Sociology, semiotics, and a number of other disciplines teach us that what we look like, how we act, and whatever other signs we as humans are sending define us as individuals.
One of the more obvious ways of doing so is wearing particular clothing. Something baggy or loose-fitting definitely sends a drastically different message than formal, straight-line attire. Heck, even two hoodies might mean different things if one’s a black affair with an old school rock band’s logo as opposed to a pink hoodie with some #justgirlthings poetry.
But what the following fashion statements in the form of badly-designed clothing might mean in general—I mean, your guess is as good as mine.
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Thanks To This Woman’s Amazon Review I Promptly Removed This Dress From My Cart
My Girlfriend's Peepi Socks Finally Arrived
My Dad Found A Face As The Pocket Of His Pepperoni Pizza Pants
It’s a bit hard to explain how design can be bad. Much of it boils down to taste, and you can’t really argue over it. Well, OK, you can, but you ultimately need an objective frame of reference to argue taste. And that demands loads of time on your part to get educated as to what fine art is and is a whole complex story that you can rabbit-hole yourself into by reading an article we wrote about great execution but poor taste.
This ~$960 Bag Which Looks Like There's Mold On It
Tie-Dye Design Hoody Just Looks Like Grease Splashes
Not Very Well Thought Through If You Ask Me
Anywho, in terms of more technical aspects of the execution, bad design becomes more easy to identify. The most obvious one would be misspellings or mislabeled (or even misinterpreted) designs. Think AIDS sneakers, Google Slides slippers, or Captain A’Mario. Here, you can immediately see that something is off—either it’s an allusion to something real or a sad attempt at alluding to something that just makes zero sense thematically.
Heavy Pants
Best Nike Off-Brand Ever
Condensation For Days
Then there’s an artistic decision made that didn’t really translate well onto the fabric. Someone might have wanted a unique, scattered pattern on this bag over here, but the end result looked like the bag spent three months in a plastic bag, soaking in all the fungus from a loaf of bread someone decided to put in there as well. Same with stain marks on this hoodie—someone might’ve wanted a grease-monkey mechanic’s look, but ended up looking like someone hit the gym in a repair shop.
Sup[er]h[er]oes
Michael Jackson Backpack
My New Ugly Sweater
And then there’s just flat out not thinking it through. Imagine creating a perfectly logical design only to add an element that negates it completely. Thinking outside the box when the box is enough to think inside it is a great example. Or highlighting letters to make a point only to accidentally highlight other letters that make another point.
The Brand Name Of My Daughter's Shirt
Its-A Me, Captain America
Found This Bootleg At My Local Thrift Store
So, why is this a thing in the first place? Minus a lack of talent and aptitude for design, there’s a bit of a misconception about misspelled trademarks in that they don’t really avoid a lawsuit. One lawyer argued that even if a trademark is misspelled, the actual brand might have the power to take it down. If the design is too similar to the original one, it doesn't matter if it’s for a product for a different industry, the whole idea behind them is to distinguish itself and cause less confusion for customers. Besides, you can never know if YouTube will one day want to branch out into tubs and bathroom accessories with a brand like YouTub.
Wanted To Buy Some Brand Name Flip-Flops But My Wallet Was Like
Think Inside The Box First
They already had three in a row, I mean...you'd think they'd check 🤷
The North Face Who?
And if we’re talking about trademark infringements, there are those who also avoid it by creating very believable fakes. Why? Because the final price tag is significantly lower than that of the original. Of course, it also comes with its own issues, like lack of quality in the materials and how it’s executed. But if you’re strapped for cash and still want to impress your friends with designer clothes, this is a reality.
Can't Really Wear My Favorite Death Metal Shirt In Good Faith Anymore
$600 Balenciaga Shoes Spotted On The Subway
Ham Socks
Incidentally, when we think of bootleg products, the culprit is often China. China is the biggest manufacturer of products in the world. And so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that nearly two-thirds—63.2%—of all counterfeit seizures in the world are done in China.
China is home to a lot of skilled workers who can copy and make designs with little effort. And the country’s policies against counterfeits have enough loopholes to make the industry thrive through sneaky channels and open-air wholesale markets.
Instead Of A Printed Sweater I Received A Sweater With A Print Of Printed Sweater
Lies
Beautiful
But there’s also the issue of luxury companies diminishing in quality, slowly but surely becoming generic versions of otherwise expensive brands. And so when the Regular Joe can’t really distinguish between the quality of the fake and the real product—or the difference is minuscule—they end up going with the cheaper option.
