The graphic tee era I never saw coming
If you asked me last year what my style goals were, I would have said: uniforms. Coming out of postpartum (I mean, my kid is 3.5 years old... but who’s counting?), I really wanted to simplify my headspace and just have pieces I could grab and know they would work. Because my main issue was that nothing fit, and everything I had (and loved) felt too small, too short, or too whatever.
So in 2025, I did a massive cull and sold a little over a third of my closet. Denim that will never fully button. Jackets that just might not handle a stretch, especially when I am carrying my kid. Skirts that might not protect the booty if I ever made it to the park. (I am not a park mom but this applies to any kid play situation)
As someone who has always loved men’s shirting, shifting my style to focus on button-ups and a few good pairs of denim really worked. And it worked for a while.
But if I am being honest with you, I’ve realized I am not a uniform girly or a capsule wardrobe girly. And that is OKAY. I have some style rules but I really like variety in my closet. I like to dress for different moods. I like to play with color and silhouette and texture and volume. So as I sort of, kind of, maybe started to settle into my body shape and needed more actual outfits to wear to work than I have had in the last three years, I realized pretty quickly that I got bored only having shirts and jeans to reach for. I wanted fun. I wanted variety.
So I went to my Pinterest board and did a lot of scrolling to figure out what themes grab my attention. I have a board I call Style (I know, super innovative) that is just a hodgepodge of pins of women whose outfits I like. It does not even have to be something I could actually wear. I mean, I have so many Zoe Kravitz pins, and I would have to be insanely delusional to think I could look half as good as her even if I replicated her exact outfit.
As I spent time scrolling, I realized I gravitate toward a decent bit of of looks with graphic tees. But it is the juxtaposition of said tees with a dress, a skirt, or weird and unusual pants that I keep coming back to. The t-shirts serve as grounding factors to the other more serious or even elaborate elements of the outfits (examples above: patent red boots, yellow and black striped skirt, stiletto heels/trousers) .
Cut to: my closet. I had one graphic t-shirt. One. That I bought last year because I needed seven more dollars to qualify for free shipping. And that was it.
Maybe with a new haircut comes a new personality, because after years of saying no to graphic tees, I felt a calling toward them. But when it comes to testing new style waters, it is hard to jump in and invest a lot of money. I did not know if it was even going to work, so I couldn’t bring myself to spend on it the way I do when buying Chava shirts (or lusting after Anteros ones - Bryn Rhoads also styles them so well!).
Then, while I was buying some clothes for my kid, I came across a Jaws t-shirt and I knew I was about to enter a new era. It just called to me so hard that I couldn’t not answer the pull.
After getting numerous compliments on my Jaws top, I started spending more time trying to find some fun graphic-tees. I found a couple more t-shirts in the boys section (works better for my short torso), picked the largest size they offered, and got those. So now I have four graphic tees. Well, three and one multi-colored striped, but I am calling it graphic-adjacent.
These four new pieces feel like a low-stakes experiment in trying a new style. Worst case, I decide it's not for me, and they all become pajamas. (Which I do need, so honestly, not a bad outcome.)
And here is the kicker: I really like wearing graphic tees. Which is so surprising, because I didn’t even want them when they were all the rage growing up. Never even wore a logo sweatshirt while everyone else was in one in high school.
Adding a graphic tee brings down the fussiness of an outfit in a way I did not expect.
Paired with jelly sandals or flip-flops, it feels of-the-moment without feeling like I'm chasing a trend. It feels as easy and true to me as wearing a button-up always has, and I'm enjoying trying something different that feels fun and right for where I am now, new hair and all. (Somehow it always comes back to hair.) And, I do wear a lot of t-shirts, just plain ones. Like most people, I have so many black, white, and grey ones. But the slight tweak of making it a graphic tee feels like a natural bridge between my plain t-shirts and more color forward button-downs.
This is also very spring/summer coded and I of course don’t see myself wearing graphic tees come winter. I know this isn’t a permanent style evolution rather a small season on my fashion journey, so I can tell you with full confidence: I am not going to be adding a ton more new pieces. I would rather work on fun ways to style the few I have with what’s already in my wardrobe.
Casual. Cool. Colorful. Those are the common vibes when you wear a t-shirt. You can go more casual and juxtapose it with something cool, think t-shirt with trouser pants, t-shirt and jeans with heels, t-shirt with a silk skirt and flip flops. And you can definitely go more colorful without worrying about whether you are doing it right. A colorful t-shirt with a colorful bottom still feels more wearable than most other clothing combos.
Do not skip the men’s and boys’ sections especially if the women’s and girls’ options feel a little too cutesy.
Consider sizing up. It feels more modern and gives you the volume of an oversized button-up. Plus you can always crop the hem if it's too long (I did with a couple of mine), tuck it, tie it, whatever works for you.
This is not rocket science. And even between when I started drafting this and hit publish, I spotted at least one or two others talking about graphic tees, so I am clearly not alone. I am not here to make you reinvent yourself or your wardrobe. Just one more voice on the internet telling you that if you're feeling bored, there are some really cute t-shirts out there that don't cost a fortune and feel fun to try this spring and summer.
Before you go, here are a few other things I am enjoying at the moment:
I tried this new SPF (I KNOW, another SPF! but I had to because both Joyce Lee and Jennifer Cook talked about it) and I really like it.
If I weren’t allergic to chemical SPF, this would be on top of my list to test.
Got this bathing suit and super into the fit (great bum coverage if you are into that) and shade. The red is such a great tone to compliment olive skin tone.
I started pottery lessons and it is becoming my new personality. I can’t stop bookmarking things I want to make. I am now looking up cost of secondhand kilns to buy. No space to put one but that doesn’t stop me from pretend shopping.
I loved reading this from Maurene Goo and this from Traci Landy and this from Shira Gill
The pants I wrote about EXTENSIVELY is now on sale at a historic 40% off | Code: PRIVATESALE
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