An Abundance of Katherines (In Red T-Shirts)

Contemplating my wardrobe while deciding on an outfit for a night out, I realized: I have an excessive number of red t-shirts. They are, in many ways, a staple of my wardrobe. A sampling:





This was the first one of my current incarnation of red t-shirts (I've had others that have since gone by the wayside), acquired in 2006 or 2007. Lost River Caverns is my day job; when these shirts came in, all of us tour guides thought they were the most spectacular, hilarious things ever. Unfortunately, they didn't sell all that well so we never re-ordered them.






This one came a few years later, Christmas of 2008. My family are die-hard Phillies fans, and I've reluctantly fallen into that trap. I also have another (red!) Phillies babydoll, with the Phillies logo in Bedazzled-like crystals—but one Phillies shirt is enough per post.





February of 2010, I visited Beijing to celebrate the Lunar New Year and visit a good college friend. He had studied abroad in China one summer during college and came back with a white version of this shirt, which I just thought was the coolest. I made a point of picking up my own version. My students in Korea called it my "Kung Fu Panda" shirt (even though the panda is actually illustrating Tai Chi forms).





October of that same year, I saw Roger Waters on his tour of The Wall. I also paid an embarrassing amount of money for this tour T-shirt. But the ticket was free, so it balances out. (The text reads: "TRUST US".)






A few weeks after Roger Waters, I visited another friend in NYC—after all, I only live a $40, 90-minute bus ride away. We visited The Strand Bookstore, which was an amazing and overwhelming experience for me. Each section is denoted by its own little symbol, a simple white print on red. They've become so iconic that The Strand sells t-shirts with a few of the assorted section symbols printed on them. The pipe is for the philosophy section. Since both pipes and philosophy are near and dear to my heart, I couldn't resist.





The newest acquisition, and perhaps the least red (though I still count that dark maroon shade as being part of the red family), came all the way from Costa Rica. The logo on the chest there is the Imperial logo, one of Costa Rica's two big domestic beers.


There's a couple others not pictured: another Phillies shirt and an old bowling shirt from high school, notably. But an honorary mention has to go to this bright orange one I picked up at the Jell-O museum (such a thing exists!) in Le Roy, New York:



Because there's always room for Jell-O!