By shelz.

Actually, this is probably more a case of wearing your heritage as your sleeve.   Your normal t-shirt steez includes who?  Cloud Kicker? Artful Dodger? T.I.T.S.? You’re all about the latest trend and the hot new name, but isn’t everyone else.  Isn’t your fresh diminished by the fact that your gear is mass produced on a global level?  If you think yes, and you are looking for something a little more original, we have something for you.

Not only are these shirts relatively rare compared to the YMCMB shirt that you’re seriously considering copping,  (Seriously?) but they speak to African-American pride and awareness.  It is possible to wear your self-respect on your chest without donning red, black and green tie-dye.  Read on.

First for the ladies, we have Laudme, a brand that has decided the summer is the time to pay homage to the black pin-ups of the 30’s and 40’s.  The have that comfy already worn in look and present the likes of Eartha Kitt, Josephine Baker and Dorothy Dandridge in all their bombshell beauty.

Black History Mall is next.  The site offers books and framed art as well as T-shirts that have bold designs and were created to tell a story.  There are better MLK shirts out there, but the original designs for 1964 Wal-Mart sit-in and the Watermelon Man are conversation starters to say the least.  Malcolm X, Jesse Owens and Harriet Tubman are also used as muses for the designers.  Jump on the Martin Luther King Jr. designs quick if you like them, only 1500 were made.

Last today is a brand called Uncultured Persons.  The prices are reasonable and the designs, while not plentiful, definitely communicate an African aesthetic.  Warriors, masks and tribal doctors are all represented both in eye popping color and black and white.

So there you go, a few extra choices in your quest for the perfect summer time clothing.  In between rocking shirts with tennis tossed over power lines or half naked broads, make a statement in one of these and prove you think about your culture after February.  Word.

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