Rocking a "NERD" shirt from Urban Outfitters is supposed to be tongue in cheek, but it's overplayed. But there's good news: In spite of an over saturated market, there are new designers working hard to keep things interesting. Read on for a few of our favorites, and check Pulse tomorrow for our first installment of Free T-Shirt Tuesdays featuring a design from 1aeon!

Stella Im Hultberg
This painter/toy designer collaborated with artist network, Poketo, to lend her portfolio of gorgeous women to soft scoop- and v-necks. She looks to photography and film stills for inspiration; the result is a culmination of seemingly effortless brushstrokes. But it's not as easy as it looks: "It's a challenge for me to design t-shirts," Hultberg says, "it's hard to translate my artwork into something that looks good when draped around a person's body."

Tiffany Malakooti
Like a true artist, Tiffany—who creates t-shirts for artist collective Blood is the New Black—demures when I contact her for this story: "I'm flattered," she says via email, "but, unfortunately, I am shy to this kind of publicity." Luckily, Blood is the New Black founder Mitra Khayyam has plenty to say about the graphic artist, who translates her love of skate culture and fashion into pieces like a trompe l'oeil chest hair crewneck or "seersuckered" striped v-neck with faux-pocket. "Tiffany doesn't take herself too seriously, isn't jaded, and maintains her integrity," Khayyam explains.

Elena Vazintaris
Professional dancer-cum-designer's t-shirt line, Robot Arms, is informed by her experience growing up in the era of Fame and Madonna, as much as it is by her Chilean mother. "Many of my shirts have political slogans—'El Pueblo Unido', 'Venceremos', 'Donde esta la justicia?'—each hand painted and handmade by me," Vazintaris says. We think you'll adore her loose-fitting, off-the-shoulder shirts, which reinvent an '80s brand of sexy (she describes it as Isadora Duncan meets Prince!).

- Tasha Nita Adams

RANDOM TANGENT:
Ever wondered about the history of the ironic t-shirt? The guys over at Gelf Magazine did. Check out their article, here.

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