And then there’s stories like that of Dapper Dan, forcing folks to at least consider for a second how bootlegs might be a necessary evil in progressing fashion.
I’ve Never Seen A Pair Of Dress Shoes With Split Toes
These are a take on Japanese tabi socks/tabi boots. Literally listed as "men's tabi dress shoes". And yes, they make tabi dress shoes for women. Considering that is based on a cultural item many people may not be familiar with, I'm not sure it's a "fashion fail", just a cultural misunderstanding.
When you have a fancy dinner at 7 but need to assassinate the shogun at 8.
These would be great for people with bunions. Holds the big toe straight.
Omg besides being the worst ever for a shoe do you really think peoples toes Are that long
WOah goat shoes :0 , having a goat fursona i can safely say these are cool... where do i get them?
They are made by Martin Margiela. I have several pairs. Super comfortable.
Load More Replies...Believe it or not, these shoes are trending in the fashion world right now.
Have been trending since Margiela launched this style in the late 1980's
Load More Replies...They Went Through All The Effort To Add A Working Zipper, But Not Functional Pockets
I just stopped buying clothes without pockets, even if it's the most wonderful, well fitting piece of fabric!
I Saw This Backpack That Looks Like A McDonald's Bag
Long story short, Dapper Dan is a Harlem fashion designer who, back in 1982, opened up a boutique that offered the look and feel of high-end brands like Gucci and Louis Vuitton, but adapted them to new monogram designs—designs that folks wanted, but these bigger brands didn’t deal in them. Decades later, this became a staple for other designers to reference, thus creating a new kind of fashion.
Found In Kurdistan
Backpack Shoe
The Amazing Tarantula
And, as is also in good fashion, we’d love to hear from you about anything and everything you read here today in the comment section below.
And if you need another design fail fix, look no further than this epic and hilarious design fail listicle brought to you by the Design Failures Instagram page.
Blursed Slides
My Girlfriend’s Expensive Jeans That Came With Fake Pockets. Can’t Even Return Them Now
Tie-Dye Socks That Look Like Someone Used Them As A Toilet Paper
Shrek 2
My Friend Ordered Herself Some New Gloves From Ebay. These Monstrosities Arrived Yesterday
Ah Yes, Just Like How I Remember It
Like
These Jean Pants Are Upside Down
Totoro The Hedgehog
I Am Laughing So Hard I Can't Even
Complete With Hair And Sweat
I Was Startled At First Because I Didn’t Think It Was Possible
Got This New Hoodie And Everybody Has Asked Me Why I Am Wet And I Have To Tell Them It's Just The Design Of The Hoodie
My Friend Bought A Shirt From Her High School In Lone Grove Oklahoma. She Didn’t Try It On First
Happy New Year
Mockey
I Can't Even
The Design On My Girlfriend's Yoga Pants Makes It Look Like They're Covered In Fur
Nine: Consider Doing It
Air Force Juans
This Is Always Infuriating
These Unusual Pants I Saw At The Mall
I like them, ok shush I know I'll go and sit in the corner and think about my choices
Something The Grinch Would Sport When He’s Robbing All Your Christmas Gifts
That Design On My Son's T-Shirt
What Are You Trying To Say?
He's Had These Zumba Pants For A While. Hadn't Noticed
My Partner Told Me She Got Me Some Designer Socks
Odd that they got the label right, but screwed up the name and logo on the product. My Tarantula senses tell me something's not right here.
That's Not A Unicorn
that is, in fact, a pegasus. i remember this because of many years of correcting my dad when he got it wrong
Why Can't Women Get Pockets?
Why Does Tom On My Shirt Has 3 Eyes? Only Noticed It 4 Months After Buying It
So...everything else about this was fine to you? I love it For the tricloptic Tom
Mike
Wait, What?
Found These In The Same Store. I Just Can't Decide Which Should I Get
Live Your Never Give Life Is Up Boring Time?
Hope This Asus Jeans I Bought You, Fit You Well
Anyone Knows What Sport Is This?
Brand New Shoes With Their Own Shoelaces
It's Called Fashion, Sweetie. You Should Try It Sometime
for some reason, I almost think it COULD be cute. but it misses the mark
My Mom Bought This For Me
Death Grips
I met Zach Hill out front of a venue before he was about to do a solo show while Death Grips were touring here. He was off chops hard. I think he'd approve of this. Also, Pepper Pig and her family know their fate, yet continue to smile and get on with what life they have before it arrives....
