How Appropriate is Inappropriate? I have come up with funny quotes for shirts and I feel some may or may not be appropriate. How Appropriate is Inappropriate? Some say stuff like, "B**ch, F**K & Penis." I have one design that is a Genie that looks like a Penis. Like I keep asking, "How Appropriate is Inappropriate?" I've seen soem shirts with cuss words but I want to know what limit I can take my shirts to. I am starting a knew product line and do not plan to use these ones up front but do I dare bring them in later or will it kill my reputation. I have many shirts that relate to the BS I went through during a divorce. I must say it was very inspiring. LOL to give an idea a couple of shirts I have are: My Definition of commitment: Not sleeping with your friends until we break up! And What are the odds of sleeping with you? These are just a couple of the 100's of ideas I have but still it leads to my question, "How Appropriate is Inappropriate?"
Please give all and any feedback possible. Thank you, Cham
Last edited by chamlogos; October 25th, 2008 at 12:42 PM.
Reason: Spelling
persoanlly, i would not purchase a shirt with an image of a penis, and i have a pretty dirty sense of humor.. I mean, i was a bartender for years and love howard stern.. but that is too much.. I even get annoyed with shirts with cuss words because there are kids around.. but then again, some people find cuss words themselves funny.
I own ONE shirt with a cuss word, and it says F#$K Cancer, and i get some funny looks at first, but if i tell people that the money from purchasing that shirt went to cancer research, they like it..
So in my opinion, unless its REALLY funny or subtle, i personally dont like it.. But there are peopel out there who do.. I dont think you should sensor yoursel, i mean, people who like that stuff WILL purchase it, and it is their choice where to wear it out and when.. Its just your decision as to what kind of reputation you want your company to have
I think it all depends in how "inappropriate" you want to be.
Have you checked tshirthell.com ?
Do you want to have that style?
Do you already have a clientele that might be scared off of those designs ?
Also it depends on where you are going to be selling them.
You might not sell them on Cafe Press or other sites like that.
But if you have your own web site, you should have not restrictions.
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As Jerry used to say : Profit is not a dirty word.
It's mostly up to you, but there are still places with obscenity laws in place that could make the selling and/or wearing of shirts like that illegal. Plus semi-public places that can do whatever they want (e.g. a mall will kick you out) to consider.
My personal opinion in regards to swearing is do it properly or not at all. That is, spell out the whole word, don't asterisk it out (I realise you can't do that here on the forums). But there is commercial and legal reality to contend with, so that may make "not at all" the better decision (or compromise - I'm just not big on compromise myself).
I'd also suggest taking a look at T-shirt Hell and letting them influence your decision. I think they set a good bar for other offensive t-shirt companies to consider. There are companies that push it more than TSH, but I'd suggest those companies are taking it too far.
T-shirt Hell set out to be the most offensive in the market. It's possible to be more offensive, and they know it. If they're not doing it, it's because it's not commercially viable. So, that offensive or less in my opinion.
But if you want proof that you can push things as far as it sounds like you'd want to go, then there it is.
I have a few shirts that are inappropriate. I'm a 40+ year old mom with a sense of humor, but I don't wear those shirts out in public, they are strictly night shirts or housecleaning/yardwork shirts. My 17yo son's school bans any tshirts with obscenity or alcohol or cigarettes, so he doesn't bother buying anything that he can't wear to school so keep that in mind. If someone can't wear it (not won't) then I'm sure they won't bother buying it.
Like linsayanng above, I also get offended when I see a really crude shirt when I'm out in a place where families go, but that is a personal thing, not business. If people will buy it, then someone will sell it I'm sure.
Annette
I appreciate everyones feedback and I will definitely check out T-shirt Hell to see just where I sit.
I have seen pretty bad shirts out on the market, I do not intend on getting too crude, I would think. My market is more like, I went through a bad divorce and hit a revenge streak and came up with quotes for shirts to get my point across.
haha.. i recently saw an x-wife bumper stick, but now i can NOT remember what it said.. it was funny though.. There are some, though, that just are plain annoying.. but again, there are PEOPLE that are plain annoying, and those people probably will buy a shirt like that
How Appropriate is Inappropriate? 
Re: How Appropriate is Inappropriate? 
