Make Love Not War

When it comes down to it, there are two kinds of people. People who are in favor of war and people who aren't. I am 1000% behind any solider who puts his or her life on the line in order to protect the rest of us and our country. That being said I am also 1000% against wars existing to begin with. This is not a social/political piece and I have no place talking about any of this but I just needed to justify buying this shirt and making it clear I support what it stands for.

I've used this shirt before in some of my other posts and at first glance, it seems like any old logo tee made perfect for a college student, or maybe for a very proud American because of the color scheme. When I brought it up to the counter to purchase my said t-shirt at my official thrift station, Buffalo Exchange, not only did I get my fabulous finds and great service from the sweetheart ringing me up, but I also got a brief history lesson based on the slogan printed on the shirt. 'Draft beer, not people' reads loud and clear across the chest of this simple yet paramount tee. As my cashier rang me up she smiled knowingly at the shirt and told me she used to have one when they were first sold in Urban Outfitters in the early 2000s. Then she told me it was a kind of movement, especially among teenagers, that was going on while George W. Bush Jr. was in office. Naturally I slapped the slogan into Google when I got home and found barely anything about what the girl had been talking about. No news articles, no videos of protesting teens. I did happen to notice the slogan was altered from t-shirt to t-shirt, some saying 'students' instead of 'people'. Which amazed me even more. This was a clearly controversial movement because of the obvious subject matter but also because this was something that seemed to only be popular around young people and students who shouldn't technically be drinking to begin with. These are young people who have no immediate control over what was going on overseas because they are so young but still manage to understand that underage drinking (which is usually taken care of immediately at colleges or in other situations of underage drinking) is less important of an issue than innocent lives being taken because of wars. It should be a simple decision for people in charge to prevent any kind of war before things get bad but underage drinking is stomped out immediately anywhere it is uncovered. 

So sorry I just got much more carried away than I had planned but at least now if you ever come across a shirt like this you'll have something to think about and can wonder who and where it came from. The naturally beautiful Taylor Attea modeled for me today and hopefully I did this small piece of history justice in dressing it up and down the way I did. Taylor certainly rocks it

shirt: buffalo exchange
skirt: topshop
sneaks: converse 
lipstick: riri woo by mac
headband:topshop 

Lipstick that red could make anyone smile, especially with an American themed outfit (my personal favorite style theme)

necklace: kohl's

shorts: vintage

plaid: target

tights: marshall's

shoes: target

bracelets: forever xxi & h&m

Here is a more subtle (and less American) way to wear the shirt

sweater: aeropostale

leggings: t.j.maxx

shoes: lower east side @ payless

I apologize if you hate me for this super long/super politically charged post but just give it a second thought next time you see or hear about something like this. The truth is we all can and will make change in the world, we just have to decide what kind of change it will be.

- nali xo