Free T Shirt Guy
June 26, 2008 
27 Comments
Free T Shirt Guy By David Wygant
So what you need to do is look deep in your closets, and you need to figure out if you are the guy that always wears the free shirts.
How many shirts do you own from company picnics? How many shirts do you own from the Microsoft convention you went to? How about the trade show you went to last year, and you picked up six shirts because you thought it was so cool they were giving them out?
Let me tell you something – you don’t want to be that guy that walks around wearing free shirts. If you own logo shirts that say ‘Microsoft’ or ‘Google’ or ‘Adobe’ – or any other company – you are basically wearing clothes that you got for free, and what that tells women is that you’re too cheap to even buy yourself clothes.
Usually these free shirts also fit awfully, because generally they figure that one size fits all – they’ve got extra larges, they have larges – and you’re a small. You’re wearing that shirt that droops off over your shoulders – it doesn’t even look good – and it’s got a company emblem on it too.
What you’re telling the opposite sex is that you’re too cheap. By wearing these shirts, you’re telling women that you’re going to be cheap with them to.
When you’re dating somebody, she doesn’t want for you to come home and say, “honey, look what I got you at the Microsoft convention – a couple of free t-shirts! Feel – 100% cotton!”
Not only that, but the 100% cotton that they use is the worst cotton in the world – these shirts are starchy, itchy, and they don’t fit right. There is nothing cool about them, so don’t be that guy.
If you have these clothes in your wardrobe, you need to get rid of them – immediately. You need to do some shopping. You don’t want to be the guy who walks around in Free Shirt Land.
weirdo
Now that was a great comment!!
Are you one of the guys that think it is stylish to wear ugly free shirts from companies?
Ask any woman what she thinks about that look.
Cmon ladies tell the guys how you feel about this.
Hey D
I think Zerno is one of those free T shirt guys and he thinks he looks good.
If i see a man walking up to me in one of those shirts all i can think about is how bad the rest of his wardrobe looks.
Cmo’n guys get real you don’t ever see us wearing those shorts.
They turn every woman off!!
Thats my two cents
lol it goes without saying, guys wearing free t-shirts should be put down. Dress good to feel good, feel good to draw others in.
lol david what made you post this in your blog? did you see someone walking round with a free t-shit? how did u not slap him
I see guys out all the time with these shirts and they look awful.
and i know what women really think about them…i coach women as well and this always rates as the number one or two turn off.
its one of those immediate turn offs.
i am not into slapping:)
Well I feel compelled to speak on behalf of us ladies on this topic – so let me state it as clearly as possible: Free T-Shirt = NOT GOOD (and NOT ATTRACTIVE)!!!
They scream – cheesy, cheesy, cheesy
I also feel like I they are the kind of thing that would be fodder for a Jeff Foxworthy “You might be a redneck …” routine.
I can honestly say that neither I, nor any girlfriend of mine, has EVER said “How HOT is that guy in the ‘Mac Expo ’92′ t-shirt!”
Well,
I use such T-shirts only for sports. I do run in shirts I got from different meetings, conferences etc. They are usually bigger than me but since I also wear sweatshirt nobody can see it
But go out in such a shirt?? Come on!
ok, im going to reveal my secret to getting cool t-shirts..
Usually i dont tell people where i get them, cause i dont
want to many people wearing em, but since you guys ( and girls)
are so cool, i`ll tell you. Besides not that many people here.. haha
Check out http://www.80stees.com
They have the coolest t-shirts ever.
Have fun shopping
Btw, this one is my favorite http://www.80stees.com/products/Nintendo-Dr-Mario-T-shirt.asp
I got my one free Google t-shirt which rocks. But I also do webstuff, so I think my one free google shirt is plenty.
otherwise, i agree full on. you could also say that about anything that you are cheap on.
like if you eat ramon noodles all the time, chances are you won’t be taking a girl out to some nice place. etc etc
I’m with Slava – I only wear free/promo t-shirts when I’m working on the car, in the garden, or on the treadmill. I wouldn’t be caught dead out in public wearing one.
Don’t worry Thorbjoern, there’s a world of difference between my free “Computer Associates ArcServe 2000″ t-shirt and yours. I think mine even has a hole in it.
Yes, I think this figures into the category of “i dont care about my appearance” guy, which I was for a long time, and alot of teenagers/college age kids are. It does not help and repels people every time.
I’m with DW here.
Only wear free company t-shirts when you are either washing the car or jogging at night. Better yet, wash the car w them.
Even jogging at day… a cute girl may see you jogging around, so you better wear some decent muscle shirt (of course, if there are muscles there).
Affliction has cool t-shirts, just make sure you don’t get the gray ones every trailer kid has.
Remember ZZ Top, evrey woman likes a sharp dressed man (forgive me if I got the lyrics wrong).
I have moved my entire wardrobe away from anything but plain, no label clothing. I am keeping things as simple as I can REALLY like the ease and style.
Keep the free T-shirts if you want and use them for painting or something where you use VERY infrequent. Other than that, accept the gift, be very appreciative, and don’t think twice about donating it to your favorite charity or nephew/niece. The charity can do something great with it and kids always like that type of stuff.
zerno;
lol I couldn’t help but notice this in one of your comments…I know it was a typo, but so so fitting
“did you see someone walking round with a free t-shit? Free t-shit is about right LOL
The worst of these shirts? The ones that say “I gave blood,” and “Marathon survivor,” when ya ass ain’t done either…
Yes, free T-Shirts are great to give to your girl. Get the shirt and pick her up a g-string on the way home or to her house. That is MY solution to put them to use.
