’ve worked for ever since.
At one point graphic tees alone were a billion dollar business for A&F, and at 22 years old, and in addition to managing our cut-to-order tees that we produced oversees, I was responsible for a million blank shirts that sat at a warehouse, ready to be printed with whatever trending graphics were driving sales that week. Shake and bake was the order of the day. In other words: make it happen.
Every Monday, I got on the phone with various print vendors around the country to see who had capacity to deliver thousands of new units to stores that week. Talk about speed-to-market. The business was a beast that had to be fed! I distinctly remember when one of my orders got bumped off the lines at a vendor in Myrtle Beach because UNC won the NCAA tournament, and they had to print championship tee shirts overnight for the school. Our CEO (he who shall not be named) was not happy. (And yes, this is all true.)
People really loved graphic tees in the early aughts. And I’ve always loved graphic tees.
Graphic tees, though, in terms of the tens of thousands of years of history of clothing, are actually a relatively new idea.
Words on shirts became practical during WWII, when soldiers hand-stenciled lettering to represent their units, bases, and ships, and then popular after it. In the 1950s, American colleges began printing their names, logos, and sports on tee shirts, as student bodies and pride grew post-war, and modern “merch” was born when Disney created Mickey Mouse tee shirts to promote its new park. In the 60s, the invention of plastisol ink allowed the practice to scale, and The Beatles, who like Disney recognized the power of the product, are “credited with pretty much inventing the band tee” (along with all their other accomplishments lol). By the 70s, production costs had become low enough that artists, counterculture groups, political campaigns, and protesters were able to use tees as communication tools, and by the 80s, graphic tees were firmly established as a clothing category all their own, where they’ve remained ever since. 1
If the medium is the message, then graphic tees have a lot to say. And since the mid-twentieth century, they’ve said a lot: identity, affiliation, fandom, tourism, humor, anger, hope.
Emotion to a T(ee), really.
I’ve been tracking the return of the graphic tee for awhile now.
wrote about it as an essential part of summer dressing, as did . just wrote “It’s a Baby Tee Summer” and along with super fun suggestions for how to wear her favorite tees (as well as tips and tricks on identifying vintage vs new) credits Leandra with the spark that relit the graphic tee flame when she wore a kids tee from The Row (which at $220 promptly sold out).Maybe most significantly, Michael Rider, formerly of Ralph Lauren (one of the OGs in the graphic game - that Bear!) and now of Celine, sent this look down the runway as his second-to-last look. The big finale!
Which leaves me to wonder, at a time when the world feels particularly noisy, maybe the writing on the wall is actually on a tee shirt?
Speak softly and wear a big graphic!
LOOK BOOK
Tees That Look Good Enough To Eat
The USDA recommends at least five servings of fruit and veggies a day, and I think these tees should count as at least one. And when you’ve had enough citrus fruit, feel free to sample the fruits de mer along with your wine and cocktails ;)
These tees pair best with bold striped pants, shorts, skirts and colorful accessories!
I’d wear this tee or this one with these pants, plus this J.Crew bangle which I own and love in both colors. And these pink sunnies c/o RayBan x Asap/Rocky?!
Side note: I have a very similar green and white rugby stripe tee minus the tomatoes and cheetah print jeans, and I’ve never thought to wear them together, but now I will! (P.S. these gingham mesh ballet flats are on sale!)
Get this look with this tee, my fave striped skirt, and these classic flip-flops. Also, this necklace (Isabel Marant, on sale at Net-a-Porter)!
This tee would be super cute with the Gap poplin striped shorts. And Birks, of course. And this over the shoulders for crisp, cool summer evenings (which happen somewhere if not NYC).
I once made a graphic tee that read something like “I like my martinis extra dirty, extra olives, extra vodka.” My only excuse is that I was 22… (I was also responsible for a good chunk of these -Ruehl was A&F’s west village girl brand before west village girl was a thing).
Clockwise(ish): aperiTEEvo please (Shopbop has a major graphic tee section right now, the most I’ve seen in years) / striped shorts / red leather flip flops / lobstah tee / strawberry tee / marigold striped pants / flip flops / fruits de mer tee / banana tee / lemon tee / a bag to tuck leftovers in ;)
If you’re still craving more,
covered this delicious summer trend in even more detail ⬇️
Tees That Transport You
These aren’t your average souvenir tees (although nothing wrong with those, in fact, they’re some of my favorite things to buy when I travel). But these tees put you in an adventurous frame of mind, without ever having to leave your neighborhood.
