Begin

So it begins. In case you care to find out what a personal collection of shirts looks like or can mean the Free Shirt Archive exists. If not, nevermind.

Acquisition

The Camel {Smooth Character} shirt is the first instance, in my memory, of a shirt being provided to me at zero cost, under zero obligation, with zero effort that I then chose to accept and wear. Donor Aunt Barb* shipped a big box of stuff to my parents. Within this box was a random assortment of stuff including two copies of this shirt. The only other thing that I remember being in the box was a burgundy-colored cassette ⇒ player that I commandeered.

Only Smooth Matters

Camel ⇒ is a brand of pre-rolled cigarettes that is ultimately owned by British American Tobacco ⇒. This brand utilizes a blend of Turkish and American tobaccos to mimic Egyptian-style cigarettes ⇒ that were en vogue during the early Twentieth Century.

Old Joe Camel ⇒ is featured smoking a cigarette on the back of this shirt. Beyond the neon light palm trees that we see here, Old Joe was shown in other cosmopolitan settings with other camel friends ⇒ whose faces were not quite as phallus-shaped as his ⇒. His success with the kids ⇒ would ultimately doom his survival as mascot ⇒.

Clear The Air

Let me be clear that I was given a talking to about not smoking by my parents before I was only allowed to wear this shirt inside of my parents’ home until I grew up a little bit. Throughout my childhood, teachable moments were not missed.

Neither the wearing of this shirt nor the creation of any shirt dossier is to be construed as endorsement. I view this project to be more about me coming to terms with a number of things; one of which is the consequences of unbridled advertising upon society.

Start Smoking

Even though I owned this cool shirt, I never started smoking due to a lack of interest. Foremost, I am cheap. I also saw that the smokers I knew do not get much of any stimulation from their costly habit.

That stated, I do not care if other people smoke. Rare as we are, I am among the subset of non-smokers that truly do not care if other people do. After becoming used to it, the smell neither attracts nor repels me.