Are we a culture of nostalgia?

The 80s were about standing out, the 90s were about speaking out ... what are the 2000s about?

I would wager to say that we are a culture of nostalgia. Rather than having a defining style or personality of our own, we instead have instead sought to emulate past generations, especially through our clothing.

Working for a custom t-shirt company has taught me that people love custom t-shirts that are tied in some way to nostalgia. While new designs are artistic and definitely hold some merit, the top sellers at most custom t-shirt companies still seem to be those that drive our nostalgia. These custom t-shirts that sell the best are the ones that remind us of some special moment in our childhood or a television show, movie character, cartoon that made us happy. 80s t-shirts are a great example of this. Whether it's Mr. T, Big Bird, Ghostbusters or Jem and the Holograms, we wear our 80s t-shirts proudly because they identify us with our past.

It is interesting how custom t-shirts has sprung up with the popularity of the internet. What used to be just something that we wore as kids, has now defined us as adults. We love using custom t-shirts to express our silly side, to show our nostalgia and to identify us with our past. We're proud of 80s t-shirts because we're proud of 80s culture.

I wonder what the future generations will wear on their custom t-shirts? Will they have a generation they can feel proud of? What are we leaving behind?

Have a t-shirt design you want to submit? Express yourself and your generation.