The Laundry Room is the Fresno label Joey and Jonah Pauline built on graphic tees, sweatshirts and a very Californian streak of mischief. I like a T-shirt that tells a joke before you do, and this edit is where I would start.
The Laundry Room Graphic Tees: Where to Start
A brand born in the laundry room
I have a weakness for a T-shirt with a punchline, so The Laundry Room was always going to win me over. Brothers Joey and Jonah Pauline started it in 2012 in Fresno, California, turning the spirit of their childhood workspace into a clothing label. Their brand story follows years of making things together, then boutique ownership, before the women's collection came along. Its first creative instinct was improving vintage denim.
The tension is what I like most: familiar pieces, modern simplicity, and a streak of rebellion. There is room for silliness too. A graphic can be a postcard, a joke or a small piece of pop culture, and in 2021 they even teamed up with the Marilyn Monroe estate on tees and relaxed sets. The collection moves between cowboy graphics, destination names and the lived-in shapes of oversized tees, tanks and sweats. An everyday piece can carry a whole private joke, and that, to me, is the point. I went deeper on a related idea in 1XBLUE Tops: Graphic Tanks and Tees to Know.
The graphic tee, with a little wanderlust
The tops make the point of view readable from across a room. The Champagne Cowboy Oversized Tee and This Ain't My First Rodeo Oversized Tee lean into Western wordplay, while the Saint Barth 89 Oversize Tee swaps the ranch for the beach. The Ride A Mamacita Rib Tank Top and Call Me Cowboy Rib Tank Top keep the humor in a closer fit, and the Champagne Cowboy Hideout Hoodie gives a graphic a slouchier mood.
Picture her leaving a late lunch in the Saint Barth 89 Oversize Tee, knotted at the hem, with cutoffs and old sneakers and no second thought. I would pair one loud print with a quiet bottom and let the fit carry the rest. What I would skip: ordering an oversized cut without holding it up against a favorite shirt first, since the shoulder can land in a different place than you expect.
Let the print do the talking
The funniest pieces are the ones that are plain about it. The Airplane Mode USPS Sweatshirt is my pick for a long travel day, and the Diet Coke Baby Tee, Apres Ski Coca Cola Baby Tee and Diet Coke Please Rib Tank are for people who know exactly what they like. The Red White And Malibu Oversized Tee and Welcome To New York Oversized Tee are postcards you can wear.
What makes The Laundry Room feel like itself is the willingness to let a simple piece say something. I would start with whichever graphic sounds most like my own sense of humor, then keep the rest easy: denim, a familiar short, an old jacket. Although I suspect the one I choose will end up being worn far more than the sensible ones.
