Engrish shirt madness
Anybody who speaks English and walks around Beijing long enough is bound to run into a few people wearing shirts that
have ridiculous things written on them. In my humble view as an amateur fashionista, travel writer, and sociologist, the
ridiculous things fall into three categories:
1. English that people in the USA would just never wear because it's silly or too happy.
2. English that is riddled with spelling and grammar mistakes, or just no makes no sense at all.
3. English that has connotations that the wearers most probably do not understand.
One example of the first category that I've seen is a man wearing a shirt that said:
LOVE!
YOU!
An example of the third category that I saw with my own eyes was a woman wearing a shirt that said:
Nike
I LIKE
TO BE
ON TOP
I really doubt she knew the connotation of that shirt. A pretty great example that I heard about second hand was a woman wearing a shirt that had a big rainbow on the top, underneath which were written the words:
I'm so gay I shit rainbows!
The person who saw this shirt asked the lady why she was wearing it and she said “I think the rainbow is really pretty. I don't know what the words mean”.
Luckily, for the second category you don't have to rely on my descriptions, as today I blew my 3rd place prize money from the PiB speech contest on amazing examples of category 2. I am going to really enjoy putting these on, but I doubt seeing me wearing them in the USA will be nearly as funny as me seeing Chinese people wearing them.
Click the slideshow below to see big versions of any of the pictures. If you want me to buy you a shirt, email me soon and let me know.
1. English that people in the USA would just never wear because it's silly or too happy.
2. English that is riddled with spelling and grammar mistakes, or just no makes no sense at all.
3. English that has connotations that the wearers most probably do not understand.
One example of the first category that I've seen is a man wearing a shirt that said:
LOVE!
YOU!
An example of the third category that I saw with my own eyes was a woman wearing a shirt that said:
Nike
I LIKE
TO BE
ON TOP
I really doubt she knew the connotation of that shirt. A pretty great example that I heard about second hand was a woman wearing a shirt that had a big rainbow on the top, underneath which were written the words:
I'm so gay I shit rainbows!
The person who saw this shirt asked the lady why she was wearing it and she said “I think the rainbow is really pretty. I don't know what the words mean”.
Luckily, for the second category you don't have to rely on my descriptions, as today I blew my 3rd place prize money from the PiB speech contest on amazing examples of category 2. I am going to really enjoy putting these on, but I doubt seeing me wearing them in the USA will be nearly as funny as me seeing Chinese people wearing them.
Click the slideshow below to see big versions of any of the pictures. If you want me to buy you a shirt, email me soon and let me know.