As you may have noticed, we try to keep up-to-date with the latest trends in the constantly unfolding universe of t-shirts. Apparently, electronic music guru and animal rights activist Moby is a fellow t-shirt conoisseur. He's holding a contest on Threadless.com where artists can submit their designs to win $2,000, a $500 Threadless.com gift certificate, a turntable, a bunch of memorabilia.

Submissions are supposed to be inspired by Moby's new album Last Night, but that's pretty wide open. We recommend a design that relates to the Disco Lies video. There's almost nothing as visually powerful as a chicken eating Col. Sanders -- just a thought. Although it doesn't say specifically, we assume that the winning design will be sold at upcoming concerts. It will definitely be sold on Threadless and you get $500 each time your design is re-printed.

[via PopCandy]

As we covered last week, an ironic/kitsch t-shirt is an essential part of any geek chic ensemble. Although the line between "hipster" and "geek chic" is admittedly blurry (and for guys especially, there is tons of overlap), the best geek shirts are a little more specialized than your standard vintage logo tee. Think vintage computer software company logo tee.

Below are five of my favorite online shops to find geek chic shirts for both men and women (it is significantly harder to find great "geek chic" shirts for girls). Have a favorite geek chic t-shirt shop? Leave your suggestions in the comments!

The Stores:

• Threadless.com
• Jinx.com
• 80stees.com
• Insanelygreattees.com
• ThinkGeek.com

Threadless has a reputation among t-shirt fans for putting out creative, quality products, so it should come as no surprise that they are currently featuring a handful of prints that instantly achieve the tag of classic. Simply put, they're awesome. No, I don't own stock in the company.

When I was a kid growing up in the 70's 80's I loved two things, plastic toys painted with lead and t-shirts that showcased my hip understanding of the current pop culture. Basically, I had a bunch of t-shirts that said "Shazbot!" and got beat up a lot.

Some things never change, although these days I only get beat up emotionally. Needless to say, when I came across the Make Love, Not War shirt I was immediately smitten. Yes, smitten. Who could possibly resist the nostalgia that is Rock'em, Sock'em? Who, besides the current administration, could refuse a message as powerful as "make love, not war?" Who doesn't like gay robots? This shirt is a win-win, er, win.

They have a great collection of images on their website. Some examples are included below. Enjoy.



[via GetANewShirt]

Every time a hipster puts on an ironic t-shirt fished out of an Urban Outfitters clearance bin, he or she is making a statement. And that statement is "Yes, I am fully confident that my inner coolness is enough to counter this hideous shirt, and the visual cacophony that it inflicts upon all who cross my path".

It's a loud and somewhat obnoxious statement, to be sure, but there is no indication that this trend will fade any time soon.

To be fair, it's not just hipsters. There are also the pierced heavy metal heads showing their supposed support of Phil Collins across their chests; the scrawny and pale-skinned inviting ladies to check out their gun show and/or pythons, and the girls proclaiming that they truly "heart" nerds when in reality, it's blatantly obvious that they're out of anyone and everyone's league. Anyone with an inflated sense of self-confidence can don one of these shirts and be on their merry way.

Wear your ironic t-shirts well, hipsters and all those brave enough to risk testing their cool mettle. There will come a day when you're too saggy and sad to pull off that little league shirt you picked up at Goodwill. This moment will come and it will strike you hard. All you will be able to do is sit to the side and watch the new generation of hipsters flourish and thrive in the ongoing trend of ironic wear.

There's nothing more tragic than the starving artist type (S.A.T.).

But the nice thing about S.A.T.'s is that they sometimes use their talents for good ends -- like designing cool t-shirts.

If you're the kind of guy or gal who loves t-shirts with hot design elements, you should check out Threadless T-shirts. Capitalizing on the willingness of S.A.T.'s to create awesome looks for practically peanuts, discriminating buyers can buy their own works of hip wearable art for $20.

Even though Threadless provides instant indie street cred to their consumers, the company also provides useful exposure and cold hard cash for those poor tragic, Starving Artist Types. It's a win-win situation.

Funky, irreverent and just plain fun are all terms that I would use to describe the shirts at Threadless. I 'm a huge fan of their user-submitted designs and, frankly, so is almost everyone I meet. Granted, they aren't always familiar with the company, but if the number of compliments I've received on some of the designs is any indication, there are people who would make their entire wardrobes from Threadless stuff if they could. Cowboys and Indians is one of their newest designs and it pretty much sums up the surrealist edge of their products. The shirt the design is printed on is bright orange and made by American Apparel.