Sitting Around in a Twilight T-shirt Wearing a Star Wars helmet on my head

I'm fond of posting this picture whenever I make the assertion that I'm Not a Nerd: 

I bought this Twilight: New Moon t-shirt at a thrift store; I just couldn't believe how awesomely awful it was, and so snatched it up immediately. I've worn it only once, upon the occasion here depicted; I went over to a friend's house for a BBQ, thinking only folks I already knew were going to be there and that they would think the shirt Immensely Funny. 


Then some people I didn't know showed up. 






Plus, no one really thought the shirt was that funny. 


All the other girls showed up in Adorably Cute Dresses; in fact, two of my friends wore the same adorable dress. 


Thus, I spent the whole evening saying "Sorry about the shirt! It's a joke!" And everyone kept side-eyeing me. 


Finally, I decided the only solution was simply to grab the host's stormtrooper helmet and put it on my head. 


Hence, the photo. 


So, it's taken me awhile, but I've realized that I really shouldn't buy ironic t-shirts at thrift stores. It's never, never worth it. Some people have the chutzpah to pull it off -- I don't. 


Still, I love the above image because it's both an exaggeration (I'd never willingly wear such a shirt or purchase a Star Wars novelty item, for that matter)...And it's also got a grain of truth to it (cough, cough), in that I'm proudly prone to nerdy fangirlitis. 


And you know what? I'll defend the first Twilight movie any day: I loved Catherine Hardwicke's direction and the soundtrack included this Radiohead song from In Rainbows (to be fair, New Moon featured Thom Yorke and this song -- amazing). But those exceptions aside, I'm not particularly on board with the Twilight franchise or what it represents. 


But man, those Twilight t-shirts I constantly see at thrift stores make me laugh. They're so earnest and odd and love-able. And lately I've been doing a series for Hello Giggles on weird thrift store finds, so that's kind of what I'm all about. Stuff that you both sort of laugh at and and sort of love. 


Still, are such things worth buying? Almost always, no. 


So, when I saw this shirt on a thrifting trip with Bad Cholla, I exercised GREAT RESTRAINT and didn't buy it. Instead, I just had her take a photo of me, which is all the shirt is really good for, anyway. If I'd bought it, it would have languished in a drawer with Full Length New Moon Edward. 


I call this photo: Counterpoint