I drew a T-shirt that says How Good Is Bread. It's such a simple design, but it resonates with people in a way I never would have expected. It's still the most popular T-shirt I've personally designed. Sometimes the thing you want your clothes to say is that you really like bread.
That's a useful place to start with a graphic tee. Choose something you actually connect with: a drawing, a joke, a slightly strange school memory. Then work out how you want to wear it. You don't need a whole new personality to go with the shirt.
For an easy graphic tee outfit, start with a fit you enjoy wearing, add jeans, trousers, shorts or a skirt you already own, and try the hem tucked and untucked. An open shirt or jacket gives you another option when the weather changes. Here are five ways to put that into practice.
First, work out how you want the tee to sit
A tee can have a great drawing on it and still feel wrong if the sleeves or length aren't what you wanted. That doesn't mean the drawing isn't for you. Look at the cut.
- Regular: a longer, straightforward shape if you want some room, a tee you can tuck, or an easy base for layers.
- Maple: a more fitted shape with shorter sleeves and body, if you prefer less fabric around you.
- Oversized: a deliberately wider, boxier cut with dropped shoulders. Buying a bigger Regular tee changes the length as well; it won't give you the same shape.
- Crop Top: a shorter body if you want the hem closer to the waistband of your trousers or skirt.
Choose by the shape you like wearing. We don't divide the range by gender. The available cuts, colours and sizes vary between designs, so check your chosen product.
Before ordering, lay a favourite tee flat and compare its chest width and body length with the chart for the actual cut you're buying. Our tee fit guide has measurements and photos to help. Checking both numbers is more useful than assuming your usual letter size will fit the same everywhere.
1. Graphic tee and jeans: start with what you already wear
Put the tee on with your favourite jeans and the shoes you normally reach for. Straight-leg denim is an easy starting point, but if you live in wide-leg jeans, start there. A useful outfit is one you'll actually leave the house in.
If a long hem bunches over your jeans, try tucking just the front and leaving the sides loose. If the tuck hides part of the artwork, pull a little fabric back out or leave it untucked. The drawing should get to stay in the outfit.
You can use colour without matching everything. A black tee with pale denim is an easy contrast. A coloured tee can work with the same jeans. If you're unsure, change one thing at a time rather than buying a new outfit around a print.
2. Graphic tee and a skirt: let the waistband do some work
A pleated skirt gives a casual tee a bit of shape without making the outfit feel dressed up. Try a Regular tee tucked into the waistband, or a shorter cut that sits just above it. If there's too much fabric bunching underneath, try a smaller tuck or a cut with less length.
For a longer skirt, an untucked tee can work too. Check where the hem lands: if it covers a detail you like, such as the waistband or pleats, try a front tuck and see which you prefer. Wear it with trainers, boots or the shoes you already find comfortable.
3. Graphic tee and tailored trousers: tidy enough, still you
For a dinner, a gallery visit or an office that allows casual clothes, try a tee with tailored trousers and clean shoes. A blazer or structured jacket gives you another option. Keep the shirt comfortable enough that you aren't spending the whole evening adjusting it.
If you're wearing a jacket, check how the tee sits underneath it. A very wide sleeve can bunch under a narrower jacket; a Regular or more fitted cut may sit more comfortably. Try the jacket open so you can still see the print.
This is where a simple text design like Bread is useful. The outfit can be fairly tidy while the shirt makes its feelings about carbs clear. Check the actual dress code, though. A blazer doesn't turn a graphic tee into formalwear.
4. Graphic tee and shorts: a perfectly good Australian outfit
For a hot day, start with denim or cargo shorts, a tee and shoes that suit what you're doing. If you like a loose tee, check that the shorts still feel like part of the outfit rather than disappearing under the hem. A shorter tee or a small front tuck can help.
You can also wear an oversized tee loose over visible, shorter shorts if that's the shape you like. Try it sitting down as well as standing up. Comfort is part of getting the outfit right.
Add a cap or an open, lightweight shirt if you'll use it. You don't need an accessory checklist to make a T-shirt outfit count.
5. Graphic tee and an open layer: useful when the weather can't decide
An open overshirt, flannel or denim jacket frames the artwork and gives you something to take off when it warms up. Start with a layer you already own and check that the tee's sleeves aren't catching underneath it.
For colder days, try a plain long sleeve underneath your tee. Choose one that sits comfortably under the sleeves and neckline. If extra layers feel bulky, a Long Sleeve version of the design might be easier; availability depends on the product.
You can keep the layer and trousers fairly quiet if you want the drawing to stand out. But you can also wear a graphic with patterned trousers. Our Swoopy Boy photo below is a good example: the magpie is clear on the light tee, and there's room for another pattern underneath.
A few starting points from our range
If you're trying to choose a graphic as well as an outfit, these are three different places to start. They're examples from our own range; pick the one you actually like.
| If this sounds like you | A tee and a way to wear it |
|---|---|
| You want a simple text print. You also have fairly strong feelings about bread. | Bread Tee: my handwritten How Good Is Bread lettering. Try it with jeans, or tailored trousers and an open jacket if you're dressing it up a bit. |
| You like Australian birds and want the drawing to be a big part of the outfit. | Swoopy Boy Tee: Claire Harrison's magpie illustration. The light tee and dark artwork work with plain trousers or another pattern, as the photo above shows. Choose the Oversized cut if you want the wider, boxier shape. |
| You remember Healthy Harold and appreciate a slightly cooked school-memory joke. | Get In The Van Tee: Claire Harrison's colourful giraffe design. Try it with denim or plain shorts, and leave the drawing visible under an open overshirt. |
Once you've picked the drawing, check the product's fit, colour and size options. A familiar joke and a comfortable cut are a pretty good combination.
The drawing is allowed to be the reason
I started Lonely Kids Club in 2011, and making room for particular little ideas is still a big part of it. A shirt about bread, a magpie with an attitude, Claire Harrison's Get In The Van school-memory joke. Someone will get it immediately. Someone else won't. That's fine.
The drawing and the character come first. The garment gives that work another place to live. We print tees after you order in our Artarmon studio in Sydney, so an idea can stay available without a big finished batch of every design. The blank garments are made overseas; our team does the printing and packing here.
When you're choosing, look for a design you'd enjoy wearing again. Then use the clothes already in your wardrobe to make it work for your day. You can browse our graphic tee collection for the drawings, jokes and artist collaborations.
Give it a decent chance of staying in your wardrobe
Check the care label for the garment you choose. Washing inside out on a cold, gentle cycle and line drying in the shade helps avoid unnecessary heat and friction on the print. Keep the iron off the artwork.
Wear the shirt because you like it. If that means a magpie and patterned trousers, great. If it means jeans and a declaration of love for bread, also great.
About the author: Warwick Levy founded Lonely Kids Club in 2011 and designs artwork for the range, including How Good Is Bread. He runs LKC from its Artarmon print studio in Sydney. Read the LKC story.