Why Is The Horn There?
Found It In A Bazaar
New Adidas Sneakers
New Model Prototype Leaked?
We Have To Decode What The Shirt Says
What Does The Baby Keep In Its Pockets? Wrong Answers Only
Everything their mother needs, since she has no pockets of her own ;-))
What In The World Is This
I Don't Think Someone Thought This Through
This Piece Of Clothing That Looks Like It's Wet
My Kid Said Her Pants Were Too Big, So I Went To Tighten The Drawstring. It's Fake And Does Nothing
On the latest round of clothes-buying for my two-year-old, the kids’ pants at Walmart had a large and prominent sticker that said “FUNCTIONAL Drawstring!”…I'm assuming because they know they all do this sh!t to us all the time and it’s aggravating as hell.
Mario Great Rock
Jojo Siwa's Bizarre Adventure
Hey Now, You’re An All Star. Congrats
Morthy Mouse
Surer Mary
Iec Christmas Cle Holiday Sweatshirt
i can see the "christmas" part, but why are there so many extra letters?!
Found A Dino With Five Legs On My Kid's Shirt
It’s Supposed To Say Believe But The Only Letters You Can Really See Are Blee. As A Graphic Design Student This Infuriates Me
At least all of the letters are there, and in the right order. My standards have fallen whilst reading this article, haven't they
A Nike Sewing Error On A $100 Hoodie
I Am A Trigger Pukler
As Seen In Japan
I'm actually more intrigued about what's written on the packages above.
Found In Bulgaria
My "Facebuk" Flip-Flops
New TF2 Merch?
What Even
it looks like they just keysmashed as a placeholder and then forgot to fix it
These Shoes That I Saw On The Metro
looks like someone got inspired by the living ships from no man's sky game then 3D printed them qb2396kgjm...7a9e41.jpg
Happy Halloween Guys (This Is Supposed To Be Moon Knight)
"Ddidas"
Can I Have One Lombarghini
Found This T-Shirt At A Grocery Store
Got This As A Present 9 Years Ago. Still Cracks Me Up To This Day
No Idea What's Supposed To Be Written Here
Chinese manufacturers always add the word FASHION on goods, even electronics. So we don't forget how awful the product is.
Madrid On This Sweatshirt My Coworker Wears Often
Love I Ca Ts
"Oh No, We're Running Out Of Pants! We Only Have Nine Pants"
This Shirt
Aisada
He must have won it from being the 72nd person to order a Carne aisada burrito from Taco Bell!
Cute Purse But Doesn’t Stay Closed If I Have Stuff In It
Nike Got Some Competition
Most are just counterfeits. In some countries, such as Italy, a product which looks much like a famous brand is legal as long as something about it show openly it’s not from the famous brand is refers too. Such as the « Nine » backpack, the labels allows to know it’s no « Nike » product. But in other countries (France), being this close to a real product is forbidden as confusing for the customers. So many people who buy counterfeits in Italy then come to France can be in trouble when crossing the border.
Same in the UK. Asda were sued for their Puffins chocolate biscuit, a total steal from McVitie's Penguins. Anyway, got to go, Mickey's hands on my Rolax are pointing to bed time...
Load More Replies...Why do people even buy this stuff? That’s what I said. You got to be an idiot to buy this stuff
People who can't read, people who can't read western writing, people who don't care what's on their wear or people who care and think it's funny would wear these
Load More Replies...Most are just counterfeits. In some countries, such as Italy, a product which looks much like a famous brand is legal as long as something about it show openly it’s not from the famous brand is refers too. Such as the « Nine » backpack, the labels allows to know it’s no « Nike » product. But in other countries (France), being this close to a real product is forbidden as confusing for the customers. So many people who buy counterfeits in Italy then come to France can be in trouble when crossing the border.
Same in the UK. Asda were sued for their Puffins chocolate biscuit, a total steal from McVitie's Penguins. Anyway, got to go, Mickey's hands on my Rolax are pointing to bed time...
Load More Replies...Why do people even buy this stuff? That’s what I said. You got to be an idiot to buy this stuff
People who can't read, people who can't read western writing, people who don't care what's on their wear or people who care and think it's funny would wear these
Load More Replies...