What Does Your Shirt Say About You?
I pile another load of clean clothes from the laundry basket onto the bed. This batch has a lot of Jeff’s t-shirts. My husband has many, many t-shirts. I fold them and put them away in his dresser drawer.
Yet last week Jeff told me he needs a few more t-shirts. Why???
Because he wants some that don’t say anything.
And I get that.
I take a quick glance on my side of the closet. I have multitudes of t-shirts, too. Are they all noisy as well? Do we not have any quiet t-shirts?
Many of my t-shirts have a logo, like PAR (Prepare and Respond, our disaster recovery group). Some shirts are advertisements, like Golden Eagle Syrup. Others are from events, like “I survived Hurricane Iniki” (yes, I still have this shirt from our honeymoon in 1993 after we got slammed by this hurricane). Still others have inspirational sayings, like “I am resilient.”
Every single t-shirt says something.
But out of the multitude of shirts I have available, I wear the same few again and again. The others just take up room collecting dust on their hangers.
Why? Partly because I like wearing clothes that feel comfortable on my body. But more so because I want to wear clothes that reflect on the outside who I am on the inside.
What we wear does say something about us. Maybe our clothes say we enjoy a party with their bold prints and loud colors. Or that we embrace change with our trendy outfits. Or that we’re minimalists and hate to shop because we wear the same basic items again and again (my hand is raised).
When Jesus asked his followers why they were anxious about their clothing (Matthew 6:28), he answered his own question by pointing to the lilies. He said the lilies didn’t fret about their appearance; they just wore their God-given colors.
What are my God-given colors? What are yours? Is our outward appearance matching our inward selves?
Ultimately, we’re most comfortable in clothes that most accurately reflect who we are. One of my favorite t-shirts this year is the one that contains my One Word 2023: “Be a nice human.” That’s what matters to me. It’s how I want to live. It’s who I want to be.
When each of us are wearing our true colors, we’re creating together a beautiful garden.
I wish Jeff luck in finding plain t-shirts to replace some of his logoed ones. They are few and far between these days. Advertisers long ago realized that we’d be walking billboards for them if they’d give us a free t-shirt with their message on it.
But whose message and what message do we want to advertise? What is our truest message we want to put out into the world?
Back in my closet, I pull out a few t-shirts that I no longer wear, that no longer reflect who I am. I put them in the donate pile.
Now I reach for one to put on for the day. It’s one of my well-worn shirts, of course. It says, “Choose love.”
That’s the message I’ll share today.
It fits just right.
This week’s memory verse for our Summer Memory Challenge is Matthew 6:28.
“And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin.”
Do you have trouble choosing what to wear (especially if you’re going outside the house)? Share in the comments.
Lisa, there are so many things that resonate with me here. I have a few shirts that I wear all the time, shopping wears me out, and “feel” is an important factor when buying any kind of clothing. I like message t-shirts because they can help us connect, but I love the idea of “quiet” clothes too. “Choose love” is a wonderful message to share. I think I’ll join you in that vein and wear my “Faith, Hope, Love” t-shirt today. Hugs, friend.
Choose Love is a good t-shirt message. I only started wearing t-shirts after my spinal fusion surgery – they didn’t wear right until then. So far I have four – mainly because I like the color. I think when you wear a message t-shirt, you’re the first person to speak in a conversation – that’s a lot of extraverting potential!
My hand is raised, too!
Like you, Lisa, I have a wardrobe full of shirts that I don’t really wear any more, but are not quite ready to part with them. Ironically, the t-shirts I wear the most have no message on them. If Jeff is still looking for message-less t-shirts, try Walmart. Danny bought three a couple of months back. Yes, they exist!
Choose love is the best slogan of all. I don’t wear many t-shirts with slogans. I like to keep people guessing.
Lisa, my husband has many t-shirts too, but for the reasons you state here. Some are comical, like his “I used to be a people person, but people ruined that for me”, while others quote scripture, and among his favorites are t-shirts we designed while in Albania with scripture in that language. He feels the same way, he wants what he wears to make a statement about who he is.
But I don’t wear t-shirts. Not my thing, but I do collect them!
This is a wonderful read! Thank you for sharing. I too just cleaned out a lot of shirts that don’t fit “me” anymore, although they may have fit me…
I have the same shirts I wear again and again, but I have found that I feel most comfortable and reflect myself well in calm colored shirts with light patters like some stripes or some flowers. Not too busy, but just right for me. 🙂
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Lisa, my go-to tee in high school shouted, I LOVE MY ATTITUDE PROBLEM ❤️.
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Love this post Lisa! Hubby & I wear ‘quiet clothes’, we actually don’t own any slogan T-shirts…& I don’t wear t-shirts at all, they don’t suit me or maybe I don’t suit them. ?
I’m all for clothes that are oh so comfy & yes I reach for the same ones too!?
blessings, Jennifer
Interesting thought : to survey my closet and ask what does it say? Quiet teeshirts? never thought of that before My hubby also has a ton of tee. shirt but I don’t fold them for him. I will wash them but he has to put away his own clothes! LOL. I need to find a teeshirt that says that. HA!
My 18 year old is spending all her earned money on Christian tshirts and sweatshirts. When a new one comes in the mail I have two thoughts – how many tees does this girl need? and I love my evangelist!
I wear plain T-shirts, either navy or red. Hmmm, you are causing me to hear the call to purge my clothes as I know there are many clothes items I don’t wear any longer as I wear my “few favorites” again and again.
Honestly, regardless of what clothes I have on, I think “wearing” a smile can go a long way in communicating care for others. This is something I want to communicate to the world.
My tee shirts are noisy too. Mostly sayings. And the funny thing is that I took have been on the lookout for plain colors or prints. I love the Bible verse you chose for this message it goes hand in hand.
Thank you so much for sharing this with Sweet Tea & Friends this month.
Lisa, this made me smile. But I’m an introvert and would never shirts with logos or messages! ? Just tell your husband to google “mens solid color pocket tee shirts.” I know this because, as an introvert, I would never want my husband walking around wearing talkative shirts either! #HearthAndSoul