The characteristics of punk t-shirts can vary quite a bit, though there are certain attributes that many such t-shirts have in common. Many shirts display names and images associated with various punk rock bands. These are often worn by fans and serve to promote the band and identify the tastes of the wearer. Other shirts feature images and words not necessarily associated with any particular punk group, but with punk aesthetic in general, such as the use of skulls and plaid patterns. There are also punk t-shirts made by using t-shirts not normally associated with punk music or lifestyle, and altering them to create a punk aesthetic.
Punk t-shirts are garments typically worn by fans of punk music, especially those who live a lifestyle in keeping with the themes of such music. Some of the most popular types of t-shirts for fans of punk music are shirts made by or for particular bands. These shirts are often worn to promote certain punk bands and to identify the tastes and preferences of the wearer. Punk t-shirts for bands usually display the name or logo of a band, and images or text might indicate particular song lyrics or themes associated with that band.
There are also punk t-shirts designed to have a general punk aesthetic, without any direct association with a particular music group. Such shirts often utilize images and words associated with punk music and culture. Images such as skulls, the use of plaid patterns, and symbols for anarchy, nuclear waste, and biohazard warnings are all popular images for such shirts. These punk t-shirts may also utilize iconic punk images or language, such as illustrations of a person with a Mohawk hairstyle or quotations from well-known punk songs.
Some punk t-shirts can also be made using other types of shirts, and modifying them to create a punk aesthetic. Many of the earliest garments worn by those in the punk music scene were created using mainstream clothing that was altered to appear ragged and nonconformist. These garments were often torn, burnt, cut, pieced together crudely using large stitches or patches, and pinned together with large safety pins. Punk t-shirts can be made in a similar way, using t-shirts that would be worn by those in the mainstream culture, and altering those garments through destructive means and crude repairs meant to visually separate the wearer from the intended consumer of the original t-shirt.