In the New York Times story about the new line of clothing launched by Tumblr, company spokesperson Valentine Uhovki says, ““We wanted every look to feel like a Tumblr post.” It’s hard to argue the results achieved that goal, though how much that does or doesn’t work for you will obviously vary. But their approach – to get designs from Tumblr users, show off models from the Tumblr community and use a photographer who was also active on the platform certainly shows a commitment to the people who use it.

tumblr clothing

The shirts may be a bit much for you – they certainly are for me, someone who prefers as many plain, solid color t-shirts as he can find – but for others these are going to be right up their alley. They’re bright, vivid and are certainly unique. Just like a Tumblr dashboard.

As I wrote on Voce Nation, finding offline brand experiences is an important tactic in the marketing mix. In fact you could argue that with so much happening online, a real world experience creates even more of an impact, not just because it pulls people out of their apps and such but because these experiences are going to wind up being shared *through* those same apps. So it’s win-win.

The great thing is that this is an area where Tumblr is embracing what makes it unique among publishing platforms and social networks. It’s hard to imagine what a Twitter or Facebook-inspired line of clothing would look like. (out of context Mark Twain quotes for the former, out of context Mark Twain quotes overlayed on an image of Martin Luther King Jr. for the latter, is my guess) Because Tumblr is such a visual, interactive place it makes for a natural extension into clothing that’s not branded but is representative of the culture and feel of the network.