Four root vegetables are smiling. That is the first thing to notice about the Quirky Cotton Collective shirt, and it is the thing most readings of it will skip. The printed artwork wraps the words LET’S ROOT FOR EACH OTHER AND WATCH EACH OTHER GROW around a carrot, a radish, a beet and an onion,… Continue reading The Roots Are the Point: Reading ‘Let’s Root for Each Other’ as a Guild Officer
The Shadow Is the Boast: Reading the Chihuahua Boxing Shirt as a Guild Officer
The small dog is not the joke. The shadow is. On the cream garment image for I Got That Dog In Me, a tan cartoon chihuahua stands in red boxing gloves in front of a brick wall. Above it, cream lettering reads I GOT THAT DOG; below, IN ME. Behind the chihuahua, a much larger… Continue reading The Shadow Is the Boast: Reading the Chihuahua Boxing Shirt as a Guild Officer
The Mugshot Board Is the Joke: Reading ‘Got Too Silly’ as a Guild Officer
GOT TOO SILLY sits above a white goose-like bird in an orange prison uniform, holding a black mugshot board. That is the whole design. No caption beneath, no second line, no punchline in smaller type. The joke has to survive on the arrangement alone, and it does — but not for the reason most people… Continue reading The Mugshot Board Is the Joke: Reading ‘Got Too Silly’ as a Guild Officer
The Deadpan Cat and the Dimensional Letters: Reading ‘Greetings Huzz’ as a Guild Officer
Editorial note: This publication and Quirky Cotton Collective share an owner. The cat is not amused. That is the first thing to establish about the Greetings Huzz cat shirt, because everything else in the design is working to bury that fact under decoration. GREETINGS arches above the orange tabby in blue-purple dimensional letters. HUZZ sits… Continue reading The Deadpan Cat and the Dimensional Letters: Reading ‘Greetings Huzz’ as a Guild Officer
The Crossed-Out Hand Is the Whole Argument: Reading the ‘Not Friendly Do Not Touch’ Warning Sign as a Guild Officer
Editorial note: this publication and Quirky Cotton Collective share an owner. This is not an independent review. The crossed-out hand is doing more work than the words. On the Not Friendly Do Not Touch warning sign introvert shirt, the printed artwork reads as a standard hazard placard: NOT FRIENDLY DO NOT TOUCH in warning-sign lettering,… Continue reading The Crossed-Out Hand Is the Whole Argument: Reading the ‘Not Friendly Do Not Touch’ Warning Sign as a Guild Officer
The Dashed Circle and the Solid Ball: Reading the ‘I Had Potential’ Ramp as a Guild Officer
Editorial note: This publication and Quirky Cotton Collective share an owner. This is not an independent review. The shirt shows a dashed circle at the top of a curved ramp and a solid ball at the bottom. That is the whole design: white capitals reading I HAD POTENTIAL above a white curved descending ramp, a… Continue reading The Dashed Circle and the Solid Ball: Reading the ‘I Had Potential’ Ramp as a Guild Officer