# Why do people buy funny t-shirts?



## Bougie (Jul 12, 2005)

Why do people buy funny t-shirts?
Do they use them to get attention, get laughs, make friends, flirt with girls/guys? I would imagine a lot of them would make good conversation starters.

I only bought one funny t-shirt in my life. It had Beavis and Butthead on the front and a whole lot of text on the back. People would notice it and laugh. I didn't buy it to get attention. I just liked Beavis & Butthead. I usually buy a printed t-shirt because I think it has a cool design on it that expresses who I am, like one of my interests.


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## Twinge (Apr 26, 2005)

What if humor is who you are and what you are interested in? =)


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## Solmu (Aug 15, 2005)

Exactly - I think twinge is right.

Humour is a massive part of my life. Not just in the sense that I enjoy it, and I'm not a joke-teller or a practical joker or anything. But humour is part of my lifestyle, in the same way that music is part of other people's lifestyles.

I'm not a fan of getting attention, though I've reconciled myself with getting used to it (my appearence is conspicuous, so I have little choice).

It's also, and this is a huge part of it, about group identity. This is the case with me, and probably the case with everybody.

Some of the shirts I wear have very obscure humour (some less so), but it's all stuff that all of my friends would appreciate. If someone asks me to explain the joke, I know they're not someone I want to be friends with.

While I might use that more literally than some, it is a common thread. The guy who wears the "This isn't a bald spot, it's the solar panel for my sex machine!" shirt, won't feel very comfortable around someone who doesn't share his appreciation for that kind of humour. If someone laughs, he knows he can share jokes with that person that some may find offensive, and it's an icebreaker.

The majority of my shirts conspiciously define me as a geek, so people know up front one of the most important things about me. It's not about making friends, so much as repelling non-friends.


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## jdr8271 (Jun 16, 2005)

Alot of people do also wear funny t-shirts to get attention.


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## twistedlight (Aug 1, 2005)

Solmu hit it right on the button. Humor. When I wear a t-shirt that I find hilarious, and original in content, I'm expressing my personal view, my unique sense of humor, and also trying to attract a little attention in a world where people blow past each other in a frantic quest to get nowhere. Also, its so much more stylish then wearing a nike logo, or a confederate dixie chick shirt.


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## Desmond (Aug 15, 2005)

If it makes you smile, wear it. If it makes others smile, your making someone a little happier. That's love folks, and it can't be bad.


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## AeonTees (Jul 9, 2005)

Don't forget that funny shirts also make excellent "gag" gifts. Many of my customers freely admit to buying my shirts for just that reason.

As long as they are satisfied with the quality of the shirt and the reaction it invokes, I feel as though I am doing my job.

Cheers,
Chris


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## Chido01 (Sep 1, 2005)

I agree with twistedlight - wearing a funny t-shirt, or a t-shirt with a cool design that doesn't necessarily mean anything, is much better than being a walking advertisement... in fact, I'd much rather wear a blank t-shirt than a t-shirt with some company's logo.


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## honeyflip (Nov 1, 2005)

Humor is just part of who we are. The great thing is that it varies slightly from person to person. No two are precisely alike in what they find, or do not find, humorous. Kinda similar to what we find, or don't find, beautiful or interesting. The variance makes people all that much more fascinating.


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## Chido01 (Sep 1, 2005)

Very true, honeyflip


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## pinprinter (Jun 21, 2013)

In the Philippines, we refer to this as funny statement shirts. It's still popular.


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## elcielo (Jan 20, 2012)

I like using humor to make a powerful statement:

"Yes they're fake. My real ones tried to kill me."


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## Zippy Doodah (Jul 10, 2011)

People buy things emotionally. Most novelty t-shirts, I would say, are "Impulse" items. When we had our retail shirt shops, people would come in and spend over an hour looking, laughing and commenting on all the different designs on the walls. We called it the Ooo!, Ahh! effect. They would generally connect with something or see something that fit someone they knew, and make a purchase. I can't explain it, but I honestly think online, website purchasing, takes away a lot of the spontaneity and emotional reaction people experience in a store. Maybe it's that people are very targeted toward what they are looking for when they are online, as opposed to the Ol' Window Shopping of the past.


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## lindaschallenge (Aug 6, 2008)

It is a way of not being so serious all of the time. Don't have to say anything when some one walks past you, and they say that they like that and goes on. So I guess you can say it is an attention getter too!
linda with lindaschallenge


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## sben763 (May 17, 2009)

elcielo said:


> I like using humor to make a powerful statement:
> 
> "Yes they're fake. My real ones tried to kill me."


LOL. I like that. Funny but yet a statement not all people will find it funny but those who have been affected with a sense of humor will not be offended.


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## andromat (Feb 20, 2007)

Sadly, I don't own any funny t-shirts.


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## sben763 (May 17, 2009)

I only have a few but my favorite says. I give 100% at work. Monday 7% Tuesday 16% Wednesday 38% Thursday 36% Friday 3%.


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## andromat (Feb 20, 2007)

Ha, that's funny. I give 100 % everyday though. I drive a cab.


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## codyjoe (May 6, 2013)

Bougie said:


> Why do people buy funny t-shirts?
> Do they use them to get attention, get laughs, make friends, flirt with girls/guys? I would imagine a lot of them would make good conversation starters.
> 
> I only bought one funny t-shirt in my life. It had Beavis and Butthead on the front and a whole lot of text on the back. People would notice it and laugh. I didn't buy it to get attention. I just liked Beavis & Butthead. I usually buy a printed t-shirt because I think it has a cool design on it that expresses who I am, like one of my interests.


I think you answered your own question. You bought the shirt because you liked it, plain and simple.

Some people are into wearing plain text t-shirts while others like things to be fairly detailed. now when it comes to humor based shirts, that's just a passive part of life. Perhaps the light in which the consumer sees life in. They may like finding humor in every day life versus the vast majority that see things in an awkward shade of grey.


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## strike3sports (Jun 24, 2013)

Some people just buy them to show off their personality or sense of humor. I personally like the shirts with less text. Simple and funny.


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