I really hate those shirts, hats, tote bags, and other items emblazoned with the shade-wearing stick figure guy proclaiming “Life is Good!” Sometimes he has a dog with him. It always seemed so inane. And I always see these shops in upscale venues – high-price boutique shopping areas, resorts, airports. Intentionally or not, it seemed to carry a subtext of “Life is Good — for ME! I got Mine!”
Strangely, given my predilection for negativity, I always saw it as being like “hey, be positive,” rather than it being a comment on the person possessing said item. Never stopped me from thinking “Fuck You, Smiley” as they passed though
I have two of those shirts that my mom gave me. I’m pretty poor but I don’t think life is necessarily bad, so I wear them. They’re comfortable anyways.
Just to clarify – I don’t think Life is Bad. And I don’t think they created that line with an “I got mine” attitude (as my post says, if you read it carefully). But it’s hard for me to avoid that vibe, nonetheless.
I really liked when someone came out with a competing “Life is Crap” line. I wonder how they’re doing in this economy.
I’ve got plenty of the Life is Good items. T-shirts, golf towels, visors, board shorts. I received the first t-shirt from a friend who said that the reason she got it for me was because I always have a positive outlook on things. When I found out how the company started, it made me like their stuff even more.
The first thing I ever saw with “Life is Good” on it was at the dog rescue booth where we met our rescue corgi. We hadn’t decided yet to adopt him, but I bought some raffle tickets anyway, to support the group. The lady e-mailed me that night to tell me I’d won a dog bowl with “Life is Good” on it.
Now life is good for our corgi and his sister, who share the water bowl.
I think it’s how I only see them in tourist areas, and they’re typically emblazoned with the usual well-to-do touristy activities, like water skiing, sailing, that sort of thing. That concentration of “look at what lovely activities I engage in” tends to grate on me.
I have never heard of or nor seen this brand. I looked at their website, and got the impression that they were promoting the concept that Life is Good, not life is good for the elite.
On another note, one of the google ads for this article is for the Life is Crap store.
I love “Life Is Good” stuff. Their themes IMHO aren’t so much about “getting mine” as about enjoying simple things: hiking, biking, playing sports, being with your dog/horse/cat, etc.
I got Mr. S two “Life Is Good” shirts for a gift once: guy drinking coffee and sitting with his dog by a campfire, and guy in a hammock in the woods – two scenes in which Mr. S would easily fit. And we have one of their stickers on our car. So there.
They were originally sold at placed like REI. I was always a little shocked that the brand could support an entire store, but I have some of their stuff from REI. Good quality, comfy, fairly reasonably priced stuff.
