Tourist personalised T-shirts and souvenirs, in general, have a bad reputation and for good reason. It only takes one trip to any major city centre to find cringe-inducing shops in every corner. You know the kind: Cheap materials, bad puns and offensive stereotypes.
One of the (many) problems with these kinds of garments is that they look out of place pretty much everywhere else. That ‘Party Crew’ T-shirt might look cute on the streets of Mallorca (it doesn’t but at least it’s relevant) but once you come back to the UK, it would be the last thing you’d want to be caught wearing during your daily commute. Which is why there are some people out there who have taken the noble cause to elevate the tourist T-shirt and make it somewhat wearable.
Check out some of the biggest T-shirt printing fails here.
Taking into account the list of most popular countries Brits like to visit during their holidays published on The Guardian, we’ve put together some of the best tourist T-shirts we were able to find.
So grab a cold glass of Sangria and enjoy the following post.
Warsaw, Poland
Via Etsy. For the 10th position, we’ve picked this T-shirt which represents the Palace of Culture and Science in Warsaw. We like in particular the detail of bird perched on the building.
Athens, Greece
Via Chivalric Tees. Greece is mostly known for its beautiful islands and ancient history, which is why they often make reference to it on their souvenirs. For this list, we selected the blue T-shirt with the print of the owl. For those who don’t know, the owl was one of the symbols of the goddess Athena which is whom the city is named after. You’re welcome.
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Via Holland Giftshop. Amsterdam is considered by many the unofficial capital of the bicycle. If you’ve never been, then you’re in luck because it means you haven’t seen your life flash before your eyes as a Dutchman nearly runs you over and cusses as he drives away. Then again, if you know where the bike lane is at all times then you should be fine.
Anyway, we thought this T-shirt was smart because it not only avoided the cheesy graphics but also used a very minimalistic design.
Berlin, Germany
Via Souvenir Shop Berlin. The bear is the official mascot of Berlin which is why it can be found in lots of its memorabilia. In this T-shirt, it’s more subtle thanks to the fact that we only see the outline. Also, the skyline at the bottom hem is a nice touch.
Lisbon, Portugal
Via Lisboa Cool. Typographia is a project that offers high-quality design made by designers from all over the world. They have shops in different cities but we’re highlighting the one in Lisboa because of this typographic T-shirt.
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New York City, USA
Via Etsy. The US is such a big country with so many extraordinary cities that it was hard to pick just one. In the end, we had to go with the most iconic which is, of course, New York City. What we like about this design is that it blends the timeless art deco architecture of the Big Apple with a more contemporary design.
Dublin, Ireland
Via ebay. While this design is not groundbreaking by any means, we believe it works for that very same reason. The fonts are simple and arranged in a classic way in front of a green (duh) background but it’s not the typical leprechaun green but a more subdued, easy-on-the-eyes tone.
Rome, Italy
Via Cafe Press. This one may go over some people’s heads but that is exactly why we like it. You don’t need to put the name of a city or country in order to reference a place. An iconic and less obvious reference can do just as well.
Paris, France
Via J. Crew. Try to look for a Paris T-shirt that doesn’t include the Eiffel Tower. Come on, I dare you. While including the most stereotypical symbols of the French capital, this is one of those rare cases where it was done well. Personally, I think that the naive illustrations make for a cute T-shirt.
Barcelona, Spain
Via Art Gaudí. It comes as no surprise to anyone that Spain is the number one international destination for Brits. And it is no wonder why, the country has got great weather, stunning beaches, good food and beautiful cities with lots to offer. For this list, we’ve included a black T-shirt which has illustrations of some of the most classic elements from Barcelona.
Have you seen any tourist T-shirt that should be added to this list? Then, please let us know in the comments below. In the meantime, keep reading the Printsome blog for more awesome content.
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