GAY DAYS 2009: Red Shirts - Top 10

***WOO!... It's Top 10 Time!!!***
(it's about time [this entry is Waaay ATF])

... (follow the link below to check out this year's finalists!) ...

Number #10
"OMGaga"
Where: in front of Cinderella's Castle
When: waiting for the 3:00pm parade
Comment: At the Gay Days expo, Cindy and I heard the Britney, Madonna, Beyonce, and Lady Gaga. This simple custom shirt embodied the gay boy. It also remnant of the OMG Shoes shirt from a couple years ago. Simple but effective and culturally relevant.

Number #9
"Dynamic Duo"
Where: Frontierland, between Pecos Bill's and Splash Mountain
When: morning
Comment: This shirt made it in the Top 10 because of the ambiguity of the "Duo" (Batman & Robin, the guy and my sister, or my sister's... girls). Also, the guy was very cheerful and really made the photo work.

Number #8
"Fierce"
Where: in the Castle hub
When: 9:20am, on the way back to the park gates to meet Cori and Marty
Comment: In a culture where we do appreciate the culturally relevant, let us not forget our "heritage". This shirt features the silhouette of the winner of Project Runway Season 4, Christian Soriano, and The catch-word of 2007. I"m glad that there are some of us who respect our "elders".

Number #7
"Ohana '09"
Where: in front of the Emporium on Main Street U.S.A
When: early morning
Comment: These shirts were a nice play on branding and slogan. There was a group of people wearing these shirts,

I think these are from the same people who brought us the "Incredi-bears" last year. They were out in large numbers, organized and happy. Parking's actually $11, but they were dead on with the "Scaring the straight person next to you...".

Number #6
"Miss Thing"
Where: Main Street U.S.A.
When: soon after Rope Drop
Comment: A couple years ago, a couple couples wearing "Thing 1"/"Thing 2" shirts made my honorable mention. Though coordinated, they didn't make my Top 10 because those are Universal Studios shirts... This year, I've gotta give these guys/ladies credit for not only being coordinated but sassy, with their addition of "Miss" to the shirts. It's evidence of how a simple change can make a big difference.

Number #5
"The Other Team"
Where: in line for Big Thunder Mountain
When: 10:50:02 AM
Comment: The lesbians cracked my Top 5! This was my sister's favorite lesbian shirt -- the clean design, the simple slogan, and the fact that the ladies wearing them were quite attractive. I told Cindy that she should create one of those shirts for next year except in baby-blue and have it read "The Other Team: Sorry Girls" Ha!.

Number #4
"May I Suggest The Sausage"
Where: just inside of the MK gates
When: at rope drop
Comment: Last year, I featured quite a number of inappropriate and/or food-related shirts. This one was one of the first red shirts we took a picture of, and it would've been too obvious and anti-climactic had this deemed our #1. It was a funny shirt, but also wearing an inappropriate food-related shirt, I wanted to err on the side of caution and not pose for this picture how my sister suggested. *stern eyes*. :P Bold, non-subtle, this shirt made my #4.

Number #3
"Bear School Musical"
Where: Frontierland
When: also while in line for Big Thunder Mountain
Comment: This shirt was colorful and had high construction value. The synergy of Disney brands was commendable -- the vintage Little John from Robin Hood, Baloo from Jungle Book, a very gay Winnie the Pooh... under the guise of a HSM-ish production. It was the cutest and most-playful of the bear shirts. [if they could've only added a "D"-word to their title, they could've had an incredibly subtle risque reference...]

Number #2
"Homo You Didn't"
Where: in front of Cinderella's Castle
When: 2:50pm-ish
Comment: When I was showing my friend Pom this year's red shirts, this was the one that caught her by surprise and was her instant favorite. Short, sweet, and clever... and you can totally hear a gay saying this. The fact that the letters were blinged out and the extra, subtle bejewelry were very nice touches.

And my pick for the Best Red Shirt of Gay Days 2009...

Number #1
"SMURFS!"
Where: in front of Splash Mountain then later in front of Cinderella's Castle
When: after riding Splash Mountain then later after the 3:00pm parade
Comment: Last year, the winner was a red "F*G" shirt flanked by three baby blue "F*GH*G"s. My sister left a comment that she'd need one blue shirt and a dozen red shirts. I guess that she kinda got her wish...

The moment we saw these guys, we knew that they were going to take the top spot. These shirts -- designed after a series of shirts featuring the bodies of Disney characters -- were very trendy and creative. The execution was incredible -- a lot of attention to detail (e.g. the rainbow lettering for "Earth Smurf", the blue kisses on "I Kissed A Smurf And I Liked It"); also, the back of their shirts provided more opportunity for personalization: "Pop A Smurf", "Donatella", "Not So Innocent".

The guys wearing the shirts also a strong factor because they were all well-groomed, friendly, and enthusiastic. They were also very quick to gather for pictures, like a group of high school cheerleaders.

Here's a list of the Smurf slogan we saw:

- I See Blue People
- I Kissed A Smurf And I Liked It
- Abercrombie & Smurf
- iSmurf
- Smurfer Dude
- Earth Smurf
- Smurf-fil-a
- I'm Bringing Smurfy Back
- Twitter My Smurf
- Have You Been Smurfed Today
- Rent-A-Smurf

And of their back:
- Johan
- Donatella
- Not So Innocent
- TEK
- ScoBo
- Scooter
- Edil
- Pop A Smurf

Great great job!

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*** Please leave a comment of what you think of this year's Top 10! :) ***
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You may also want to check out these related posts:

2009
    Gay Days 2009 Red Shirts - Preview
    Gay Days 2009 Red Shirts - Honorable Mentions

2008
    Gay Days 2008 Red Shirts - Preview
    Gay Days 2008 Red Shirts - Top 10

2007
    Gay Days 2007 - The Red Shirts