It was just too cute.

Some of you may know my deep, dark secret already. For those of you who don't; I generally do not buy new clothing. In fact, this year, my new garment purchases have been limited to a bra for dance, seven pairs of underwear, and this here t-shirt. (Well, I guess you could also include a pair of leggings that look like jeans but...those were technically an xmas gift so...call that what you want.) If there is something I want, I make it. If there is something I need, I buy it second hand or it comes to me through relatives or friends. Why? You might ask. Because the textile industry is lame. Because in America, we throw a lot of things away before they're used up, and because I can sew. Now that you know this, you can see how badly I wanted this T-shirt.

Here are the reasons I caved: I got it from Threadless.com, so it's my little way of giving back to other weirdies out there who do what I do. Make art for a living. The original shirt was also manufactured by American Apparel, so I feel okay that the people putting it together were earning an average of $12 an hour (found on American Apparel's website) rather than the 80 cents per hour an average Chinese worker would receive, 43 cents an hour for a Sri Lankan or even as low as 33 cents for a Cambodian (numbers from "Shopping for Sweat" by Ken Silverstein, published in Harpers Magazine, January 2010). I am also a huge fan of entrepreneurs recreating a manufacturing sector in this country, something we've all but lost and are now feeling the pain. So, good for you Dov. Oh yeah, and it was on sale :)