T-shirts that bring literature off the bookshelf and onto your back

Do you have a favorite book?

A book that changed your life, one that has stayed with you,

one that shifted the way you think, or gave you a bit of courage.

This time, we'd like to introduce T-shirts that let you enjoy the sensation

of "wearing" that book everyone has, the one that holds a special place in their memory.

That's the kind of T-shirt we're introducing today.

This time, we're introducing OUT OF PRINT.

It's a brand known for its popular T-shirts printed with the cover designs of novels.

OUT OF PRINT was born in Brooklyn, New York.

Founded as a T-shirt brand by Todd Lawton and Jeff LeBlanc,

the idea began with a simple thought: just as sports fans or fans of a superstar

have T-shirts designed to let them show their passion,

shouldn't book lovers also have T-shirts designed around their favorite books?

Everyone has a book that holds special memories for them, even if it's not something

they carry around with them through life. But a T-shirt can be worn anytime, anywhere, no matter how much time has passed.

What's more, rather than simply making and selling T-shirts,

they've also launched a project that donates one book to underprivileged

regions in Africa for every T-shirt sold.

Ernest Miller Hemingway

was born in Illinois, USA (present-day Chicago), the eldest son among six children,

to a father who was a physician and a mother who was a former vocalist.

Known as a man of action among writers, after World War I he worked

as a freelance reporter in Toronto, Canada, before later beginning to write novels.

His distinctive, spare style is said to have had an enormous influence on how people of the 20th century lived their lives.

With representative works such as "The Sun Also Rises," "For Whom the Bell Tolls," and "A Farewell to Arms,"

he received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1954 for "The Old Man and the Sea," published in 1952.

However, that same year he was involved in two plane crashes, and he suffered from the aftereffects for the rest of his life.

◆Synopsis

"The Old Man and the Sea" tells the story of an old fisherman named Santiago who lives by the sea in Cuba,

and his fierce four-day battle with a giant marlin measuring a full 18 feet (about 5.5 meters) in length

depicting the harsh natural world and the human beings who live within it.

The old fisherman Santiago has gone 84 days without a catch.

He once had a boy as his helper, but at his parents' orders,

the boy went to help on another boat, leaving Santiago to face the sea alone.

Still, the boy, who has looked up to Santiago as a mentor since childhood,

worries about him in various ways and brings food to his shack.

Santiago speaks amiably even with the other fishermen who talk to him

as if pitying his bad luck,

and though his body is gaunt and his skin marked with brown spots of age,

an indomitable spirit seems to blaze deep within his eyes.

On the 85th day, Santiago goes out to fish alone once again,

and encounters a terrifyingly enormous marlin unlike anything he has ever experienced.

Through his solitary battle with this marlin, Santiago gradually comes to feel a deep connection with it.

He is my brother. But I must kill him and keep strong to do it. 

"He is my brother. But I must kill him."

After winning the four-day battle to the death,

Santiago is soon attacked by a swarm of sharks drawn by the scent of blood,

and the marlin he caught is ultimately reduced to nothing but bones.

This is a classic of American literature with an unshakable place in the canon, seasoned by the depiction of a human being fighting desperately to survive in harsh nature, along with the dreams that visit Santiago from time to time.

This T-shirt depicts that weathered port town and the deep, majestic sea where Santiago and the marlin wage their fight to the death.

The print is striking and intellectual in feel.

With its skin-friendly brown base, this T-shirt pairs well with any bottoms.

Ralph Ellison

was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, the elder of two brothers.

While in college, he became absorbed in reading American literature,

and was especially moved by T. S. Eliot's poem "The Waste Land,"

which led him to want to write about the everyday lives of African Americans like himself.

After graduating from college and serving in World War II,

he made a living writing book reviews while publishing "Invisible Man" in 1952.

The novel won the National Book Award and is recognized as a masterpiece of postwar American fiction.

◆Synopsis

Told in the first person by its protagonist, this is a story of self-discovery as a Black man.

With a young Black man living in the ruins of Harlem, New York as its protagonist,

the work takes as its theme the social problems faced simply for being Black in America.

The story is one in which the young protagonist establishes his identity

as an "Invisible Man,"

while simultaneously illuminating the structure of American racial discrimination at the time.

Because he is "Black," he gets caught up in an incident and is expelled from college,

later finds work but suffers a serious injury that causes him to lose his memory,

and even when he finally finds political activism he genuinely wants to pursue,

he realizes that he is only ever expected to play the role assigned to a Black man.

At one point, he gets caught up in a race riot in Harlem and falls into a manhole.

Living underground, the protagonist comes to see himself as an invisible man,

and the story ends with him pondering how he might finally climb out of this dark cellar.

The author, Ralph Ellison, drew on his own experience as an oppressed man,

crafting a story that vividly reflects and condemns the America of his time.

This T-shirt is a bold design centered on that Black young man.

His face, lit only by a faint glow in the darkness,

seems at once to be reaching for the hope of escaping underground life,

and to carry the tragic sense that this hope will never be fulfilled.

With a design reminiscent of an old movie pamphlet, this shirt makes a striking

impact all on its own, and you'll enjoy figuring out how to style it with your clothes.