If you can’t physically get to Paris, you may as well mentally be there! J’adore!
I’m always a fan of a graphic tee under a blazer.
Clockwise(ish): Kule X Darcy Miller tee, which helps rebuild six school libraries destroyed by the recent California wildfires. 100% of proceeds will go to Zibby's Bookshop's fundraiser to fill empty library shelves with new books for students and teachers who've lost so much / black denim shorts / Etica barrel jeans* (these are lightweight 100% cotton barrel jeans from a sustainable & vertical L.A./Mexico brand - they fit great and are TTS, although I cut the drawstring out of mind. Good idea for fit but slightly challenging to deal with IRL!) / black and white gingham pants! / Laura Cruse X Anthro Paris tee - The Paris-based Australian artist brings the city's iconic cafés and architecture to life through her illustrations, inspired by her deep love for Paris / black cotton rope tote with leather handles / the Hamptons tee / Cali tee / white mesh ballet flat with cloud-like padding in the footbed - perfect for long walks when you do go on your vacation!
Tees To Wear Your Art On Your Sleeve
We can thank Jonathan Anderson for this one. He kicked off the trend when he sent museum masterpieces down the Spring 25 runway for Loewe.
It’s a pretty smart way to settle the “is fashion art” debate once and for all. Hard to argue when the art is the fashion ;)
For a similar vibe to the look below, I love this tee with these shorts. And don’t forget to pose with your hand on your sunnies.
This might be my favorite category during the summer of graphic tees. They’re literally works of art, and most of the time the proceeds of buying one supports the artist / art museum. Win win.
Clockwise(ish): MoMa tee (proceeds support the museum / denim skirt (for a twist on jeans and a tee / artist tee designed by Chiara Perano, an English-Italian artist and calligrapher whose work brings together romantic motifs, Mediterranean influence, and sun-soaked optimism / long sleeve Met tee (proceeds support the museum) / French gardening clogs / white skirt (the perfect foil the the arty art tee) / striped tote / artist tee designed by Laura Schicht, a freelance illustrator whose tee interprets the exhibition poster ‘The Sculpture of Matisse’ shown at the Tate gallery in 1953; proceeds supports the charity Green Peace / Japanese cotton tee made-to-order in the U.S. featuring a sketch from Oskar Schlemmer’s planning of his 1922 Bauhaus Triadisches Ballet / cobalt (some might say Yves Klein blue) sandals / Pacsun x The Met Renoir tee / Birkenstocks a la Miley.
IN THE STACKS
A few of my favorite reads this week:
Cobalt is the cerulean blue of 2025, and
has us covered with all the brilliant ways to wear it.- reviewed some of the best beach reads of the summer (I just finished One Golden Summer, which was a companion book to Every Summer After. Read both. Thanks Emily for recommending Carley Fortune all those summers ago!!)
In another life I’d be an interior designer, so I adored this post by
In my opinion, bags are the best thing to buy secondhand, and
has sourced the best ones!I love
’s eye/writing and this post is a great example of her talent!Last week, a reader left a comment on this post recommending
- a newsletter written by two professional skiers. Their latest post is Pants for the Boys, combining some of my favorite subjects: pants, menswear, and Jackson Hole. (Thanks Victoria for the rec!)
As always, thank you for reading/liking/subscribing/commenting/sharing. It means so much!
x Lindsay
A note to readers: Fashion Soup may include affiliate links for things I’ve discovered and love, at no cost to you. (Gifted items are noted with an *) Thank you for reading + supporting my work!
Lindsay, I’m so glad you refreshed us on your beginnings in the industry because I either did not know or did not remember!! lol, here’s a story for you - when I was in 9th grade my dad wrote in my birthday card that he would take me shopping at A&F and it was THRILLING to me. I picked out a bright red long sleeve shirt that had:
ABER
CROM
BIE!
written in giant white letters. I wore it to school and someone yelled “hey where is your shirt from” (sarcastically, clearly) and I wanted to die!! I never wore it again! But looking back I think it was fun and I stand by my selection hahah.
Anyways!!!! I loved this combo of history lesson, inspiration, clever writing, and LINKS! I think I need your J Crew bangles :) Bravo!!!
I adore this post! And I adore graphic tees. I love collecting them AND wearing them. Just got my newest one from a cafe with the best grilled cheese in Lille.