There comes a point in every T-shirt’s life when it is time to move on. Even that custom T-shirt you plan to wear until you die won’t really last forever. We know that. So why is it so hard to throw our old T-shirts away? Why do we struggle with it, as though we were saying goodbye to the family patriarch?
Any T-shirt can feel like an old friend after many years of use. But when it comes to custom printed T-shirts, we have taken things to the next level. The opportunity to custom design our own slogans and artwork is an opportunity to make our T-shirts an extension of who we are. The finished product is more than just a piece of cotton with two arms and a hole to stick your head through.
No, custom T-shirt printing is a form of personal expression. It is a way to speak your mind without actually saying anything. And to a lot of people, doing so is intensely personal. We have all known people who cherish their custom T-shirts as though they were gold or silver.
Proud to Wear a New Shirt
Take a minute to think of a favourite T-shirt in your collection. Maybe you got it from The Print Bar, an online operation that prints custom T-shirts in Australia. Regardless of the source, you were proud to wear it from the very beginning. You were proud to tell everyone that you created it.
You were still extremely proud of that shirt 12 months later. But some of your pride had been tempered by familiarity. These days, you are more apt to wear the shirt because it means something to you personally. You remember the day you designed it. You remember why the message was so important to you back then.
Further on down the road, you realise how comfortable your favourite T-shirt is. You still appreciate its message, but you are more appreciative of how it makes you feel. You feel at home and relaxed whenever you put it on. You feel at peace with the world.
Losing a Part of You
Not to be melodramatic but throwing away an old custom T-shirt is sometimes like losing a part of you. It is no different than an artist giving away one of his most cherish paintings. Like that painting, your T-shirt is more than just a cotton canvas with a picture on it. It is something you created, something that was birthed by your own heart and mind.
For some people, letting go of those old T-shirts is just too difficult. They hold on to them for decades, even though wearing them was a physical impossibility years earlier.
To the rest of us, the attachment isn’t so strong that we have to keep our custom T-shirts forever. But we still might wear them well beyond their expiration dates. Tell-tale signs of such overuse include things like small holes, obvious stains, and threads starting to break loose at the collar and seams.
Out with The Old, In with The New
One way to deal with the difficult chore of throwing away an old T-shirt is to replace it with something new. Thanks to online retail, the options for custom T-shirt printing are more abundant than ever before. There are tons of companies selling custom T-shirts, hoodies, hats, etc.
Yes, having to part with a custom T-shirt can be difficult. Throwing away a beloved shirt is like saying goodbye to an old friend. But that day comes for every piece of clothing. None of it lasts forever.