Margaret Munnerlyn Mitchell:

an American novelist known for her sweeping novel Gone with the Wind.

Born in Atlanta, Georgia—the very setting of her novel—

she aspired to study medicine and enrolled at a university in Massachusetts, but her mother's death

forced her to return to Atlanta, where she began writing for a Sunday newspaper column.

She is said to have begun writing Gone with the Wind around 1926,

while recovering from an injury to her leg.

The novel, which took her several years to complete, was never actively submitted to publishers

and remained unseen by the world—until 1935, when

Howard Latham, an editor at Macmillan Publishing who was searching the South for promising writers,

happened to visit her and fell in love with the raw yet vibrant story he found,

leading to its eventual publication.

In the end, she died in an accident at the young age of 48,

but the great novel she wrote in her lifetime continues to be loved to this day.

◆Synopsis

The year is 1861, just before the outbreak of the Civil War.

Scarlett O'Hara, the protagonist and daughter of the O'Hara family, wealthy landowners of Tara, Georgia,

possesses a fiery temperament and great beauty, making her the object of admiration for many young men.

She is in love with Ashley, her childhood friend and heir to the Wilkes family, fellow major landowners.

Born into this aristocratic society and utterly convinced she will be united with the man she loves,

Scarlett's way of living is portrayed through love, marriage, family, life and death, and war, in this epic novel.

Following the prose, which unfolds almost like a drama,

feels like living through a woman's entire life vicariously.

The final line of this book is left to the sensibility of each reader who finishes it.

Scarlett O'Hara, surrounded by men in a garden.

The design features the opening passage of the novel,

which also appeared on the cover of the first edition.

The classic design, evoking the time of its original release, is quite charming.

Herman Melville: an American novelist.

Born the third son of a wealthy import merchant in New York,

he saw the family's fortunes gradually decline, and his father died leaving behind substantial debts.

He worked as a bank clerk and a teacher, but as his financial situation grew dire,

he became a sailor through his brother's introduction.

In 1840, he joined the crew of the whaling ship Acushnet,

experiencing a turbulent voyage that would go on to influence his later work.

Later, once his circumstances had improved somewhat, Herman sought to make his living as a writer

and turned to the sea novels that were popular at the time.

Moby-Dick was published in 1851, but it was not well received,

and he is said to have never been able to support himself through writing during his lifetime.

◆Synopsis

In 1814, in New Bedford, Massachusetts—then the center of the North American whaling industry—

a young man named Ishmael arrives, drawn by a longing for the sea.

He is hired as a crew member on the aging whaling ship Pequod.

Its captain, Ahab, whose ivory leg made of whalebone taps ominously as he walks and whose face bears a deep scar,

had lost a leg to a white whale known as Moby Dick,

and ever since has desired nothing but revenge.

Unaware of any of this, the rough crew who have boarded the ship,

along with Captain Ahab, encounter the white whale, and the story tells of their fierce, repeated battles.

The author, a former whaler with deep knowledge of whales,

brings a detailed richness of description that is one of the great pleasures of this novel.

The T-shirt's design depicts the white whale looming up massively out of the night sea.

Just from the tail fin alone, the design conveys a sense of the whale's enormous size.

This is a shirt to pick up while imagining the fierce battle that unfolded.

The OUT OF PRINT T-shirts come in unisex sizing, available in S and M.

For women, size S fits snugly, while size M gives a bigger, more relaxed silhouette.

For men, as a general guide, size S is recommended for wearing under a jacket or cardigan, and size M for wearing on its own.

Please choose according to your preference.

Female model is 166cm tall, wearing size M

Since the body and sleeve lengths are longer to begin with, being an overseas size, choosing size M lets the print appear larger.

Rolling up the sleeves and tucking in the hem creates a big silhouette with a feminine feel.

Female model is 165cm tall, wearing size S

For relaxed, wide-leg pants, pair them with the S size.

Keeping the top and bottom in similar shades helps pull the whole look together.

T-shirts are the kind of item you can wear without a second thought, but precisely because they get so much use,

there are a few things to watch out for, like fading, loss of shape, and peeling prints.

・Check for stains before washing

Taking one extra step before tossing your shirt into the washing machine matters. If there's a stain,

gently dab-wash just that spot or work some detergent into it.

・Wash it turned inside out and folded

To prevent the print from peeling and to keep the front of the shirt from fading,

turn the T-shirt inside out, fold it, and place it in a laundry net.

Ideally, use one net per shirt. This improves washing effectiveness and

helps prevent tangling with other clothes inside the net.

・To prevent color transfer

Sort your laundry by color (whites, colors, and so on) and wash them separately, or

use a store-bought color-catching sheet in the wash for peace of mind.

・Pay attention to how you dry it, too

The weight of the shirt can cause stretching and distortion, so drying it flat is recommended whenever possible.

If you do use a hanger, choose one whose shoulder width matches the T-shirt.

If the shoulders keep slipping off the hanger,

wrap a rubber band or towel around the spots where it slips

to make a simple stopper before hanging it up to dry.

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