Everybody has attitude
August 21, 1995
Are you sick of wearing Mossimo, No Fear and Nike T-shirts? The same ol’ same ol’, so to speak. Well, here’s your chance to jump on the next big thing: StickWorld.
Since it’s the start of a brand new school year and everybody and their mom is out shopping for new clothes, stop by your friendly StickWorld distributor and pick up some new tees.
StickWorld tees are sure to please with two ingredients: attitude and simplicity. “A lot of thought goes into giving it the right look, to give it the right attitude,” Mark Crittenden, president of StickWorld, said in a recent interview. “[The shirts] are set up to be an attitude thing.”
The T-shirts use a stick figure with a word to emphasis attitude. They range from “Tease,” “Girlfriend” and “Brat,” to “Groovy,” “Rebel” and “Grunge.” Just about something for everybody. But not all of their designs have gone over well, Crittenden said.
“We had a whole line geared towards black Americans. We had people say they didn’t like that, but you’ll always find that.”
The San Diego-based company began creating this line about four years ago. Crittenden said, “It started out a sideline to another business. It just kind of took off.”
StickWorld does not cater to just one crowd, though. “We don’t try to be everything for everybody,” Crittenden said. “We geared it towards 12- to 25-year-olds, but that doesn’t mean someone younger or older won’t like it.”
Tees are not the only thing that StickWorld has up their sleeve (pardon the pun). They have sweatshirts, baseball caps, ties, boxer shorts and even beach towels. “We’re coming out with coffee mugs soon,” Crittenden added.
Not only is StickWorld expanding into the decaf department, but they also plan to explore college life, at least the backs of college life. “We’re coming out with a smaller backpack with two straps and a larger one-strap called the Backfack.”
With the newfound success of StickWorld, department stores are looking into this line of clothing. “Last July, JCPenney called us and wanted [to put the shirts in their store], and they started to sell,” Crittenden said. “We’re now going into other stores; we have no reason to feel we won’t do well.”
Crittenden added that he feels the success of StickWorld lies in the lines. “It’s probably because of the simplicity and attitude.
“It’s a personal thing: you walk in and see a shirt and pick it to fit yourself, or you might come in and say, ‘This is perfect for my sister. She’s a real brat.'”
Mainly, Crittenden sees these shirts bringing people together.
“They cause you to interact. If you put on a ‘Dude’ shirt and walk into a store, people will call you Dude.”
So, if you want to interact with a crowd and show some attitude, go to JCPenney and pick up on the newest craze before MTV jumps on it and puts it in “stress rotation.”