This Instagram Account Tracks Beijing's Sassiest T-Shirts

By Dominique Wong, October 21, 2016

The end of summer saw the creation of ‘tshirtsofbeijing,’ an Instagram feed dedicated to the city’s colorful T-shirts and their slogans. The tongue-in-cheek account soon collected hundreds of followers (at the time of writing, over 800) and has since expanded its reach with a Twitter account.

The founder and curator of the feed, who asked to remain anonymous for professional reasons, decided to create the account after spotting a particularly poignant T-shirt. “One day I saw one that said ‘don’t cry, say fuck you and smile’ (pictured above). I thought it was so good that I actually chased the lady down the street and asked her for the photo.

Image by @dommyw

Image by Adrienne Erickson

Image by @sanverde

“I had thought about making an account for ages and have been taking photos of funny T-shirts for years. I started telling friends who had some on their phones.”

Indeed, the city is full of amusing T-shirts – you’d be hard pressed to not find one anytime you leave the house – but this summer in particular, sightings were prolific.

“I’ve been here for four years and in the last year there was definitely an explosion of them. It’s a trend.”

Image by @gaurie203

However, speculation is rife on where the trend originated from, the founder says.

“There have been conspiracy theories since I started the project. Like, is there some master puppet maker who sends out all these T-shirts with these crazy slogans on them?”

Unlikely, but an entertaining theory nonetheless. The feed itself is great entertainment, featuring a rabble of witty and moving statements ranging from “SICK AND TIRED” to “IF I AM GUILTY I WILL PAY.”

The founder is selective when choosing which submissions to feature. “They don’t necessarily have to be funny, just heartwarming or interesting. It’s moved beyond [Chinglish]. I don’t want the project to make fun of people or be in that sort of spirit, it’s just about enjoying and celebrating the sass – Beijing sass. Beijing locals have a fun, expressive sense of fashion.”

Another highlight is the community. “It’s given me the chance to get in contact with people I don’t talk to very often. And it is collaborative because I ask people to submit their own photos.”

“I really want people to contribute – that’s the most important thing.”