Céline Me Alone

My name is Claire and I am an online shopping addict. It has been four days since my last purchase. My current drug of choice? The witty t-shirts that satirize ubiquitous high-fashion logos. They capture the perfect blend of insider elitism and street style swag - the look that would get you photographed by Tommy Ton if, you know, Tommy Ton was hanging out on Princess Street. In an age where straight-up logo tees are too try-hard and knock offs are everywhere, this incendiary trend provokes the logoist culture, adding in some insider irony that manages to be effortlessly cool. The worst part of these shirts? They go fast. Case and point: last week when Michael Agwunobi announced a restock while I was in tutorial, I ended up with my Visa card under my desk trying to sneakily lock one down before they were sold out for another three months. (I got “Céline Up the Bitches” and will probably never take it off.) The second worst part? There’s one for just about every covetable brand mentioned in an A$AP Rocky song and each is better than the one before it.This week, Conflict of Interest unveiled their spring collection. Since I currently am on a self-imposed online-shopping detox, I have rounded up my favorite cheeky tees for all of you… and because I am nothing, if not an enabler.  Just keep in mind that though sixty bucks may seem like a lot for a tee, 1) it is wayyyyy cheaper than the real thing and 2) you can’t put a price on cool.One of the OG’s of this whole satire shirt craze is Michael Agwunobi, who kicked things off in 2011 with his Watch the Throne meets Comme des Garçons “That Sh*t Cray” shirt. He’s followed it up with “Trill” (as seen on Rihanna) and my personal favorite, “Céline Up the Bitches”.

In addition to restocking the bomb “Ballinciaga”, Conflict of Interest just unveiled “Brawlmain”, “Ill Slander” and a limited addition “Benzo” tee. At the risk of relapse, I almost had to have my Internet taken away from me.

Getting points for being topical are the “Ain’t Laurent Without Yves” sweaters from an anonymous Swedish seller on Big Cartel. In the week they’ve been available the price has nearly doubled and the site has been down almost more than it has been up thanks to the crazy traffic. Expect to see a lot of these during Fashion Month.Another great take on the omnipresent Céline tee is Brian Lichtenberg’s “Féline” shirts. After all, high fashion plus cats equals blogger crack.Two final favorites are streetwear staples: the fantastically titled “Comme des Fuckdown” and the bad bitches of Married to the Mob’s Supreme sendup, “Supreme Bitch” (double points cause it’s a snapback). Both serve as reminders that this is not a trend for the faint of heart.Yours Creatively,Claire Pierce, Online ContributorImages: Michael Agwunobi, Conflict of Interest, and Brian LichtenbergNote: Claire is tweeting about online shopping and being a 90’s bitch. See here!