I think you guys find women in a t-shirt or one of your button ups half open, with a g-string, or a sexy french cut panty sexy…am I wrong?
David;
I do appreciate your style sense. True as it is that it is the person that makes the clothes….the clothes people wear are a reflection of their inner person.
David,
It’s about time you made a Free “David Wygant” T Shirt!
I will rock that thing all day every day!
Make sure you make small sizes for Kubie and I.
Thank you
Vince
good blog! one of the bigger thing i learn from david is STOP BEING CHEAP, because it only does not help you appear attractive, it also cuts you off from the abundance mentality. although it is hard to not be cheap when you’re fucking poor, but it is really a mindset that i have to keep reinforce myself.
I wear these shirts only for sports activities.
Sort of agree… if they are poorly fitting shirts you speak of true…
But i have a friend who goes to the salvation army and scours the place for old company picnic shirts, town fair… anything vintage looking.
and he gets complimented by girls on his style constantly.
I do realize you’re talking about the starchy oversized ones.. but i wanted to clarify for those who want to wear vintage.
Wearing a google shirt now might be lame… But wearing an IBM vintage t-shirt from the 80s might be cool
Bobby
I agree with you. My brother is King of the vintage shirts and some of the old company shirts are great as long as they fit.
Plus most none of those starchy things that fit like a dress would ever make vintage!!
The only thing they make is a good rag!
I need to say something about this blog today…As I watched the movie LA Story last night (in a free outdoor local event) I realized that the LA people are just so…., shall we say, special (in a church lady accent):-)
As many mentioned before, I do not wear T shirts when I go out except at home, at the gym or biking or taking a walk around the neighborhood. Do I need to go and look myself in the mirror and make sure the darn thing fits me well????I live in the Midwest near Detroit and we just don’t do that around here. I do not want it to fit well because I am going to do something physical and I want it to be loose damn it!
I must confess I have only Free T shirts, I just can not pass them up at conferences…I end up giving most of them away to nieces and nephews overseas and they do make great gifts. And I wear them in occasions cited above…I have not bought a T shirt in many many years, why buy one when I get so many for free…If I invested all the money DW spends on his T shirts alone it would make me filthy rich very soon:-)
Going out on a date of course with such a Tshirt on is awful. But are you saying that if I am at the gym and have my free T shirt on (a nice 100% cotton one with some resemblance of…style) women will look down on me?…If they are so conscious and pretentious why should I bother be interested to them? They are probably Paris Hilton wanna bees anyway, I bet you they buy People and Star as they wait in line in the grocery store.
And I also agree they make great tools to clean houses and cars too!
I am contemplating buying my first T shirt..this one:
http://www.wackyplanet.com/need-more-cowbell.html
as an SNL fan, when I saw it it just brought tears to my eyes remembering Will Ferell banging it!
Ack free tshirts belong only on a body doing some kind of chore! You may wear it to the Home Depot or the Lowes or the gym, but not out and not while you run errands.
About two weeks ago I cleaned out my wardrobe and donated 3 garbage bags of clothes and stuff to goodwill. About two of those garbage bags were free t-shirts from conventions, etc. While I realized about six months ago that it was pretty dorky to wear a corporate t-shirt or polo out, I still wore them for doing stuff around the house or running quick errands (maybe that is pretty dorky too). Nonetheless, I definately did not need two garbagebags of corporate freebees clogging up my drawer space.
I have a question for everyone… I have a handful of Warner Bros. t-shirts, with looney toon characters embroidered at the pocket. These aren’t like the cheap Disney t-shirts. (At one time, years ago, I was disappointed that Disney never made a decent shirt.) It’s rare that I actually wear one, so they’re still in very good condition even though the store went out of business.
In the past I’ve known women who loved them, and women who were indifferent. Now I know one who would considers them as appropriate as the free t-shirts discussed here.
Does it depend on the woman? Is it a style that came and went? I’ve always considered them a “casual fun shirt”. -Regardless it looks like they’ll be staying in the draw for now…
Well, there are “free t shirts” and then there are free t shirts…
I actually have some “free” t shirts that are from local bands, from visual arts events, or of difficult-to-find films and the like, and every time I wear them I get numerous looks of interest or the comments other people will make to me about them spark a conversation…
Mind you, these are basically “work shirts” — I would never date in one — and yet simply BECAUSE they are original, have interesting ideas on them, and do not “sport” a recognizable product or logo of any kind I feel perfectly comfortable wearing them while working, working out, lounging around, or even running errands.
I’d like to mirror Dan’s comment above as well: If I’m out just running errands or getting a cup of coffee and happen to meet someone interesting, and then end up having a lovely conversation with her — would that person really be willing to judge me because I’m not wearing a polo or button-up during such a casual conversation and in such a chance setting?
Granted first impressions are important, since you never get a second chance to make a first impression…
But I should consider: Should I really want to go out with someone so pretentious that they would never consider wearing a “free” shirt in public (much less speak to a man wearing one), or is this setting an impossibly high standard for dating and interactions with women in general?
My basic rules for this type of casual wear is: 1. Must be visually unique and interesting, 2. Must be thematically interesting or intriguing, 3. Must be topical to something I would be happy to talk about if anyone asks, and 4. SPORTS NO LOGOS OR ADVERTISING.
thoughts? Feelings?
Whenever youre wearing a printed t-shirt you need to be prepared to answer the question “why are you wearing that?”, and if the answer is “cause it was free!” then you’re pretty much fucked. That’s my take on the matter anyway.