Fashion statement: T-shirt irony gives way to love, peace, recycling

LAS VEGAS — It wasn't so long ago that pop queens sparked the "message" T-shirt fad with tops telling no one in particular "Dump him" or "I stole your boyfriend."

We may all be pleased to learn we've evolved.

Or at least our T-shirts have.

The message these days is much more likely to be, in words of T-shirt designer Eunice Chang, "peace, love and recycling."

"It's because of the war. People need a message and they want a positive message," Chang said at the MAGIC fashion convention in Las Vegas, where calls for a higher purpose in cotton were regular sightings. "I'm just following the fashion."

The massive annual trade show aimed at fashion industry insiders and buyers is a preview of what the teens and 20-somethings will be wearing this fall and what many already are. This election year it signaled — along with the dogged persistence of the skinny jean — the serious side of the message T-shirt.

In muted colors, Los Angeles-based wholesaler C'est Toi's version declared "Love & Peace" in long sleeves.

Chang's T-shirts, for Los Angeles-based boutique Dorothy Blue, brought a sweet, vintage feel. A cartoon dove accompanied the words "Love, Peace." Another pleaded: "Give Earth a chance."

Some of the shirts were embellished with dreamy paisleys, others with iconic 1960s images, such as peace signs or rainbows. Some blended with another continuing T-shirt trend — the tattoo look. They were, unlike many past T-shirt fads, unironic.

Kathleen Gasperini of the market research firm Label Networks describes the trend as part of "a new hippiedom" making its way from urban street and summer music festival scenes.

She sees a resurgence of a do-it-yourself aesthetic in youth styles, a willingness to make an earnest statement and little concern that the peace sign around their neck may have been done before.

Gasperini said most young people aren't deliberately referencing the Woodstock era or even directly mimicking it. A trademark of the look is a mix-and-match of styles — a T-shirt screaming "Love, love, love," with '80s-inspired hot-pink, skinny jeans and Day-Glo bracelets.

"They're making it their own," she said. "It's a brighter version. It's not as drug-induced. And also sometimes brighter in terms of color, too."

The look is more likely to come from a contemporary source, she said, pointing to a campaign against clinical depression called "To Write Love on Her Arms." The campaign was inspired by the story of a 19-year-old girl's struggle with cutting and, along with promoting suicide prevention and counseling, sells a popular line of street wear promoting "The Love Movement."

"The Love Movement" logo is bold and graphic, a reminder that the message T-shirt may be issue-oriented but hasn't necessarily gone warm and fuzzy.

Joe Cap, the marketing head of the hip-hop line Society of Boston, also at MAGIC, said his best-seller declares "Radio killed hip-hop" in a groovy disco font, proof that the messages vary along with the subculture they speak to. The best message T-shirt, Cap said, makes someone think.