Featuring: Ex-Boyfriend T-Shirts Giveaway!
February 22, 2010
Filed under Fashion & Culture, Review
We’ll never be completely over the glamor and excitement of Fashion Week, but it’s definitely time for some rest & relaxation, and to spend a few days in our sweatpants and comfy, over-sized tees. And what do you know: we have the coolest t-shirt designs to share with you!
We bring you: Ex-Boyfriend Collection T-shirts! With original, cute, fun, clever, unique, and innovative designs, Ex-Boyfriend has a great selections of t-shirts that are sure to bring a smile to your face. Or at least they get someone to stare at your great breasts/spectacular abs for a while. That’s right: a great assortment for both men and women! Not only do they use environmentally friendly digital printing, you can also elect to get your shirt printed on their 100% organic cotton shirts.
One lucky SS reader will get the chance to win their own Ex-Boyfriend t-shirt!
Just comment below or email with one activity you did while snowed in, and we’ll pick one lucky winner at random to win this shirt by next Monday, March 1st.
We asked our new friend, Matt, some probing questions and he has enlightened us about Ex-Boyfriend:
Q: What got you started in the t-shirt design business?
A: I’ve always liked drawing, and the t-shirt medium is a fun way to share what’s essentially one’s art collection with everyone you meet. Don’t get me wrong, we have art hanging all over our walls at home, but it’s still fun to wear a cool illustration out and about.
Q: Where do you get your inspiration for your designs?
A: Everywhere! I’m a bit of a pop culture obsessive—it’s amazing I actually found a person willing to marry me, considering how much time I spend watching TV and movies, reading comics and listening to music. I also draw a lot of inspiration from my cats, Oliver and Bigby. I can’t seem to budget my time or my income very well, but I can tell you who played bass on a given hit single from 1968 or where you recognize that little-known character actor from. Stylistically, I like a lot of stuff, but my main flava is pop art. Lately I’ve been really into the de Stijl movement and Cuban poster art from the 60s and 70s. And a lot of cool propaganda art from communist China in the 50s and 60s.
Q: Where did the name “Ex-Boyfriend” originate from?
A: It was inspired by my first series of t-shirt designs. I liked the idea of t-shirts as conversation pieces, tees you could wear to a bar that would encourage that cute guy or girl next to you to actually say hello and ask you about your shirt. I wanted a brand name that would be a little flirty, provacative, sexy and cute. Something that reflected my design aesthetic. Those first tees can now be found in my Flirtastic collection. These are tees you could wear to rack up a few of your own exes. Although my line has expanded tremendously and I take on all kinds of subjects in my illustrations these days, I still like to think I’m not just clothing people, I’m producing unique, wearable pop art that invites conversation.
Q: Do people often come to you now with their relationship issues?
A: Not really. It’s weird, but I used to dole out relationship “advice” a lot more when I was single, which makes absolutely no sense. Now that I’m married, I rarely seek out or offer relationship advice—I’ve noticed that amongst married couples, even ones that are still really passionate about their relationships, there’s more of a bunker, “we’re all in this together” mentality to how they handle any ups and downs. When you’re in the dating scene, all that stuff seems so much more important… it’s silly. I think to a degree rom-coms (which I love) poison us all a little bit—rather than those types of films reflecting life, we’re all (as single people) trying to fit into these established filmic archetypes. We don’t want to have our own version of true love; we want the epic romance of Harry & Sally, Nick & Nora. So we make our drama into melodrama to fit that idealized fantasy of capital-R “Romance”.
Q: Do you sell your product to any brick-and-mortar businesses?
A: Um… I think so? We don’t currently have long-standing wholesale accounts with any stores, but I do know a few small boutiques in and outside of the U.S. have retailed some of our shirts in the past (I couldn’t begin to remember their names, though). Part of it is that I don’t think my style is the most commercial in the world. Shirts about zombies and cats dressed like pirates are only going to win you so many fans.
Don’t get me wrong—I’d love to get my stuff in Target or H&M (Wal-Mart need not apply). And maybe some day I will. But I’m really happy with the organic, grass roots growth I’ve achieved over the last couple years. I still haven’t seen any strangers out and about in my stuff (though a friend of mine swears she has). I think that’s when I’ll feel as though I’ve “made it”.
Comment below for your chance to win your own Ex-Boyfriend shirt!!
Yours,
Von
Ursula D on Tue, 23rd Feb 2010 10:16 am
I love the snowpocalypse 2010 shirt. It about sums up this winter!!
GoBro on Tue, 23rd Feb 2010 1:50 pm
all i did was watch tv, movies, play xbox. didnt have a snow day just didn’t feel like going to work.
aly on Tue, 23rd Feb 2010 1:56 pm
it was SO COLD but i STILL WENT OUT LIKE A ROCK STAR
Chris S. on Thu, 25th Feb 2010 12:02 am
I slept in after hearing about the day off, then shoveled, then hung out with my newly-arrived-from-texas girlfriend who was doing surprisingly well with the snow (yay!), then shoveled some more, then had smoochie time with the girlfriend (nothing says “yah, bay-bee, I’m a manly man” than shoveling), then hung out, played video games, and enjoyed the dog (he came from Texas with the girlfriend) wondering what the heck was going on outside. It was awesome.