A couple of weeks ago, Topman was at the centre of controversy over their new misogynist t-shirt designs. In case you haven’t seen, one of them carries the line: “Nice new girlfriend. What breed is she?”. There was public outrage and the store were eventually forced to take them off their shelves. This complete lack of judgement and taste by designers at one of the most popular men’s clothes retailers is part of a wider trend in men’s fashion to come up with the most provocative and outrageous designs for t-shirts which has been developing for years.

Personally, I don’t see the attraction in buying a perfectly nice t-shirt emblazoned with a so-called joke. It’s not just the sexist ones which make me cringe. Another example (also part of the Topman range) is “This is what perfection looks like.” Presumably, those purchasing such tops somehow think that by wearing a hilariously arrogant slogan they automatically gain comedic credit and are therefore miraculously more attractive. Maybe it’s common knowledge that by wearing a top which says “FUH Q” you are guaranteed at least one reaction along the lines of “OMG, that is a hilarious play on phonetics; an outrageous yet subtle public display of outrage…fancy a quickie?” I suppose it depends where you go out, but surely it is more likely that such a t-shirt would probably do the opposite, and in fact show that due to lack of character or conversation skills the wearer feels the need to provide a prompt for anyone who is crazy enough to approach them in a social situation.

Sadly, their continued feature in shop-fronts suggests that this prospect hasn’t put off the so-called witty lads looking for a laugh.My animosity towards printed t-shirts isn’t without boundaries. I would, for example, consider buying a t-shirt with my favourite album cover or lyric on it. At least  then there is some personal connection between you and the design your chest is proudly flaunting.

Sometimes I do find myself laughing at the very t-shirts of which I am here despairing, because - whisper it - some of them are actually funny. Then I slap myself out of it and remind myself that there are thousands of others wearing exactly the same thing, which brings me on to my final point: buying these t-shirts is a risky business. Most of us know how embarrassing it is to turn up to a club, take off your jumper, and realise that the guy next to you is wearing the same t-shirt. Well, imagine the same situation, but instead of the mild embarrassment of the guy next to you wearing the a matching bog-standard grey t-shirt, you are both letting the surrounding audience know that you are “Also available in sober *excluding weekends.” Does it get any worse?