Red Rooster 🐓

  I so enjoy collecting things to wear in random, unexpected places. Jewelry sold on the street, a hat at a garage sale, and in this case a t shirt at a restaurant. Not a cheesy, mass produced t shirt about the establishment (though the right one can be ironically cool), but a hand painted t shirt sold by the artist in a corner near the entrance. If you’ve ever been to the Red Rooster in Harlem then perhaps you know what I’m referring to.

I met a friend for drinks there a few months ago and immediately spotted this dope array of hand painted stuff. What caught my eye amongst all the fun visuals to take in, was this rack with these amazing aprons. I actually have an apron collection that I love and use. I hope my girls wear them one day. All of my girlfriends are terrific cooks but none of them really wear aprons. They get a kick out of always seeing me in one. What would I wipe my hands on?? I debated on whether to buy a shirt or apron. My friend correctly stated, “you have enough aprons” so I went with the t shirt. I probably have a thousand more t shirts then aprons at home, but his advice made sense at the time and it was the right move for a couple reasons. The shirt is painted with the image of a rooster, a cool nod to the spot. I also really like the symbolism of a rooster, which is essentially “wake the F up!!”. I’m thinking of cutting off one sleeve, the one without paint. I’ve never tried that before, usually I hack both off since I love the cut of a muscle T. But I think the asymmetry could look very cool. The hat here is 18 years old. I have a good straw fedora collection too. The denim cutoffs are from Target. See? Random is good. Collect, combine, curate, and create.