Fandom Comes Of Age With FRIGHT-RAGS Polos

Being a genre film buff that was born in the ‘70s, raised in the ‘80s, and was a teenager in the ‘90s pretty much meant you were a nerd. I had no problem with that moniker. There was a certain strength to be found in being an outsider. That fandom for cult films lead to lifelong friendships. Weirdos that didn’t fit into any other clique always had a family through cinema.

There were always ways to determine who was cool, or in this case not cool, enough to hang out with. Sure sign was how other kids dressed. Punks and goths were easy. Head-to-toe they wore their subculture like a badge of honor. Others, it could be something as subtle as a shirt.

Cool t-shirts weren’t really easy to come by back in those days. You wanted a band shirt? You went to the concert and bought the shirt. If you wanted a horror movie t-shirt, it was next to near to impossible to get your hands on one. If you were lucky, you had a cool parent that would order you stuff out of the back pages of Fangoria or Columbia House.

One thing is for sure, you knew your enemy by their polo shirt. Whether it was THE OUTSIDERS (1983), REVENGE OF THE NERDS (1984), CRY-BABY (1990), or countless other genre films you knew that the preppies/socs/jocks/squares were rockin’ polo shirts and they were your sworn enemy.

Now that time has gone by, I still wear mostly t-shirts if I’m not working, but from time to time I feel that look can come across as a bit “junior.” Sometimes I still want to show off my fandom, but, y’know, not dress like I live in my mother’s basement. Thankfully, to remedy this, genre film merch company Fright-Rags has released a line of horror-inspired polo shirts.

I’ve grown a bit older, but I haven’t grown up. These polos have my name written all over them. The classic golf style and classic horror mash up has me gagging over here. This collection includes four different designs: NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (1968), JAWS (1975) HALLOWEEN (1978), and THEY LIVE (1988).

Fright-Rags have really outdone themselves with these shirts. They are all officially licensed, no knockoffs here. They are made of a super soft poly/cotton blend, which makes them ideal for summer golf outings or barbecues. They also have traditional correlating colored piping on the sleeves, collar, and pocket that match the movie logo which is embroidered on the chest pocket. If that wasn’t enough there is also a movie logo tag woven along the seam of the shirt.

I have to give it to Fright-Rags: they are constantly pushing the boundaries of fandom fashion.

Sure, sixteen-year-old me would hate this, and call grown up me a sellout, and that’s fine.

I don’t see myself being one of the bad guys in an ‘80s/’90s genre film. I’m more of the kooky neighbor dad that believes the kids and helps them fight the monster.

Huge thank you to Fright-Rags. Now us middle-age dorks don’t have to look like we’re going through some sort of mid-life crisis, but still celebrate the films that made us into the nerds we are today. Go check out Fright-Rags collection of polo shirts on their social media or, better yet, go straight to their website. Don’t forget to tell ‘em that Neon Splatter sent ya, and as always remember to BUY OR DIE!