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(Y Beauty 1101: the skinny on dry shampoo

And more!

Does the graphic tee work?

» Personal amusement versus physical flattery

 
  
 

«, Angela Espinoza
News Editor
Minews

1's Be
i" : ‘ @theotherpress.ca

popping up, the “tote your pop
culture” phenomenon likely
began in the ‘80s. Graphic
T-shirts remain immensely
popular today, but does that
necessarily mean they look
flattering?

Since the days of “Who/I
Shot J.R.” and “Frankie Says
Relax,” various texts or symbols
of pop culture have found their
way onto our attire. Whether
they’re references to media or
a new take on an old phrase
(such as “Keep Calm’), it
seems like there’s a graphic
tee for everybody somewhere.
Websites such as the Yetee,
Shirtoid, and Shark Robot
(just to name a few) thrive
specifically on the vast array
of pop culture mash-up tees
currently in demand.

However, it wasn’t until the
last decade that wider clothing
store chains started adopting
(and adapting) the graphic
T-shirt. Most of these stores,
such as Old Navy, Stitches, and
Bluenotes tend to market toa
teen and young-adult clientele.
They began adapting graphic

: tees not in order to reference

: anything in particular, but

: mainly for the kitsch. You’ve

: probably seen shirts involving

: generic cartoon animals or

: anthropomorphic food coupled

wre it’s tough to say :
when graphic tees started :

with respective puns.
Similarly, chains such as

: H&M and Forever 21 have also
: adapted the graphic tee by

: attempting to not reference

: specific pieces of pop culture.
: An immensely popular style

: of graphic tee right now is the
: thin, beige-to-white tank top

: with a random statement (like
: “Coffee is my BFF”) written in
: a thin or messy sketched style
: of font. Thin pastel-coloured

: shirts with various city names
: styled to look like an ad and

: more basic or generic images of
: shapes are also common.

Supposedly, playing down

: the classic brightly coloured,

: block-text graphic T-shirt in

: favour of a more minimal look
: makes the trend more mature.
: So is it possible to make blatant, :
: referential tees work, or do the
: dialled-back graphic tees win

: out?

The most important factor

behind what you wear is that
: your clothes make you feel

: good, regardless if there’s a

: Pokémon with a pun on your
: shirt or a thinly sketched

: outline of a bird. That said,

: one should also keep in mind

: factors such as the cuts of these
: shirts. Part of why the new-

: school, sophisticated graphic

: tees win out is because they

: tend to offer more flattering

: cuts for the wearer. Pop culture-
: ridden graphic tees on the other
: hand tend to have very generic

: men’s, women’s, and more

: commonly, unisex sizes that

: don’t really flatter anyone.

As someone who has as

: many formal clothes as they

: do (immensely nerdy) graphic
: tees, I find as I get older I wear
: my graphic T-shirts out of the

: house less often. Sure, I have

: my favourites, but most of them
: have been reduced to pyjama

: shirts—unless I’m heading out
: toa particularly nerdy setting.
: Recently I’ve tried combining

: the two looks by having

: specific pop culture references
: placed onto shirt styles I feel

: are more flattering to wear in

: public. Going the DIY route

or trying websites like Etsy.

: com, the online emporium for

: homemade clothes, is probably
: the best way to make graphic

: tees work with an updated look.

Again, wear what makes

: you happy, but my verdict

: stands: bright-to-neon

: coloured, thick font, pop-

: culture-reference graphic tees
: do not make the cut.

Getting funny with your honey
» Study sheds light on what might be the secret to a chill relationship

Sophie Isbister
Life & Style Editor
Milifeandstyle
@theotherpress.ca

   

Benoni:

for recreational use, a recent
study out of the University

at Buffalo (UB) at the State
University of New York found
that married couples who
regularly smoke marijuana

who don't.
Kenneth Leonard, PhD,

Institute on Addictions and
the scientist who collected

: data for the study, is quoted

: inanews release from the

: university stating that “our
study examines patterns

: of marijuana-use and the

> occurrence of violence within a

A: if Canada needed another :

- “" + year period. It does not examine :
eason to legalize cannabis : whether using marijuana ona
: given day reduces the likelihood

: of violence at that time”

Leonard adds that more

research needs to be done in
: this area to make a link between :

' : marijuana-use and same-day
have fewer instances of partner :

violence over time than couples : Because of this gap in the data,

the study should not be taken
. : as carte blanche to blaze all day,
the director of the UB Research : every day (in fact, the couples

in the study only smoked weed

incidents of domestic violence.

: once a week)—and Leonard

: also points out that the results
: may be correlative rather than
: causal.

“It is possible, for example,

that—similar to a drinking

partnership—couples who use

: marijuana together may share

: similar values and social circles,
: and it is this similarity that is

: responsible for reducing the

: likelihood of conflict,’ he is

quoted in the news release.
It all seems pretty self-

evident; weed relaxes you,

: making it a good way to chill

: out after a stressful day at

: work, in moderation. People in
: harmonious relationships tend
to share hobbies, so the fact

Have an idea for a story? Let us know!
Contact: Sophie Isbister, Life & Style Editor
Mlifeandstyle@theotherpress.ca

www. theotherpress.ca

 

: that the couples in this study

: are toking together means

: that the use of a scheduled

: substance is one thing that

: they're not arguing about.

: Compare that with another

: likely situation: one member

: of a partnership is completely
: opposed to drug-use, and

: so the other member either

: begrudgingly gives it up, or :
: does it in hiding. Both reactions :
: could easily lead to massive
: differences.

While alcohol is involved

in many situations of

: partner violence, violence in
relationships is a complicated
: issue and can't be solved by

: simply saying “people should

It all seems pretty
self-evident; weed
relaxes you, making
it a good way to chill
out after a stressful
day at work, in
moderation.

; smoke weed instead of

: drinking.’ But perhaps if weed
becomes legal, cheap, and

: accessible, in a few generations

: we will see more couples

; partying in peace with Mary

: Jane. There’s a lot to like about a
: casual intoxicant that may hold
: benefits for relationships.