Design the perfect T-shirt for an Irish summer

The Irish Timesasked a few creative folk to come up with new designs for that old summer staple: the T-shirt. Here's what they dreamed up . . .

AH, THE T-SHIRT. The forgotten fashion fix. It is all too often served as a side dish to the main course of denim or silk, a backdrop against which to pitch The Outfit.

Underappreciated as it may be, the T-shirt, come the Irish summer, becomes our daily bread. Under a dress or over a string vest for women, while for men, there really is no other casual attire.

With that in mind, we asked several people – creative advertising agency heads, designers, photographers, a 2FM DJ – to come up with their idea of the ideal T-shirt for an Irish summer.

The possibilities were endless.

Some chose to interpret this in a humorous fashion. “Irish summer?” they asked. “What Irish summer?”

For others, it was an opportunity to make a statement of the political kind. It would be, with a little help from Jim Larkin, said Counter Propaganda’s Fergal Swan, the summer of discontent.

For 2FM’s Jenny Huston, the ideal Irish T-shirt must come with a little rainproofing, in the form of a hood; for Blanaid Hennessy of Kilkenny photography studio Shutterbug, it was an opportunity to be artistic, channelling the popular wolf design of the 1980s (which had a resurgence in popularity last year) and giving it an Irish slant by incorporating the archetypal cap.

Artist John O’Reilly’s thinking was plain, simple and something we can all identify with – it’s sunny! Let’s skip off work, go for a swim and come up with a really good excuse: “I won’t be in today, I’m not feeling too well.”

1 HAIRY BABY

T-shirt company

“We think it sums up an Irish summer

2 SHUTTERBUG

Photography, media and interior`styling studio

“Thought process behind it . . . well . . . I can’t think of anything better than a wolf with a pipe. And a moustache,” writes Blanaid Hennessy.

3 COUNTER PROPAGANDA

Clothing label

“The central figure is Jim Larkin, the Irish trade unionist and social activist, with the words ‘let us rise’ which are part of the inscription on his statue in O’ Connell Street. “The full quote is: ‘The great appear great because we are on our knees: Let us rise,’ which is attributed to a French journalist, politician and revolutionary, Camille Desmoulins.

“While I don’t think the great have appeared too great for a long time, I certainly feel there is a definite mood of change in the air at the moment and the apathy of the so-called ‘boom years’ is fading away . . . so I hope you like the Counter Propaganda submission,” says chief designer Fergal Swan.

4 JOHN O’REILLY

Graffiti artist, tag JOR

“I kept it very simple. Hope you like it.”

5-7 BLOOM

Advertising agency

Creative director David Quinn writes: “Each design is drawn from a unique aspect of the Irish summer: the low temperatures (5) and the battle of the elements (6 & 7).

8-10 ROTHCO

Advertising agency

All of these are by Heather, Fionan and Paul at Marc, Rothco’s in-house sales promotion agency. “Every summer the weather plays fun little games with us, changing its mind every few minutes, and for every bad spell we have we always get a little visit from mister sun (9).”

“Eating ice-cream in Ireland (10) on a summer’s day is a risky game to play. Eating it tempts the dark clouds to roll in and rain on our ice-cream.”

“The heralding of summer to me was when the urban kids would take to the canals (11). It’s like the dolphins-swimming-of-the-south-coast theory: it meant a good summer was going to be had by all.”

11 JENNY HUSTON

2FM DJ

“Our wonderful island has the most changeable weather I have ever witnessed in the summer: sun beaming all morning and then as you walk out of your house, the skies open and you are wishing you had an umbrella (or at least a hood). That is why I think the ultimate Irish T-shirt is a hooded tank top. It is ideal for our summer music festivals, trendy, unisex and practical. Forest green is the colour for pale Irish skin – it suits everyone. I like the ideal of a long, racer-back cotton tank that can be worn over skinny jeans.”

VOTE FOR YOUR FAVOURITE T-SHIRT AND BE IN WITH A CHANCE TO WIN

Vote for your favourite T-shirt by emailing tshirt@irishtimes.com with your name, address, phone number and the number of your favourite design. Fifty voters will each receive a free printed T-shirt carrying one of these designs, courtesy of The Irish Times and Cork-based T-shirt company Hairy Baby.