Making a commitment to Scripture-driven apparel

Messages burning inside our hearts have a way of getting out. We share our passions in the oversaturated world of opinions known as Facebook, then hear the arguments, the overanalysis, the insults. Hiding behind computer screens from distant IP addresses, social media users share their opinions, but, perhaps, don’t really connect.

A concept much older than the Internet provided the means to share our ideas in a way that started conversations: the screenprinted T-shirt. This cotton communicator became popular during World War II for practical reasons like military identification and, later, advertising. In the ‘70s, the T-shirt trend followed the explosion of pop music, becoming another tool for the wearer’s self-expression. In the 1980s’ Shirt Tales cartoon TV show, the inhabitants of Oak Tree Park wore tees with flashing phrases reflecting the wearers’ feelings and thoughts. Like those characters, T-shirt wearers send out a signal and see if they get a response.

For some, the more vague the message, the better. Whether an inside joke or irony, the humor is an attempt to limit response to the select few who “get us.” The signal might aim to connect us with fans of a band or to show our spirit for a sports team.

Ice-Breaking Messages

More than the music lover or sports fan, believers in the one true God have much to say in the messaging they wear. Christians are commanded to go into all the world and tell every creature, and Christian apparel is just one tool available for that purpose.

Christians have gone to great lengths to reach and teach through fashion and pop culture, some more effective than others. We must be careful, though, with our apparel. Attempts to reach lost people with bogus logos and parody branding can backfire and lead us to actually lose the very people we are trying to reach. Unbelievers can be turned off by the unoriginal piggybacking-on-popularity attempt to preach.

So how should believers represent Christ in fashion? Opinions are many on the topic. While it’s our love that draws unbelievers, Christian apparel has its place.

Inviting Conversations

For customers who desire to engage in conversation about their faith, there may be no better ice-breaker than 100-percent cotton. It’s preshrunk so the wearer won’t shrink under pressure. Its colors don’t run, so they won’t retreat. Depending on the message, the tee is printed permanently with plastisol so the Christian T-shirt wearer can’t escape stares and comments. After donning the shirt in the morning, the wearer is almost guaranteed to be in a faith conversation by sundown.

There are Scripture-based T-shirt messages for every kind of Christian. Of course, since believers are members of a body, they are parts and so they are not the same. What works for one will be uncomfortable for another—and that’s OK.

The Christian gift industry offers many clothing brands, from fresh startups to the seasoned saints of seamstressing. Parody preachers and ambiguous artists collide in Christian retail to round out one of the most creative departments a store can house. What other area of square footage in the store is filled with such color, humor, joy, irony, power and encouragement as that spinning tee tower or wall decorated with the popular trends of the day?

There is no excuse for outdated, irrelevant campy designs when there are brands bringing Christian retail customers the best of the best. Designers lay down their graphic skills before the Creator like the drummer boy having nothing else to give but a “rum-pum-pum-pum” and an “apple c, apple v, apple z, apple s, complete” (Mac commands for copy, paste, undo and save).

Giants of the industry like Living Epistles and Kerusso have paved the way for newer trendy brands. Some have lasted, while others have come and gone, having added new looks and perspective. Each of these efforts are appreciated for pushing the industry towards cultural relevance.

As design trends in the marketplace change, so do the looks offered to Christian stores. What was once considered watering down the gospel has become the norm in message graphics, but not because there is a lack of biblically minded designers or customers. Rather, it is because the message trend has been leaning away from the heavy-handed and obvious toward the vague in hopes of starting a dialogue with the unbeliever. Perhaps people have grown weary of being ambushed by advertisements, feeling they are just demographics, pawns of Google algorithms to boost a page ranking and increase someone’s revenue.

People are overrun with a flood of slogans and manipulative messages and just want to see something cool or simple. “We can do that,” responds the collective industry of Christian artists. The God of the universe paints in bold colors and subtle shades. His palette is diverse and His creations eclectic. His voice is both soft and strident. He is as still as silence and as roving as a locomotive.

The voice of the Christian designer meets the audience of a hurting world without judging their appetite for milk or meat. The apparel vendor does not need to be a noisy preacher or ranting, hellfire-and-brimstone lunatic, but must keep a finger on the pulse of the culture. These vendors are always searching for exactly the right things to say in the right way at the right time with a gentle tug at the heart or a lighthearted reminder that God is ever present and still in control.

The desire to “wear it to share it” has not gone anywhere, but has been refined. The heart-wrenching message about the fall and sin is inside the heart of the Christian apparel wearer. The opportunity to share has never been more present because the art invites conversation.

Inspired Designs

Remember the walls dedicated to T-shirts in the ‘80s? How about the Christian music festivals with rows of T-shirt vendors? Let’s dedicate sufficient retail space to make a statement with tees and other purposeful apparel options.

In Christian retail stores across America, gift buyers are coupling T-shirt towers or walls with on-trend jewelry displays like the ones offered by Spirit & Truth Christian Jewelry, for instance. Retailers are showing a strong commitment to inspirational fashion. When products are done right, they sell better. Nothing done with half-hearted presentation will sell well.

The margins on apparel are great, the vendors are quick to ship, and their commitment to Christian stores is unmatched.

For more than 20 years, Christian T-shirt companies have been spearheading the trendspotting for Christian stores. Their print-on-demand capability allows them to respond to trends, current affairs and market changes in days. Many brands offer custom printing and licensing to give the Christian retailer an edge. Take advantage and reap the benefits.

Jayme Brandt is the owner of Gardenfire, an apparel and wall art company, and the Twice Born store in Eureka Springs, Arkansas.

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