Worn Free

The aging rock hipster is an elusive beast, with an elaborate network of defense mechanisms built up and refined over decades of discriminatory listening and observation. Very few things pass muster, especially in the rock T-shirt arena. (Arena might not be the right word choice; perhaps "intimate club setting" or "invitation-only release party" would be more appropriate.)

Let's say you are a fan of Nirvana, maybe even saw them live. Are you going to walk around with a shirt with the swimming baby from Nevermind? Or a "Kurt Cobain 1967-1994" memorial shirt? Of course not.

But what if you could get an exact copy of the T-shirt Kurt wore on the 1992 MTV Awards, when the band picked a fight with Axl Rose? And what if that shirt was of a super-obscure, hand-drawn album cover by tragic DIY hipster Daniel Johnston? Now that would be a perfect storm of indie credibility.


The fashion company Worn Free has stumbled upon a genuinely original idea: replicas of T-shirts worn by famous musicians. Many were immortallized in the pages ofCreem or Rolling Stone or somewhere like that. It's a way to say "I am a true fan" in a secret language that only true fans can understand.

The folks at Worn Free were kind enough to send me the Cobain/Johnston beauty you see above. I wear it with pride. Each shirt is of the highest quality construction and comes with a nice tag showing the rock icon wearing it in their glory days. Here are a few of my favorites.

And oh how they danced... the little children of Stonehenge...

Gabba Gabba Hey/R.I.P. Joey

This shirt is so cool, I don't even mind making Yoko richer.

The Byrds, Stones, Emmylou Harris and U2 all made themselves cooler by name-dropping Gram Parsons. Now you can too!

What do we have for entertainment? Cops kicking gypsies on the pavement!

Debbie Harry, Bob Gruen and Mick Ronson in one fell swoop? Trifecta!

Cool Cat.

When will the Greil Marcus T-shirts be in?

Oh Lord, wontcha buy me a Worn Free T-Shirt?

After milking John's legacy bone-dry, Yoko did the unthinkable: licensed herself. This shirt quotes the notorious French come-on from LaBelle's "Lady Marmalade."

These are only a few of the growing list of icon-olicious designs available at Worn Free. Why not get a couple - tell 'em Rock Turtleneck sent you.

Buy Now: wornfree.com