On this bulletin board, and several others, I’ve read about an association between wolf t-shirts and … well, white trashiness. Based on my personal observations, I’ve noticed the same thing. Seems like most – not all, but most – wolf t-shirt wearers I’ve seen are either mullet-headed men, truck drivers, women that look like they’ve been ridden hard and put away wet, or biker chicks.
The thing is … why? Why does the wolf t-shirt appeal to this subculture? Why don’t you see suburban middle class folks wearing wolf t-shirts?
This is a truly bizzare observation, which I too have oft noted.
And its not just wolf T-Shirts. I see a fair number of northern-wildlife-posed-in-forests type designs (like a bear catching a fish, an eagle poised atop a cliff, a moose standing in a clearing, etc.)
I have several shirts with wolves, bears, native american symbols on them. They are pretty and are made by artists and cost around 17 to 20 bucks. Not a one of them came from Wal mart OR a 99 cent shop( those are all cars and ladies).
If its white trash shrug YOU seem to be the only one worried about it.
What?? I love wolf t-shirts, I cut the sleeves off and wear them to the gym. Choctaw heritage on my mom’s side, I love all Indian symbols, and buy jewelry (too often) from the catalogs benefiting Indian children.
The t-shirts don’t go for 99 cents in my neck of the woods (probably because I buy them from the National Wildlife catalog.)
And, I have a beautiful wolf print in my work office, and send out Christmas cards with wolf pictures.
“Seems like most – not all, but most – wolf t-shirt wearers I’ve seen are either mullet-headed men, truck drivers, women that look like they’ve been ridden hard and put away wet, or biker chicks.”
Yes, I’ve seen folks who don’t fit the white trash archetype wearing clothing picturing wolves, northern wildlife, Indian maidens, and so on. However, they were all in the rural areas in the Rocky Mountain region. One of my former co-workers used to wear wolf shirts on casual Fridays, but he likened himself to be a gruff, no-nonsense Western horsey-type.
Seriously, though … go to any middle class area outside of the rural Rocky Mountain region, and try to find someone wearing a northernwildlifeshirt. It can’t be done.
Well, I wouldn’t wear any of the ones you’ve cited, elmwood - but the next time you’re in Dallas, you can view me at the gym wearing a cut-off wolf t-shirt (if you’re lucky, that is.)
Airbrushed Indian maidens? Wolves? Northern wildlife?
Are we forgetting the silhouetted Indian warrrior perched on his horse with his bow thrust over his head?
Or the airbrushed t-shirts (or car tags) with a couple’s names surrounded by vivid splashes of color or inside a heart. Double trashiness points if the couple wear matching shirts.
Ok I just wanted to also add that sometimes old ladies wear sweatshirts or t-shirts with cats on them. The fluffy white kind of kitty. My mother in law does. Whenever I worry about what kind of gift to get her, I know I can’t go wrong with a kitty sweatshirt.
When I was in grade school and high school, we sold those shirts out of a catalogue for fundraisers. They benefitted environmental stuff, so they were pretty expensive. I can’t definitely say that everyone I’ve ever seen wear one was white trash, but they were definitely people with unconventional tastes in clothes - either they don’t care or they “dress funny.”
I do think there is a stereotype about shirts with certain kind of designs on them. For Christmas, I bought my parents matching PSU Mom and Dad sweatshirts. The Mom one had a flower on it, and she doesn’t wear it because it “looks like something the caferteria ladies would wear.” It was $40 or $50, so I wear it now. I’m not wasting that kind of money.
Well I’m a Wolf shirt wearer. Although most of you would probably consider me white-trash if ya met me so it doesn’t work as a counter example. First of all I love wolves and other wildlife things, I’m an outdoorsman at heart. Second I always wear T-shirts in every situation, So I want good quality ones that won’t get shotgun holes after a couple months of wearing, and usually the ones that have detailed pictures are good ones(sports shirts are often crappy on the other hand.) Third I guess they are hard to judge inventory,so you can usually pick up previously 25 dollar wildlife shirts for 5-6 bucks off of the get-rid-of-this-crap racks and outlet stores.
