I have come to terms with posting stories I read off major sites - and then summarizing them further. Looking over the stories on Salon today, I came across one titled Flagrante T-shirt-o. Apparently, it is the thing to do in NYC at the moment to buy an $80 t-shirt from Just Another Rich Kid because they add the words "I fucked
Going to the web site, I have to say I'm not particularly impressed with its style or navigation. Now I realize that I put little effort into the style of my site, but I don't put it down on my resume either (though I can "hand code" HTML pretty well). The site is particularly slow since it is heavily imaged based, which I fault the designer for. Admittedly, the work load for the site probably isn't normal at the moment and the choice of ISP probably plays a role, but in general the site just seems to be slow, especially when thumbnails for all the shirts for sale are on one page. Perhaps just listing the person you are "fucking" would be a better way to go instead of a thumbnail that no one can read.
The site itself really is neither here or there. My real concern or disbelief is that there is even discussion about this. Of course, I'm just adding to the discussion, but I don't find anything particularly clever about this business. It would be one thing if there is a trend where people created their own shirts with these crude messages, but paying someone $80 for one (I have to admit all the t-shirts I wear are freebies), I find amazing. More power to this guy if he is making money this way and even more for compelling people to discuss it, but I just wanted to make mention of it as a cultural / Internet phenomenon. Now where can I buy a printing press....
I'll even fp my own story to say that in the Salon article it mentions the fact that some artwork he was made (plus at his insistence the addition of his shirts) were shown at Duke.
Posted by: sshepard4 at July 2, 2003 12:01 PMI'll even sp my own story. Another reason I posted it was the legal angle. The right to profit off your own image / name. Though I am not convinced this is the high art that the propreitor would like us to believe, the comments are so over-the-top (aka, no one believes you fucked Paris Hilton) that in addition to the right of free speech, the names are in the public domain so this guy should be able to profit off them. Currently, The Strokes have threatened them with legal action and there were rumors that people informed him to desist.
Posted by: sshepard4 at July 2, 2003 12:21 PMWell, I won't let you third post your own article!
I agree that the site and their product appear rather uninspiring (to put it as lightly as possible). The one exception, though, is the T-shirt that says "Brooklyn Sucks." Hey, can't argue with that. I'm still trying to figure out what it means to say, "I f**k for Gucci. [gucci.com]" Does this mean the guy is employed as a male prostitute by this "multi-brand luxury goods company"? [biz.yahoo.com] Alternatively, maybe he is willing to prostitute himself for their "high-quality personal luxury goods, including ready-to-wear, handbags, luggage, small leather goods, shoes, timepieces, jewelry, ties and scarves, eyewear, perfume, cosmetics and skincare products."
I just don't know.
Posted by: Jason at July 2, 2003 02:38 PM