Elections are just around the corner. For Democrats, Republicans and others, voting season stirs up debate and controversy. In some situations, though, it is not a matter of political stance that has been the topic of heated debate, but rather an article of clothing.
Some may recall the infamous T-shirts made by VintageVantage, which were taken off the racks at Urban Outfitters clothing store in February. The shirts, which boldly stated “Voting is for Old People,” took heat from college students and adults alike.
“This shirt’s real intention is to sum up the current state of political affairs, pointing a finger at all who have been so apathetic in the past,” 25-year-old creator of the shirt John Foster-Keddie said.
Foster-Keddie, a Yale graduate who started his own T-shirt business in summer 2001, the year after he graduated college, has decided to combat the controversy. Because it was never his intention to discourage young people from voting, Foster-Keddie provided an offer on his Web site, www.vintagevantage.com, to send anyone a free “Voting is for Old People” T-shirt if they promised to wear it on voting day, take a photograph of themselves wearing it while voting and then send a picture to the company. Foster-Keddie plans to post the photographs on his Web site and may put them all into a book to be published in the future.
After around 600 free shirts had been sent out, the company started charging $9.50 per shirt to cover shipping and handling because giving away so many T-shirts for free was causing VintageVantage to lose a significant amount of money. The shirts originally cost $18.99 (not including shipping and handling). With the new price tag, Foster-Keddie said his company is not making any money but is at least not losing any more of it.
Unlike the negative response Foster-Keddie received in regards to his initial release of the “Voting” T-shirts, he seems to be receiving a much more pleasant response to his latest course of action.
“The response has been huge. We’ve sent out close to 1,000 shirts at this point. People love the idea. It’s a random, fun thing to do at the polls, and who doesn’t like free stuff?” Foster-Keddie said.
University interior architecture major Lena Hawthorne, said the new T-shirt idea is a bright one. Hawthorne said she could see how the T-shirts originally confused people, but she believes Foster-Keddie’s new idea is a good way to smooth over the problem and get across what he had aimed to in the first place.
“Since people have taken the shirt the wrong way, I think the idea to have people wear the shirt at the polls is a good way for him to prove the point he was trying to make in the first place,” Hawthorne said.
University international studies major Seth Davis also sees where Foster-Keddie is coming from.
“The shirt is intended to get young people to vote. Obviously, nobody really thinks that only old people should vote,” Davis said. “The shirt is not really encouraging young peoples’ voter apathy, but it is pointing out the voter apathy that does exist in younger generations that needs to be addressed.”
Despite the publicity and discussion the “Voting” T-shirt caused, and all of the heat Foster-Keddie, his company and Urban Outfitters took for providing them, Foster-Keddie is not going to be more cautious about the T-shirts he will produce in the future.
“We definitely haven’t changed at all. We’re constantly looking for ideas that are witty, irreverent and that make people think. That’s what the voting shirt was all about, and that’s what our shirts have continued to be about,” Foster-Keddie said.

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