Let’s hear it for the concert T-shirt, a summer fashion staple with a point of view
As you read up on the latest recommended pairings of sunscreen and beachwear for the new season, let’s also pay tribute to one of the most coveted and most underrated items of summer fashion: the beloved concert tee. Before Instagram or Snapchat offered the immediate gratification that comes with digital gloating, few things could instill more envy in a frenemy than the warm embrace of a concert T-shirt, the sartorial statement of the fun you had the night before that your co-worker or classmate probably didn’t.
Thrown on over distressed jeans and sneakers – or even better, jazzed up with skinny black pants and heels, these soft, worn-in and faded relics offer a reminder that for one night only – or if you were lucky, two – you were in the presence of your music idol.
“I come from that generation where a T-shirt really gave you credibility, but I think even within this show or even for young kids, I still think a concert T-shirt expresses a point of view,” said Christine Wada, the costume designer for the new Showtime show “Roadies.”
Created by Cameron Crowe, “Roadies” premieres June 26, and it stars Luke Wilson and Carla Gugino and follows the crew who makes it possible for a band to sell out stadiums.
A concert tee, Wada said, is “a way to express something personal about yourself without having to be all that personal. That’s what the fashion statement is to. You’re ultimately saying, ‘I’m a little bit rebellious but I don’t want to tell you too much about it.’”
Some performers have had fun with this conundrum. This year Beyoncé famously sold “Boycott Beyoncé” T-shirts and other swag during her Formation World Tour, a sly response to the haters who took issue with her Super Bowl performance earlier this year.
“A new twist on things is irony in T-shirts. In terms of fashion and what’s modern, irony is a new aspect to the concert tee,” Wada said. “The younger generation is being more ironic. Somebody who is seeking originality, they have to dig deeper so they are edging toward irony. I ran into a girl who was wearing a Van Halen T-shirt ironically.”
Online retailers such as EBay have made it easier to fake like you were there. And a simple tour through H&M will find that the Ramones emblem planted in the center of a midriff-barring fringed top – a great way to keep that band’s legacy alive but certainly not an authentic representation of the concert tee with its official tour dates and logos.
“I worked at CBGBs in the late ’80s and I have a really old CBGBs sweatshirt that I paint in and I work in,” Wada said. “I wore it the other day and wondered if people would say, ‘Wow, did she buy that at Barneys?’ All of a sudden, it didn’t hold the same meaning as it would have 10 years ago.”
So for fans heading to music halls, stadiums and fields across the country this season: Skip the toothbrushes, pillowcases, phone covers and other merchandise tchotchkes. Wear your pride for your band on your sleeve. Literally.
